What do folks think of Robert Culp's view of the older Kelly either being an alcoholic, or being a "kept" man, who has to have the alcohol hidden away from him? I'm sure you are all familiar with Culp's quote along those lines.
While we can all acknowledge there exists some dark, depressive aspects in Kelly's personality and do see his regular alcohol ingestion in the show, I do not wholly agree with Culp that Kelly's fate faces such a dire predicament, unless, somehow, some neglect on his behalf led to Scotty's death, say. Otherwise, to be honest, I greatly dislike the pessimistic view of Kelly Culp has regarding his character's future. I know Culp has a fixation on the dismal side of heroic humanity, but do we fans agree with him?
What do others feel about Kelly in the future? Is the view of him in the "I Spy Returns" TV movie more along the lines of thought? I liked the Kelly in that show and felt it portrayed a reasonable view of older Kelly. It certainly was a much more delightful view of him than Culp's!
Whatever the future would hold for Kelly, I don't see it being so rosy; the only mild enough respect for authority he holds through the show (and increasing cynicism in later episodes that he, heh heh, wrote such as HOME FOR JUDGEMENT) makes me think he would not be a career ladder-climbing type in the service. The one thing he would never have would be a corner office -- that was as "Sheldon Leonard" as it gets (as a traveling tennis bum, it was clear agent or no the 9-5 life wasn't his)...also, while he professed love for a lot of women who luckily died or turned out to be communist agents, I don't see him settling into anything like a long-term relationship. Indeed, I would see him going on as long as Scotty was around, and when/if Scotty would quit first (which he would do, I found his development in the tv movie plausible enough), at best I could see him using his tennis bum status to hook up with a wealthy woman and live out his years in wealth and travel, probably cheating a lot. Either that or completely melting down and selling rugs in a little shop in Mexico.
Most interesting posting, Mona!! I had always thought Bob's comment about Kelly in that interview was done "tongue-in-check." Earlier both Robert Vaughn and Culp claimed that "Sean Connery" would be the best choice to play them (though Vaughn's first choice was Ellen Degeneres).
Here's the whole article called WRY SPIES. It came out in TV Guide when Dick Van Dyke's DIAGNOSIS MURDER did a spy reunion show called "Discards" - with Culp, Vaughn, Barbara Bain, Patrick McNee, and Phil Morris (Greg Morris's son). The show was very well put together. To read an excellent article about this show, follow the link at the bottom of the WRY SPIES page. The premise of the story is about an older, very Kelly-like character (Dane Travis) who must deal with the repercussions and guilt of killing his partner (who sounds very Scotty-like) in an operation that went wrong many years earlier. Someone is now trying to kill Dane, who has been relegated these days to being a paper-pusher in a government office. The story very neatly ties in all the old spy characters - who appear very similar to their earlier incarnations. Barbara Bain even gets to use the name Cinnamon Carter, though the others have been assigned new names for this outing. Lots of twists, turns, revelations, and a "Trojan Horse" plus some action and humor, add psychological and emotional elements to this well-done story.
But ... I think I have to agree with Jim here, Mona. Kelly had a very deep, dark side to him .... and if Scotty's presence was ever absent in his life (for whatever reason), I think our Mr. Robinson would easily fall down Alice's rabbit hole and not land too well. The drinking and the womanizing were Kelly's way of escaping the pressures of, and dealing with, the reality of his life-and-death profession. It was a large part of his emotional and internal make-up. Scotty, who was in the same "spy business," didn't ever handle the stress in the same way. As Jim mentioned, if Scotty was around to help Kelly keep on track - all would be well. Scotty always provided "balance" and kept Kelly from falling into his darker self.
Here a small excerpt from John Tiger's “SuperKill” No. 3, Popular Library 1967 - which I think captures Kelly perfectly.
~~~~~
“Do you spend much of your time in sewers, Mr. Robinson?”
“About half my life,” he replied with sudden harshness. “That’s the nature of my work. Global garbage man and international Roto-Rooter expert.”
She could see he was serious, and for a moment she wondered exactly how amusing and glamorous the life of espionage really was. She’d seen all the movies, but something bitter in the tennis bum’s voice told her that every one of those slick multi-million dollar productions was a lie. Without the wisecracks and free loving starlets scattered through the scripts ... they would be taut and ugly.
And frightening.
“Yes, dirty and scary,” he confirmed - reading the thought in her face. “That’s what all the smart talk is about, Miss Fitzgerald.”
“I’m not afraid with you,” she confided.
“You don’t have to be - I’m scared enough for both of us.”
