Mister 8

culpable

/kulpb’l/

1. deserving blame.
2. describing a weekend in which your esteemed host got to meet I Spy star Robert Culp.

This weekend was the New York Comic Con, and my wife and I made the drive down…partially because I enjoy comic books (obviously) and partially to meet with a client for whom I do web design (in news that is unrelated, I’m sure, Queen & Country author Greg Rucka’s website has a new design as of this week). I made some pretty good purchases, and saw a few things that I thought you folks might be interested in seeing.

First was the booth for the Geppi Entertainment Museum in Baltimore, Md. What first caught my eye were these Gilbert James Bond toys:

Gilbert Bond Toys

And then I noticed this picture amongst those on the booth wall:

Geppi spy corner

…a corner of an exhibit completely dedicated to ’60s spy toys and memorabilia! The Geppi Museum’s website states that their mission is to: “[present] the story of popular culture since the nation’s earliest days in an entertaining and educational fashion so that our guests have the unique opportunity to walk through a timeline that parallels and is entwined with history as a whole.” If anyone lives near Baltimore, please check it out and let us know how you liked it.

Clifton - Jade

Second is a series of translated reprints that I’d like to which I’d like to call your attention. Cinebook is dedicated to bringing Franco-Belgian comics to English speaking countries, and had on-hand at the convention a number of books that were simply beautiful to look at. A few of them were secret agent related, including Clifton, a series of comical mysteries starring an ex-spy turned Scotland Yard detective, and IR$, about a rogue internal revenue agent (I opted for neither of these, but instead Blake & Mortimer, an adventure book with a beautiful style, similar to Hergé). The folks behind Cinebook are enthusiastic about their product and put out great quality work. I highly recommend them based on my purchases today.

Robert Culp signs an I Spy script

Third, and perhaps most awesome. While looking for an artist and wandering the labyrinthesque aisles of the comic con, I rounded a corner and spotted Robert Culp, the 78-year-old actor who played Kelly Robinson on the classic espionage show I Spy. While other comic book dorks gathered around William Katt (The Greatest American Hero, on which Culp played FBI agent Bill Maxwell), I had my picture taken with, and purchased an autographed I Spy script from Mr. Culp.

In honor of the sheer serendipity at finding Culp so unexpectedly, I’m making this I Spy week here at Mister8.com. To get you in the mood, here’s a three-hour interview that Culp did with the Archive of American Television, where he spends a good amount of time talking about I Spy (thanks to Wes Britton for letting me know about this!):

…I also picked up some free things from the Marvel booth, including some nifty magnets of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo that I’m thinking of giving away in a contest here. I know, I know…giving away freebies in a contest? We’re in an economic downturn…what can I say? Stay tuned this week for details on how to win, if you’re interested. Hopefully, it will be the first of many contests to come!

Here’s the first story in Gold Key’s I Spy #2, with story probably by Paul S. Newman and art by Alden “Al” McWilliams.  Newman was a native of New York, whose work spanned multiple companies, though he’s best known for his work on another Gold Key (though it started at Dell) book, Turok. Connecticutian McWilliams worked mostly in sci-fi, though he’s also known for the daily spy strip Dateline: Danger!.

I Spy Cover

I Spy Inside Cover

I Spy Page 1

I Spy Page 2

I Spy Page 3

I Spy Page 4

I Spy Page 5

I Spy Page 6

I Spy Page 7

I Spy Page 8

I Spy Page 9

I Spy Page 10

I Spy Page 11

I Spy Page 12

I Spy Page 13

I Spy Page 14

I Spy Inside Back Cover

I Spy Back Cover

(I’m still struggling with a few elements of the I Spy theme, including that opening jazz chord, plus I broke a string for which I have no replacement. Stay tuned for tablature tomorrow, hopefully!)

I Spy broke ground in 1965 when it became the first television show to feature an African-American, Bill Cosby, in a starring role. As such, it has garnered much attention from scholars and historians in the years since. For this posting, however, instead of providing a bibliography of all the sources that have covered this issue, I wanted to look back at the context of the issue as seen through the media of the late sixties, as the show was airing. Was the show seen as groundbreaking then as well?

First, a piece from Ebony Magazine from September 1965:

* * *

Ebony Magazine Sept. 1965

I Spy: Comedian Bill Cosby is first negro co-star in network series

Former collegian, former athlete, former bartender, would-be teacher, star comedian Bill Cosby–has now turned actor. Cosby, 28, is one of the fastest-rising performers in show business. He playes the best night clubs, making $3,000-$10,000 a week. His first two comedy records were smashing successes. He makes all the big-time TV night shows. And he has recently become the first Negro co-star in a full television network series. For the better part of an hour each week during this TV season, Cosby will bound across that rectangular tube which has been adopted by almost every American family.

