I Spy's Robert Culp Dead at 79

Robert Culp, best known for his role in the pioneering TV series I Spyopposite Bill Cosby, has died. He was 79.

Culp died Wednesday after collapsing, or possibly tripping, on a sidewalk outside of his Hollywood home, his agent, Hillard Elkins, told TVGuide.com. He additionally suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital, but paramedics were unable to revive him, Elkins said.

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Appearing in more than 100 films and TV series, Culp's career spanned more than a half-century. Perhaps his most notable movie was the provocative 1969 sex comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.

His first starring role came on CBS' Western series Trackdown, in which he played a gun-slinging Texas Ranger. Culp went on to play Kelly Robinson in the NBC series I Spy from 1965 to 1968 with Cosby. It was the first prime-time series with a black actor in a lead role.

After several smaller roles, he returned to television in 1981 as the lead in The Greatest American Hero.  He also had a multi-episode arc on Everybody Loves Raymondand bit parts on shows such as Lois & Clark and Wings.

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Married five times, Culp is survived by wife Candace Falkner, three sons and two daughters, four of whom are from a previous marriage.