~~~~~
Kelly often responded, when confronted with the death of a colleague, with lines like "that's what we are paid for" or "they knew that going in" and "that's why they issue us insurance policies" ... the constant thought that each day, each assignment could be their last. Kelly's deep, dark side was thankfully counteracted by Scotty's presence, his camaraderie, and his humor.
As to how Kelly would end up ..... I agree, that he would not be sitting in a button-down government corner office, as suggested in "I SPY RETURNS." Kelly was way too much of a maverick and rogue, and his dealings with authority and superiors were always right on the edge. These particular traits are not a great plus for job advancement in the government hierarchy. Perhaps he might end up free-lancing as a "security consultant/advisor" on international dealings - some type of job where he could use his "agent" expertise, but use it on his own terms.
Besides DIAGNOSIS MURDER'S "Discards," Culp was in 2 other shows in the 1990s where he played an older, a bit worn, but still sophisticated Kelly persona, who was in fact a free-lancing "security/consultant." This type of character came across very well. One was in the action film "Mercenary" which starred a strangely miscast John Ritter along with Martin Kove and Olivier Gruner - a very Jean-Claude Van Damme kind of guy. I can't say much positive about "Mercenary," except that it is worth watching just to see Culp's older Kelly-like character. The other was in a show called VIPER (yes, the super-car one) in the episode "Cold Warriors." This wasn't stellar, but again well worth watching to see Culp's portrayal of an "older Kelly-type" character.
Of course, as Jim and Culp both suggested, Kelly might have ended up "as an aging tennis bum and/or kept man" for some wealthy jet-setting widow. I also agree that a long-term permanent relationship (meaning wife, kids, dog, and crabgrass in the suburbs) would not be a likely scenario for our Kel, especially if he never came to terms with his own demons and continued to find solace in a bottle.
Hopefully Scotty would always be a presence in Kelly's life - much like the reality of Culp's and Cosby's ageless friendship. (That was one of many brainless things found in the "I SPY RETURNS" script - that Scotty and Kelly hadn't seen each other in over 25 years - they just sent Christmas cards to each other ... ????)
And as to Jim's suggestion that Kelly might possibly just end up " completely melting down and selling rugs in a little shop in Mexico".... Well Jim, that brings to mind that strange license plate I saw 2 days in a row, parked in front of a store in the center of Taxco last year.
The car was parked just to the left of these stores in these THEN & NOW photos ... a marketplace Kelly was certainly familiar with in his travels there ... so who knows??
As always,
Tatia
Thanks again Mona for starting a great thread ... any more opinions out there?
No need to speculate, I know exactly what happened to Kelly! He left the spy business, moved to Arizona, and married me - the difference in our ages notwithstanding, of course
Seriously, I think that living out of a suitcase is okay in your 20s and 30s, but as Kelly approached 40, he would have gotten tired of the grind. Perhaps more importantly, he would have eventually yielded to his growing cynicism with his role as a spy and particularly with his superiors. Scenarios like the one in "A Room with a Rack", where the agency allowed him to be tortured to protect a worthless "secret", or "Home to Judgment", where the agency left Kelly and Scotty defenseless against a band of ruthless killers after a "blown" assignment, would prompt Kelly to leave the service and never look back. Aside from the mental and emotional fatigue, the physical demands of the job would surely take their toll on Kelly as the years passed. We know that at one time he was picked up by Scotty after an assignment sounding like "a bag of broken glass" - and the many broken bones, stab wounds, druggings, etc., would make it increasingly difficult for a more mature Kelly to perform his job.
I think we got a glimpse into the post-spy Kelly lifestyle in "The Lotus Eater" when he "came in from the cold," alebit under the influence of hallucinogens ... hanging out with a beautiful girl on a beautiful island, soaking up the sun, fishing during the day and partying all night.
But even that would eventually wear thin, and at some point Kelly would want to settle down and have a couple of kids - though he probably would not remain faithful to his wife. Perhaps in his later years he would have been more like his character on "Everybody Loves Raymond", a convivial globetrotter, visiting exotic locales, sampling the local cuisine, picking up the native lingo and collecting travel mementos - still a bit of a tippler and womanizer, but not to the same degree as in his younger days.
Of course, I have no idea what Kelly really would have done, but it is fun to consider the possibilities. On the other hand, Tatia's license plate photograph may have already provided the answer
Becca
This message has been edited by moftap from IP address 207.200.116.197 on Aug 14, 2007 10:02 PM
I've very much enjoyed reading points of view on this topic of the future Kelly. I guess I am a little surprised that it seems the majority have in their minds a dismal future for Kelly, believing that his problems with alcohol and women overcome him and take over his life, bringing it to ruin, once he leaves the field.