The show, on NBC-TV, is called I Spy and, in established TV tradition, it is designed to give the public a big dose of what the public wants. And right now, the public wants international intrigue with a “light touch,” such as the popular James Bond movies and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series show.

As undercover intelligence agent Alexander Scott, Cosby is the manager-companion of tennis bum Kelly Robinson, playyed by Robert Culp. Culp, an experienced actor, carries the heavier dramatic load, but, ironically, it is Cosby who plays the most super of super-heroes, outdoing all mortal competitors. For not only is Alex Scott the usual suave, quick-thinking, karate-punching, sharpshooting good guy, he is also a brilliant Rhodes scholar, fluent in seven languages. Chuckles Cosby, appreciatively, “It’s not what you’d call a stereotyped role.” And Cosby is right. Until now, Tonto, short on vocabulary, long on bruises, has topped the list of dark-skinned sidekicks.

RACE WON’T BE THEME IN TV EPISODES

Although I Spy will have no racial messages–Cosby vetoed any dialogue based on racial issues–the racial impact of the show is obvious. After executive producer Sheldon Leonard decided he wanted Cosby as a regular on I Spy, he expected much more trouble than he actually got. Since Cosby was hired before co-star Culp, Leonard anticipated difficulty along that line, but Culp was happy to work with Cosby once he saw Cosby’s acting in the pilot film.

“Then everybody told us we were going to have trouble with the sponsors,” recalls Leonard, “but none of the boogie men we had foreseen ever materialized. We have more sponsors than we need.”

Cosby avoids racial material in I Spy because he has built a non-racial image through his particular style of comedy. Yet, he freely admits that his job is a by-product of the “revolution.” “Negroes like Martin Luther King and Dick Gregory; Negro groups like the Deacons and the Muslins–are all dedicated to the cause of civil rights,” notes Cosby, “but they do their jobs in their own way. My way is to show white people that Negroes are human beings with the same aspirations and abilities that whites have.” It looks as if Cosby’s own aspirations and abilities are quite clear. “After eight shows,” says Leonard, “Bill was as advanced as many actors are after eight years.”

* * *

And here are some interesting bits from captions of photos accompanying the Ebony article:

“Standard ‘bit’ of Negro’s face being rubbed to see if color comes off annoyed Cosby, who says if anyone else rubs his face, ‘I’ll rub back.’”

“Culp has written three dramas for show, says he doesn’t know why, but all have Negro protagonists.”

* * *

Next, selections from an Oct. 17, 1965 New York Times article: “The Case of the Scholarly Spy”:

* * *

One thing for sure, bigots everywhere are going to be baffled at how to object to the televised Cosby image. In black and white or in the full panoply of NBC color, from those big brown eyes to burnished brogues, he is more unretouched Ivy League than many an authentic Princeton graduate. Cosby comes by the patina honestly, having attended Temple University to his junior year, becoming a physical education major and an outstanding athlete there.

…[Cosby:] “He is a Negro ‘good guy’ working equally with a white man for a patriotic cause–a premise which may not be accepted by every Negro watching. In other words, though the part is never the usual put-down of the Negro people, I feel I have to be careful that it doesn’t become an exaggeration of another kind. I hope we don’t receive any artificial praise–for the wrong reasons. I’d like ‘I Spy’ to be judged on its entertainment values.”

* * *

I’m going to work on getting access to a few more articles from local newspapers as well. I was dismayed to find out that one of the three local stations that didn’t pick up I Spy was in Albany, where I currently live….

I know, I know…I Spy week has been kind of lame so far. Just like a student who has forgotten his homework, I have a number of excuses:

1. I’ve been working on a redesign of the site in preparation for the first strip this Sunday.
2. I’ve been working on the first strip too.
3. My wife is leaving town on Sunday for the week, and I’ve been trying to spend as much time with her as possible.
4. Today is Valentine’s Day, and if I don’t keep my priorities straight, I might get beaned in the head (just kidding).

Expect a cumbersome amount of catch-up posts on Monday, with the material that I had planned for this week. For Friday, I had planned to upload a clip from a Cosby show episode, “Bald and Beautiful,” in which Robert Culp guest-starred as the character Scott Kelly (where’d they get that name?).

In a nice bit of serendipity, the cable network TV Land also decided to celebrate I Spy week by running that episode tonight at 10:30 p.m. But if you miss it, don’t fret. I’ll still post the clip on Monday!

