At 21, as a senior at the University of Washington, Seattle, he won the Philip Morris Playhouse on Broadway Intercollegiate Acting competition on February 24, 1952. He won $2,000 after being judged by Helen Hayes, Christian Westphalen and Clarence Derwent, ANTA and Equity officers.
Born at 11:16pm-PDT
Both he and his "I Spy" (1965) co-star, Bill Cosby, were involved in civil rights causes and, when Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, the pair traveled to Memphis, Tenn., to join the striking garbage workers King had been organizing.
Ex-stepfather of Fleur Morell.
Father of Samantha Culp, from his marriage to Candace Faulkner.
He is a poker playing buddy of Hugh M. Hefner; as a result, he is a frequent guest at the Playboy Mansion.
He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.
It was widely reported that Culp would have replaced Larry Hagman as J.R. in "Dallas" (1978) had Hagman decided not to return to the series because of contract negotiations. However, Culp has stated that he was never asked to play the part of J.R. and was not contacted by anyone from "Dallas" (1978). At the time this took place, he was costarring as F.B.I. agent "Bill Maxwell" on ABC's "The Greatest American Hero" (1981). He loved the show and his role and has said that he would not have left the show even if the part had been offered to him.
Wrote a pilot script in 1962-63 for director Sam Peckinpah called "Summer Soldiers" that was never produced.
Wrote a pilot script in 1964 for an espionage series to star himself, but opted for "I Spy" (1965) instead. He went on to write several episodes for "I Spy" (1965), including the first episode.