When last we left Mr. Beardface ...



http://www.network54.com/Forum/172251/message/1226013569






We had just resolved his loyalties to the I SPY FORUM
- and that M.U.N.C.L.E. photo was just a fluke!





Well, as I've mentioned, we recently switched our cable service, and one of the channels we now receive airs the old MISSION:IMPOSSIBLEs. It has been lots of fun watching and recognizing ALL of the I SPY guest stars doing their thing over there .....

And Ummmm, Mr. Beardface ..... ????





Guess who was just on MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE tonight (conferring here with Dean Wormer of Faber College) and dealing with those nefarious IMF guys. And I don't mean the International Monetary Fund people, either (though some of them seem pretty nefarious, too). Moonlighting are we, Mr. Beardface??

And Jimmy, we can add Mr. Beardface (who sometimes goes under the alias of Will Kuluva) to our TRIPLE Plus SPY LIST!


http://www.network54.com/Forum/172251/message/1228952956


Not only did MBF grace the airwaves in I SPY, he was on MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE (4 times), the MAN from U.N.C.L.E. (3 times), and also visited THE WILD, WILD WEST. Our Mr. Beardface is one master spy who definitely gets around!


And as long as you have that LIST out ....


Here are 2 more we can add! (I was stuck at home today - and spent waayyy TOO much time on the computer, it seems. )


First, there's JACK CASSIDY (a.k.a. Evil Nicky in "The Trouble With Temple" - and as accomplished a COLUMBO murderer as our Bob.)





Besides I SPY, Mr. Cassidy was in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, GET SMART, and not the MAN from U.N.C.L.E. - but the GIRL from U.N.C.L.E. .... but we'll put him on the list anyway.


And the other TRIPLE Plus actor we've missed is NEHEMIAH PERSOFF (our own Coly Collisis in I SPY's "Rome Take Away 3" and Ropp in "Honorable Assassins").





The multi-talented Mr. Persoff was also on the MAN from U.N.C.L.E., MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (3 times), WILD, WILD WEST (3 times), and in STAR TREK (The Next Generation).





Happily, Mr. Persoff is still with us. He'll be celebrating his 90th birthday in August. He has become quite an accomplished painter, specializing in water colors.





Here are few websites about him, if you are interested.


Here's an interview with Nehemiah Persoff from "Films of the Golden Age" site ...


http://www.filmsofthegoldenage.com/articles/2008/07/14/current_issue/persoffnehemiah.txt


The link to his website of paintings is incorrect in the above article. Here's the correct one:


http://www.nehemiahpersoffpaintings.com


And another long, but very interesting interview with him from the always interesting "CinemaRetro" site.


http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/1797-EXCLUSIVE!-INTERVIEW-WITH-ACCLAIMED-ACTOR-NEHEMIAH-PERSOFF.html


and lastly his IMDB page - what an amazing legacy of work! Check out his filmography -
he truly has guest-starred on almost every show you can possibly think of, besides a numerous array of movies ....


http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0675490



Oh, and Mr. Beardface - as long as we have you here, I have a quick question for you.

When the very talented Jason Culp put up his website, he had a page about a book he was writing. If you are in touch with him, please ask him how it is going? Let him know we wish him the best of luck with this project and look forward to reading it someday. To say the least, it sounds fascinating. He definitely will have an audience here.



http://jasonculp.net/








All my best,

Tatia



~ ~

But what's happened to that audio book thingy with Culp and Nancy Kwan! Sure, the "Hard Rock Lovers" (or whatever it's called, it seems to have slipped out under a few titles) was pretty silly, but this one seems to promise a larger dose of Culp, so I'd buy the damn thing sight unseen if I could.

Now back to our regularly scheduled discussion of Jason Culp's book...

O.K. Jim - just for you!!


I just wrote to Paul Kyriazi, the author, producer, etc. of McKNIGHT's MEMORY Audiobook and asked how the project was going ...












And check these out, too:


http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/default.cfm?Action=ReleaseDetail&ID=18586


http://www.network54.com/Forum/172251/message/1167413570



Now, demure little Tatia was definitely "on guard" here ...





After all, this is the guy who also wrote "How To Live the James Bond Lifestyle" and "The Best Way to Pick Up a Girl" (that one was on some Russian mail order bride site -- see what checking on Google will get 'ya! ).