I must apologize for my lack of posting as of late. This week has been busy, and I spent much of the time I’d allotted to the half-done redesign of the site, and not developing my content for the week. For this, I apologize! I’ve also had a conference paper due, a nasty fall down the steps that I’m still dealing with pains from, and my wife leaving town and then returning….

Still, no excuses. I’ve let you down, all six of you, and I hope to make it up by tossing a bunch of new content at you this weekend. Hopefully. Time allowing.

First up is a continuation of the theme of the month, which you’ve probably forgotten by now, which is spy-surf music, guitar instrumentals with twangy, machine gun firing low E strings and clap-clap…clap drum patterns. In our first installment, we presented surf songs that took on James Bond themes…this time out, we’ll be presenting surf covers of classic 60s spy television! Like last time, clicking the album covers will take you to Amazon, where a portion (usually some pennies) of your purchase, I must admit, goes to me. I promise to spend it on something awesome.

Because it’s I Spy week (you may have forgotten that too, considering it started two weeks ago), we’ll start with a version of I Spy — this one by the Clee-Shays, whom we covered last time. Available on the collected album Dynamic Guitar Sounds of the Clee-Shays:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Next up is a track that’s not really a spy theme, so much as a detective theme…except I just remembered that it was the theme for the video game Spy Hunter, so take that! In any case, the track is Peter Gunn, the classic Mancini song, as done by the master, some say the inventor, of surf guitar: Dick Dale! You know Dale, as thanks to Pulp Fiction, it’s impossible not to — he wrote and recorded the song “Miserlou” that’s often thought of as the theme for the film. He’s also seen in a few 60s-era surf movies, dressed as a gypsy and, if I recall correctly, singing. This particular rip comes from his Greatest Hits, 1961-1976, but I think it was originally recorded for Rock out with Dick Dale and his Del-Tones. This is truly one of the best songs ever recorded by one of the greatest guitar players ever, and I hope you enjoy it!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

We’ll stick with another classic surf band, the Challengers, with their version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The Challengers were formed from the disbanded Bel-Airs, a young Los Angeles band who are now best known for their song, “Mr. Moto” (they also did a version of Peter Gunn, but it doesn’t compare to Dale’s, and is missing that reverb surf sound). The Challengers were drummer Richard Delvy, Jim Roberts on keyboards, bassist Randy Nauert, and guitarists Glenn Grey and Don Landis, and they, alongside Dale and the Beach Boys, were responsible for kick-starting surf music as we know it today. This cut was originally recorded for the vinyl album Man From U.N.C.L.E., which also featured a version of “Secret Agent Man,” but was ripped from Killer Surf: The Best Of The Challengers.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Speaking of “Secret Agent Man,” that’s what we have up next. There are probably hundreds of covers of this song in the world, all feeding off the original instrumental version by the Ventures. I’ve listened to many of them, and I think this is one of the best, while still retaining the feel of the Ventures’ version. It’s by a band called Cosmonauti, an Italian band from Rome, who also do amazing covers of Ennio Morricone songs. It’s a bit difficult to find actual information on the band, but here’s what I could dig up: the band consists of Stefano “Justo” Giustiniani and Andrea “Joseph” Lauri on guitar, Massimo “Jr.” Petrozzi on bass, and Alessandro “Petrosh” Petrozzi on drums. Also, they are amazing. Aren’t those the essentials?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Secret Agent Man” was the American theme song to the British show Danger Man. In the U.K., viewers of the show heard the following theme, “High Wire” The following version was recorded by Man Or Astroman?, whom we also discussed last time. This version has some thunderous keyboards and some crazy thereminesque sounds, and it’s also the only cover of “High Wire” that I know of to be in existence (silly me…the Clee-Shays have one on the album that I took the other songs from!). The song comes from the 7″ UFOs and the Men Who Fly Them…good luck finding that one. I got this one from an online compilation of rare and unfindable Astroman? songs.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

And we’ll pick up next time with covers of Get Smart, Mission Impossible, The Avengers, and The Persuaders!

Last time out, we brought you the lead story from 1967’s Gold Key I Spy #2. This time, we wrap up that issue by presenting the back-up story, “The Tell-Tale Camera,” story by (according to The Grand Comic-Book Database) Paul S. Newman and art by Alden McWilliams.

This clip is taken from the Cosby Show, season 3, episode 23, “Bald and Beautiful.” I wonder if some viewers, like a younger Armstrong Sabian, totally missed the point of the following scenes, not having seen the original I Spy, or knowing who Robert Culp was. Then again, I thought Lena Horne was a character on the Cosby show as a kid, until someone taught me better.

