Week of March 26: Remembering Robert Culp; Scarecrow and Mr. Jones; A Gift of "GE Theater"

The risk of doing a blog about classic television shows is that it will include a lot of obituaries.

Sadly, there's another one this week: Robert Culp, possibly one of the most unselfish men to ever star in a television series. He was the star of "I Spy," but didn't complain when his co-star won three Emmys and became a television icon. That co-star, of course, is Bill Cosby, who said this week that Culp was like a brother.

Culp was also featured in "The Greatest American Hero," which starred William Katt (son of Barbara Hale, who played Perry Mason's loyal secretary, Della Street) and Connie Sellecca, and ran on ABC from 1981-83. He also played the father of Debra Barone (Pamela Heaton) in "Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS, 1996-2005).

Here's a link to an interview by Culp about "Greatest American Hero," which would make a superb film (And please, not a re-made TV series):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRSEKj1cU8c

And to watch the treat of the Culp-Cosby partnership and chemistry, the final episode of "I Spy":

http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/i-spy-last-episode-pinwheel-13751



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A couple of great DVD releases in recent weeks:

*Season 1 of "Barnaby Jones," which ran on CBS 1973-80. The title character, played so well by Buddy Ebsen, spun off into his own series from "Cannon," which starred William Conrad.

Also starring was Lee Merriwether, Miss America 1955, as Jones daughter-in-law, Betty. In later seasons, Mark Shera would play a cousin, J.R. (or Jedidiah, as Barnaby called him).

The show was, as the announcer intoned each week, "A Quinn Martin Production.":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATUILf51B3c

*Also newly released is Season 1 of "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," which ran on CBS from 1983-87.

Kate Jackson underwent quite an image transformation from the cool agent Sabrina Duncan of "Charlie's Angels" to domestic divorcee Amanda King in this series. She discovered the dangers of taking a package from a stranger in the first episode - especially when the stranger turned out to be handsome agent Lee Stetson, played by Bruce Boxleitner. Amanda kept her life secret from mother Dotty (Beverly Garland, who had been in "My Three Sons") and her two sons. Lee and Amanda were overseen by Billy Melrose (Mel Stuart, who had played Henry Jefferson in "All in the Family") and aided by agent Francine Desmond (Martha Smith).

The show was fun, if increasingly implausible as time passed (While fans cheered Lee and Amanda's eventual romance and marriage, they did not cheer the pair keeping it a secret from Amanda's family.).

Eventually, real life intervened: Kate Jackson contracted breast cancer, and struggled to complete the last season of the show.

Today, she continues to work in television, and has survived both cancer and a hole in her heart, which was repaired by surgery. Boxleitner has continued in various TV roles as well.

Here's the beginning of that first episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJBucQp-fws&feature=PlayList&p=2BEF207731FC5F9D&index=0&playnext=1

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NBC's present doesn't look very good, but it recently had a great find from its past: All of the episodes of General Electric Theater that were hosted by an actor named Ronald Reagan.

The 208 episodes have been sent to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as part of the library's celebration of Reagan's 100th birthday:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jRNYUmlrFBmq-_NOS_dfgR2aWwSAD9EGP6IO0

Reagan began his hosting duties for the program, which ran on CBS on Sunday nights after "The Ed Sullivan Show," during the third season.

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=generalelect

Most of the productions were drama; Reagan himself starred with his wife and future First Lady Nancy Reagan in one production. Occasionally, the program would draw a different kind of entertainment, like the legendary Judy Garland:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYCFtWzz3gw

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Rabbit Ears will return in two weeks.

Until then, Happy Passover, Happy Easter, Happy Spring and Happy Viewing!