I Spy: A History and Episode Guide to the Groundbreaking Television Series
A History and Episode Guide to the Groundbreaking Television Series by Marc Cushman and Linda J. LaRosa (foreword by Robert Culp)
One of the most popular and award-winning television series of the sixties, I Spy was the first weekly broadcast to star both a white and a black actor. But in 1964, producer Sheldon Leonard had financed the show himself, and his idea for a racially integrated cast had earned his show the moniker "Sheldon's Folley."
Pairing established white actor Robert Culp with Bill Cosby, a black comedian with barely an acting credit to his name, troubled some executives at NBC, and many wondered whether affiliates in the South would ever air the show. Only two years later, Cosby accepted the Emmy for Best Leading Actor and I Spy cemented its role in history.
This is a complete history of I Spy and the profound change it evoked in broadcasting, social ideals, and racial equality. Rich with interviews and photographs, it discusses I Spy's unique approach to race, co-starring interracial actors as equals. It also describes how the show became the template for popular "buddy genre" shows and films that followed. It covers the show's significance as the first series to shoot episodes around the world and puts I Spy in context with other works within the spy genre at a time when spy books, shows, and films exploded in popularity. A complete episode guide includes writers, directors, cast, crew, plot synopses and commentary.
One of the most popular and award-winning television series of the sixties, I Spy was the first weekly broadcast to star both a white and a black actor. But in 1964, producer Sheldon Leonard had financed the show himself, and his idea for a racially integrated cast had earned his show the moniker "Sheldon's Folley."
Pairing established white actor Robert Culp with Bill Cosby, a black comedian with barely an acting credit to his name, troubled some executives at NBC, and many wondered whether affiliates in the South would ever air the show. Only two years later, Cosby accepted the Emmy for Best Leading Actor and I Spy cemented its role in history.
This is a complete history of I Spy and the profound change it evoked in broadcasting, social ideals, and racial equality. Rich with interviews and photographs, it discusses I Spy's unique approach to race, co-starring interracial actors as equals. It also describes how the show became the template for popular "buddy genre" shows and films that followed. It covers the show's significance as the first series to shoot episodes around the world and puts I Spy in context with other works within the spy genre at a time when spy books, shows, and films exploded in popularity. A complete episode guide includes writers, directors, cast, crew, plot synopses and commentary.