I guess subjects like this really allow one's mind to leap off into the fantasy realm and create numerous plot lines. To be honest, Culp's own view has to be respected, but his focus has always been, and probably always will be, on the bleak side when it comes to his view of heroes and their flawed and troubled lives. So, I take his point of view with a grain of salt.
I am not wholly ready to assign Kelly to a wasted life. I guess there are so many possibilities as to what could have happened to him, it's hard for me to leap onto the most depressive scenario.
Did Scotty leave the spy biz or was Scotty killed? If Scotty left the spy biz, which I'd like to believe more than he died, I cannot fathom him and Kelly losing their connection. After all, Kelly would by no means wish to lose his adopted mom in Philadelphia! I think that aspect of the future is impossible to believe. With Scotty still in his life, there is more chance Kelly would have some solidity on which to remain strong.
Also, he MIGHT like his new partner as much as Scotty. It is possible to conceive.
I do think he would definitely grow tired of spying with its violence, betrayal, injuries and ugliness. Becca said he wasn't a tennis pro, but that's inaccurate, given he was a Davis Cup winner and was on the pro circuit. I don't know what he'd do, true, if he left spying, but I do wonder what would happen if, finally, one of those women, perhaps one he truly did have real affection for, got pregnant. It was bound to happen at some point, one would think, given his promiscuity.
I guess I'm a sentimentalist or a romantic or maybe just living in a Kelly dreamworld, but I wonder if the thought of having a child, (which we know he talked about regularly to Scotty, his son being an astronaut), would be enough to settle him down into some job--perhaps that security consultant flying around to various companies, etc, throughout the world--and a happy family life.
Who knows? I guess none of us, but personally, I'm not ready to give up entirely on Kelly yet.
Perhaps I should have said he wasn't "just" a tennis pro or wasn't "primarily" a tennis pro. In my view, tennis was his cover, not his main avocation. Much in the same way that Scotty would not have fallen back on being an athletic trainer if he left the spy business, I can't fathom Kelly falling back on tennis when he left
Oh, I agree with you there, Becca. He would not go back to being a tennis instructor, and of course would be too old to play professionally himself. No, he would need another line of work altogether.
Well ..... about the idea of Kelly ending up as a tennis pro ..... that is exactly what he thought about doing in "One Thousand Fine." He was going to give up his present employment to be with Jean in Ohio, find a job at a country club, and fight the good fight against the crabgrass in suburbia.
Of course, he never did it - and Scotty didn't expect him to either! He just waited in the jeep for Kelly to turn-around and come back. Scotty had already torn up Kelly's resignaton later, knowing this would not come to be.
And as someone pointed out, Kelly WAS a Davis Cup winner ... and from "A Gift from Alexander, we also know that Mr. Robinson won 3rd place in the “Playgirl” vote to determine the man most likely to tempt respectable women into scandal and disgrace, AND in 1965 he won the Silver Laurel of the Lolita Society of No. America.
Certainly "accomplishments" he would have relied on if he was no longer in "the Spy business" ....
But I don't think Kelly even knew "what" he would do when his spying days were over.
When Tatia asks him:
TATIA: Have you ... ever thought about giving up tennis? Settling down?
He replies:
KELLY: Oh, I suppose everybody has. I don't know what I'd do with myself.
So we can all (including Mr. Culp) continue to speculate about Kelly's fate .... any other ideas??
Were I writing the I SPY reunion show, I always pictured Kelly as the tennis pro for a west coast resort. He of course specializes in giving lessons to the ladies, shmoozing with the ladies, and availing himself of free drinks provided to him by the establishment.
After one such "tennis lesson" Kelly is unexpectedly approached by Russ Conway whom he has not seen in quite some time. Conway is very persuasive that Kelly reunite with his former partner, because something has evolved and the secret rests with a past (Asian assignment) that they were part of many years before.
Scott on the other hand is a language professor at an ivy league college.
We find him (in a three-piece-suit) in the lecture hall, outlining what the students will need to know for the final exam. He concludes by asking, "now, are there any questions." From the back of the hall a hand is raised, "Yes sir, will the final be subjective or objective?" Kelly of course asks the question.
That's a GREAT idea; having Kelly show up in one of Scotty's classes!
Of course, it seems several us believe that Kelly and Scotty would have stayed in touch, even after their spy partnership was over. Still, Herbies, that's a wonderful scene idea.
