[BlindJustice]

The '60s TV drama, I Spy, starred Bob Culp and Bill Cosby
as agents - I seem to recall one carried a revolver & the
other a Colt Commander. Is that right? I think it
was Cosby who had the Cmdr. It always struck me as a
bit odd that agents who worked together would have different
handguns.

[rcmodel]

Hint!

They weren't really Agents, they were Actors. :D

They carried whatever the director wanted them to carry.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3242499328/tt0058816

rcmodel

[BlindJustice]

well, duh, hey they're coming out with a DVD of
the series, there were 82 episodes in it's 3 seasons.
I Spy was unique in that it didn't have the gadgetry of
Man from U.N.C.L.E. and others cashing in on the
popularity of the Bond films.

[GEM]

So a Commander and shorter barrel P38?

It's always 9 vs 45!

[Pilot]

So a Commander and shorter barrel P38?

It's always 9 vs 45!

Ha! Yeah, they used the P-38 on Man From U.N.C.L.E. also.

[The Bushmaster]

I really think it's a good thing when the "under gun" an actor...

[DougDubya]

Cosby's Commander was 9mm.

[BlindJustice]

Cool, I thought Cosby had the Commander. I recall as a 14 year old watching the first episodes I had to get used to
Bill in a serious role. I think he did well. I did a Google and
found out a lot about I Spy - a lot of the audience enjoyed
the banter between the two - Culp and Cosby many times
re-wrote lines or ad-libbed. I think it would have made sense
to have the 9mm Commander since they were traveling around
the globe.

[Phil DeGraves]

The Commander was 9mm so it would function with hollywood blanks. Same reason Gary Cooper has a Luger instead of a 1911 in Seargent York. It had nothing to do with the logistics of the character, just the functioning of the gun during filming.

[DougDubya]

Phil - just don't forget that the ORIGINAL format of the Colt Commander was to be our first 9mm service pistol - way back in the 1950's.

The .45 ACP version came when that effort fell through.

[Murdock]

It had nothing to do with the logistics of the character, just the functioning of the gun during filming.

Yup. Magnum, PI's 1911 was also a 9mm, for the same reason.

[dagger dog]

It's kind of hard to depict Bill Cosby with any thing other than a bottle of COKE, or a box of JELLO in his hands!

[GEM]

You always knew that Cosby character was smarter than the Culp character but forced to be second banana, like Spock to Kirk.

Fun show.

[Tom Fury]

I seem to remember Culp being a fan of the ASP; I think I saw him with one in I SPY, and definitely later in Greatest American Hero his character carried some sort of custom Smith...
Cheers,
TF

[Cliff47]

While Bill Cosby did carry a 1911 Commander, there are also scenes where he uses a S&W model 39. Robert Culp stuck with the P-38k variant through the entire series, if memory serves. In the reunion movie, "I Spy Returns", Cosby is sporting a S&W J-frame, and Culp has moved on to a H&K of some sort (did not get that good a look).

[burneggroll]

In the television series I Spy (1964-1968)

Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp) carries a Walther P38K "compact" throughout the series.
The M1911A1 (a catch-all term for several manufacturers) is used by both Alexander Scott (Bill Cosby) and Kelly Robinson in several episodes of the series.

See the Internet Firearms Database.
http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/I_Spy_%28TV_Series%29

[dev_null]

IMFDB is useful -- and lots of fun.

http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/I_Spy_%28TV_Series%29