Notice that Culp’s name in the episode is Scott Kelly, a sort of portmanteau of his and Cosby’s names on I Spy. Jill Kelly is played by Ann Reinking, renowned for her work for Bob Fosse, especially in the musical Chicago, and her choreography for the revival of Chicago that spawned the Academy Award winning movie version.

Gold Key Comics’ I Spy #4, February 1968, story by Paul S. Newman and art by Alden McWilliams (for more on this duo, see the first posting in this series). Part I is below, and stay tuned for part II next Monday!

Film Score Monthly "I Spy" Soundtrack

Am Riff:

e|--------------------------|
B|--------------------------|
G|--------------------------|
D|--------------------------|
A|---------6-7----------8-7-|
E|-5-5-8-8------5-5-8-8-----|

[See the full tablature]

The late Earle Hagen was sort of a chameleon in the world of composing. Whereas many of the other names in the pantheon of spy theme writers are celebrities — Barry, Mancini, Goldsmith, etc. — Hagen carved out a steady career for himself that seems mostly overlooked by the public at large. At my grandmother’s house, the first two notes of the Andy Griffith Theme, one of Hagen’s, is all it takes to get someone started, but I doubt many of the scores of listeners know Hagan’s name.

He is a talent deserving of wider recognition, and nowhere is that more evident than in his scoring for the television series I Spy. Tasked with making the transition from comedies to action thrillers, Hagen succeeded with one of the great television themes of the 1960s. Score aficionado Deborah Young wrote in a 2001 appreciation of Hagen’s work for Film Score Monthly, which later released a collection of the I Spy score:

Earle Hagen could not have been more innovative or original with I SPY. The scores he wrote were produced in Los Angeles but he frequently returned to record live and on location. The result was that every one of the 82 episodes received an original score (excluding the main themes, of course); two-thirds of those were composed by Hagen, with the rest created by distinguished composer and friend, Hugo Friedhofer. The result was what he named “semi-jazz,” a perfect marriage of local themes with the American sound. You never forgot whom you were rooting for, or where they were.

The main title was the first to feature graphic art, live action and animation, all cut to a specific tempo that he had requested. Listen to that first pulsing primal heartbeat, as you see the shadow of a tennis player, moving against a flow of foreign names. Every upward sweep of his racket is punctuated by the pluck of a violin, and the tension is built by saxophone. Then, the graceful cipher wheels slowly and his racket has become a handgun. The weapon fires; the detritus is red and assembles to form the words I SPY. The main theme is rendered fully by the burst of violins over the black, white and red of the title, eliciting both the imminent tension of the series and the embraceable humanity of its two players. As the title drives to its pounding conclusion, a split-screen “preview” of the hour is wrought under the arresting eyes of Robert Culp. Fans of Stewart Copeland’s eclectic, dissonant score for The Equalizer might just recognize Hagen’s I SPY as a major influence.

Hagan himself discussed his composing work for I Spy with the Archive of American Television, in a video interview available on YouTube.

Here’s another video, the opening credits of the first season of the show:

Watchmen is the topic of the weekend, at least at my house. One of my favorite superhero comic works ever (Rorschach is based on my favorite superhero of all time, The Question), I’ve been waiting the last year with mixed feelings for the film adaptation, and left the theater Friday night with mixed feelings as well. I agree with everyone who has said that it was probably the best Watchmen movie that we could hope for, but I still don’t think it achieves the power of the original. The issue comes down to subtext, and the film’s inability to trust the audience — there’s one scene where Dr. Manhattan simply declares something to another character that we as viewers should have already figured out, and it robs the scene of its power. There are too many scenes like that. Still, one of the best opening credits sequences ever.

I wanted, because the comic series (I’ve never read it in graphic novel form, and think it’s best enjoyed an issue at a time, like an old Republic serial [wink, wink]) and the movie are still fresh in my head, to point out a few references in the original text that you all might enjoy. The first comes in issue #11, in the back matter, as Adrian Veidt gives an interview on the Committee to Re-Elect the President:

Man From U.N.C.L.E. reference in Watchmen

The second is not technically a spy fic reference, but an Outer Limits reference. For the sake of my Culp-loving pals over at the I Spy Forum, however, I want to point out the television clip in issue #12 (from the episode “Architects of Fear” which has similarities to the conclusion of Watchmen):

Robert Culp in Watchmen

Don’t forget that I met Robert Culp a few weeks ago. And on Friday, hours before seeing the film, I was standing at the base of Madision Square Garden, wondering if Pale Horse was going to play there anytime soon. I’m practically Captain Metropolis over here….