Well, he just wrote back ....


Hi Tatia,

Your email came at a good time, as I've made the decision to start McKnight's Memory with a downloading company, so it can go direct to IPODs and such, but there will also be CDs available.

My planned release is for this summer, like July 1st.

I will let you know the link for the downloads and the place to get the CDs.

Robert Culp plays the lead of McKnight in the story. It's really something.

In Ernest Borgnine's recent book he called Robert Culp 'a national treasure'.

And I will write you as soon as the show becomes available. Fans of Mr. Culp will love it.

Paul



O.K. then - I'll let you know more, when I know more.


As always,

Information R Us Tatia



~ ~

Here's what Ernest Borgnine has to say about our hero:

"Hannie Caulder gave me a chance to work with one of the great western directors, Burt Kennedy, who had made hits like The War Wagon and Support Your Local Sheriff. This one starred Raquel Welch, Robert Culp, Jack Elam, Strother Martin, Christopher Lee, Diana Dors, and me. I'm the oldest of three brothers who come into a little town, mess up a robbery, and end up hiding at a little horse ranch where they discover Raquel Welch and her husband. We kill him, rape her, then get picked off one by one after a bounty hunter, played by Robert Culp, teaches her how to shoot.

"Despite the rough subject matter, we all had fun on that picture. Raquel was--and still is--a breathtaking beauty, and she had great natural instincts. The actor who really shines, though, is Bob Culp. This guy is one of our great national treasures. Watch anything he ever does, whether it's Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice or I Spy on TV or a western like this. He's convincing in everything because, like Gary Cooper, he's one of the great listening actors of all time. I wish had half of whatever he's got."

Must be gratifying for Culp to hear himself compared to Gary Cooper, one of his heroes. (You may recall he has a black cowboy hat that once belonged to Cooper.)

Regards--

What quick service! See what a little ranting will do!

Hmm, I don't really have high hopes for this per se, but any late day Culp performance that's more than a walk-on I will readily devour.

These are nice additions to our triple, quadruple and quintuple threat actors Tatia. I guess we need to add another TV series to open up the possibility of a sextuple threat, though that category may be misconstrued.

I read both the Nehemiah Persoff interviews. He is classy, articulate and has a good memory. That in itself makes him a triple threat. It's a shame that the Archive of American Television hasn't interviewed him. At least, he doesn't appear on their list. Seeing that makeup he wore for Star Trek TNG, I fully understand why he gave up acting for painting! It's certainly more dignified!

And, B-L, thanks for passing along the Ernest Borgnine quote. I saw him interviewed recently on Turner Classic Movies by Robert Osborne and he had praise for several of his colleagues. He was promoting this very book. I believe, like Mr. Persoff, he is a nonagenarian.

And finally, I watched most of the Laura Devon Fugitive episode ("The Chinese Sunset") and the entire Jean Marsh Twilight Zone episode ("The Lonely") which Tatia provided links for. Both of these performances are worthy of favorable comparison with their I Spy appearances and add to their legacies, in my mind at least.

Jimmy

As it happens, I will be seeing Jason this weekend in New York. His book, a mammoth literary exploration of his childhood and
growing up - is I believe, nearing its initial completion. Then, however, will begin a lengthy re-writing period. I can't say when it
will be done, or available - but I do know he is working on it diligently.

I read some early sections and found them moving, inspiring, funny and personal. When it is finished, it will be an extraordinary piece of work - but I can't say when that will be.

However, my own book, "The Beardface Chronicles", will be coming out shortly.

I kid, of course.

I will, as always, pass on the Forum's regards to him.

I remain, as always,

Yours,

MBF

Mr. Beardface wrote:

However, my own book, "The Beardface Chronicles", will be coming out shortly.

I kid, of course.



Well now, MBF ....


I think, perhaps, you might want to re-think this!!



I can just see it now.














.... and then just think about the MOVIE it would make!!!







Definitely, something to think about!!


As always,

Tatia




~ ~

I'll see anything with Russell Johnson in it! I even sat through HITCHIKE TO HELL (don't ask!)

Well Tatia, I was just joking before...

But now that I've seen your marketing campaign...

I might need to write the book!!!

Funny stuff...

MBF