Don’t drown your sorrows in memorial Jell-O shots just yet– Mr. Cosby is alive and well.
But unfortunately, his former I Spy costar, Robert Culp, is not. Culp, best known for his role alongside Cosby in the groundbreaking TV series, died after falling and hitting his head outside of his Los Angeles home on Wednesday. He was 79.
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The actor also starred opposite Natalie Wood in the provocative spouse-swapping Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, as well as Ray Barone’s father-in-law on Everybody Loves Raymond. In the early 80s, Culp played tough-guy FBI Agent Bill Maxwell on The Greatest American Hero, a role which he later reprised as a voice-over on Cartoon Network’s stop-motion animated series Robot Chicken.
He was married five times, and is survived by three sons and two daughters.
News of Culp’s death sent a flurry of reports that Cosby had also passed away, as several eulogy tweets made the rounds, as well as a post on CNN.com claiming that the actor had died.
Cosby has since released a statement mourning the loss of his dear friend and costar:
”My mind wants to flow into sadness, but I want to stay above that,” Cosby said. ”Those of us who are the firstborn always dream of that imaginary brother or sister who will be their protector, the buffer, the one to take the blows. I’m a firstborn, and Bob was the answer to my dreams. He was the big brother that all of us wish for.”