European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 06, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse The i spy team returns for More by Vernon Scott up Hollywood reporter Hen i spy made its television debut on Abc 29 years ago Bill Cosby be came the first Black american to Star in a primetime network drama co starring with Robert gulp. At that time Culp got top Billing. As a movie actor he was far better known than Cosby who was an up and coming comedian but relatively unknown to most to fans. Many viewers were shocked at the thought of see ing a Black face in a weekly show. Some network affiliates in the South refused to broadcast / up be cause of Cosby s race. Now almost three decades later Cosby remains one of to s most popular superstars and ranks. Among its richest performers. Recently in fact he attempted to buy Abc. Gulp on the other hand did not Rise so far or so fast. But he has worked regularly in to films occasional movies and he continues to write and direct. Now Culp As Kelly Robinson and Cosby As Alex Ander Scott have returned to their old spy games in a two hour movie titled the return of i spy which aired stateside thursday on lbs. The idea for the Long delayed reprise of the whodunit hotshots began when Cosby called Culp and asked what he wanted to do. Gulp thought the Coz meant something like a half hour sitcom. According to Culp Cosby said Don t you under stand i m an 800-Pound Gorilla meaning he can do anything he wants. Next i read i was writing and directing i spy for Warner Brothers because i was a Genius Culp said. We began a two year tale of horror with eventually their partnership with the studio was abandoned. The performers wound up in Vienna last summer making the film for lbs under the Aegis of producer Sheldon Leonard who still owns rights to the property. During the five years it took to put the movie to Gether Bill and i talked on the phone a lot and had meetings in new York Cut said. I had done one of his shows in 1986 and we d walk Down the Street stopping traffic. People knew us from Way gulp said when they began filming last year in Vienna things started to fall into place. We discovered the moment they turned the Cam Era on we stopped worrying about stuff that did t fit. We dumped All that and made it up As we went along. The machinery in actors does t Wear out it gets better sharper. We began to hone against each other and pretty soon we were really cooking. We wound up doing mechanically the same thing we were doing at the beginning which was throw out the dialogue. We looked each other in the Eye and asked what the scene was really about and then made up the dialogue As we went along. It worked beautifully. It was a lot of asked if this could be the beginning of a series of two hour i spy movies for the next few years Culp Shook his head negatively. I spy is a part of us he said but it s not Possi ble to do another now. Bill has his new the Cosby mysteries show he s committed to. I m up to my ears in writing and a picture i be got to direct this Spring. Maybe Well do it a la Ironside. Well both be in in the movie Robinson and Scott continue their easy relationship without As much action but with a. Great Deal More comedy. Culp said the relationship Between the actors was Bui Cosby and Robert Culp relive their 60s show this time with Salli Richardson and George new born. Not markedly different now that Cosby is an "800 Pound Well Culp said thoughtfully in the old Days Bill would break me up on camera All the time. He is a genuinely funny Man. My Job was to pick up on that and to make sure the stories and lines from scene to scene worked. I was picking up his humor and today it s just More so. We had a tremendous amount of fun while we were doing it. The Only major difference has to do with the design of the Story. Robinson and Scott Are chasing after their Chil Dren trying to keep them out of hot water and they get into hot water doing it. That s essentially the Story. It s much More Light headed if you will. In the series much of the time we were rather sober sided dealing with important issues the bantering nature of our relationship notwithstanding. We just have fun this time. We tried to tie Down our improvisation before the scene was shot. But everybody else standing around us was still perspiring by the Tirrie they said Roll we knew what we were doing but nobody else did. It worked every time. Not every take but we were out there on a Tightrope for god s Sake and there s no director Jerry London went along with the flow allowing his actors to improvise trusting they would hit the right Story Points. After All who better. Lbs up Culp and France nuyen in a 66 segment of / spy february 6. Sunday Page 23
