Content
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© Copyright 2023 Phillip Allan
All Rights Reserved
Contents
Introduction
The Facts
Introduction
Columbo is an iconic police procedural show which ran from 1968 to 2003. The show was very popular during its run, especially in the 1970s and remains very popular today throughout the world.
The show has a wonderful performance by Peter Falk as the dishevelled, eccentric but extremely able detective. The world depicted is colourful and often surreal with Columbo chasing murderers who are often rich and highly intelligent. Columbo has high production values, great writing, wonderful guest stars and many famous personalities involved in production.
Find out more about the world of Columbo with this book with information on the cast and crew, anecdotes, episodes, characters, locations, mistakes and other fascinating Columbo facts in this book.
The Facts
1
In Candidate for Crime (1973) the shadows of the microphone/boom can be shown on the front door when Mrs Haywood lets Columbo in for the first time.
2
Ed Asner was going to be cast as Colonel Rumford in By Dawn’s Early Light? (1974) but he pulled out. Patrick McGoohan took the role.
3
Peter Falk was a fan of the tune This Old Man and whistled it during filming Any Old Port in a Storm (1973) as an ad-lib. It became a part of the series and Columbo's theme tune.
4
In 2013 a Writers Guild of America list of the 101 Best Written TV Series included Columbo at 57.
5
The initial pilot episode of Columbo, titled Prescription: Murder, aired on February 20th 1968. The final installment of Columbo, titled Columbo Likes the Nightlife aired January 30th 2003. The show spanned 34 years.
6
In Butterfly in Shades of Grey (1994) Fielding Chase's mansion was located at 3469 Cross Creek Rd, Malibu, California, USA. The house was built in 1983 by Linda Thompson. It had nine bedrooms and eleven bathrooms. A railway linked the garden and house. The house changed hands several times since it was built and the site has been extensively renovated with the railway removed.
7
The quickest murder in the series is in Suitable for Framing (1971) occurring only about a minute into the episode.
8
Suitable for Framing (1971) has the only murder victim with no lines of dialogue.
9
In A Friend in Deed (1974) and Undercover (1994) the first murders occur before the episode begins.
10
In 1999, TV Guide magazine ranked Lt. Columbo No. 7 on a 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time poll.
11
Only 504 of Columbo's Peugeot 403 Cabriolet convertible car were made in 1959.
12
Peter Falk enjoyed the running gag in Now You see Him (1976) in which Columbo's wife had bought him a new raincoat which Columbo dislked. Columbo kept unsuccessfully trying to lose it.
13
In Old Fashioned Murder (1976) the Lytton Museum is located at Mount St. Mary's College, Doheny Mansion - 10 Chester Pl, Los Angeles, California, USA.
14
In a A Friend in Deed (1974) there was this interesting conversation about Columbo’s vintage Peugeot car:
“Charlie Shoup (used car salesman): Yes, indeed. It's a real honey. You know we don't get to see many of these around anymore - especially in this condition.
Columbo: Well, I try to take good care of it.”
15
Columbo normally drinks coffee black and strong. On occasion he drinks it with cream (milk).
16
For the second season of Columbo executives at NBC thought it would be a good idea to give Columbo a sidekick. Columbo creators Richard Levinson and William Link had the idea of a dog as a sidekick.
Peter Falk chose the basset hound at a dog pound.
17
The Carsini Winery in Any Old Port in a Storm is the Mirassou Winery in real life. This is situated at Mirassou Winery, 3000 Aborn Road, San Jose, California, USA.
18
For the role of Negative Reaction (1974) Omar Shariff was asked to play murderer Paul Galesko. But Shariff wanted the huge fee of $100,000! Dick Van Dyke played the role.
19
In Mind Over Mayhem the boy genius is called Stephen Spelberg. This is a tribute by episode writers Steven Bochco and Dean Hargrove to Steven Spielberg who directed Murder by the Book in 1971.
20
In Uneasy Lies the Crown (1990) Colombo states that he is cold as his coat "does not have a lining"!
21
The background music in the jewelry store in A Friend in Deed (1974) is "The End of a Love Affair" by Edward Redding.
22
John Finnegan (1926-2012) was a character actor who made thirteen appearances in the Columbo series. He appears in more episodes than any other of the supporting cast.
He had a wide variety of roles from Season One’s Blueprint For Murder (1971) to the last episode Columbo likes the Nightlife in 2003. He played various characters such as a workman and garbage collector. He had several parts as a police chief. In later Columbo's he played Barney of Barney's Beanery where Columbo ate his chilli.
He became close friends with Peter Falk at the Actors Studio in his native New York City.
23
The children's song "This Old Man" appears in almost every episode of the Columbo series, sometimes as background music, but most often with Lt. Columbo singing, humming, or whistling the tune. Candidate For Crime (1973) is the only episode where the murderer (Jackie Cooper as political candidate Nelson Hayward) is heard using it; in this case, he is whistling it as he prepares to film a campaign commercial.
24
Columbo's creators decided to not have Columbo at police headquarters at home when creating the series as "it seemed to us much more effective if he drifted into our stories from limbo."
Columbo was shown at police headquarters on occasion but we never see his home - or wife.
25
In season one of Columbo Peter Falk used his influence on casting tried to get bit parts for his actor friends such as Mike Lally. As the series progressed he realised that guest actors had an influence on the reputation of the show and his own performance. Falk therefore asked for big names to guest star in the series.
26
Show creators Richard Levinson and William Link stated that they did not give Columbo a first name and did not intend for him to have one. In the first script of season one a reference to Columbo's first name was removed by them.
.
27
Columbo is a fan of British fish and chips. In Dagger Of The Mind (1973), Columbo says to Supt. Durk by the Embankment in London: "Those fish and chips are greasy but they're sure good!"
28
Columbo creator Richard Levinson stated that Columbo's "one more thing" catchphrase was invented when he and William Link wrote the original stage play. A scene was too short and Columbo had exited the stage too early. Having him say "one more thing" was an easy way to get him back on state without having to rewrite lots of dialogue.
29
In the 1991 episode Death Hits the Jackpot (1991), Columbo reveals that he and his wife's silver wedding anniversary - 25th - is "coming up very soon". This would mean that Columbo married two years before the 1968 pilot Prescription: Murder.
30
A Trace of Murder (1997) was presented as a special episode to mark the 25th anniversary of Columbo. It was aired in 1997, 25 years after the first episode in Season One in 1971, and 29 years after the pilot Prescription: Murder in 1968.
31
Columbo is famous for his love of chilli con carne. This is a stew made up of meat chili peppers, garlic, tomato, onion and cumin. Pinto or kidney beans are added. Chili is Mexican or Texan in origin and there are many variations such as different meats, meat free, green chills and so forth.
32
The lake where negative reaction murderer Paul Galesko and Alvin Deschler meet inn Negative Reaction (1974) is the Hollywood Reservoir, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
33
The show has been described by the BBC as "timeless"
34
Theresa Goren's Malibu beach house in Murder in Malibu (1990) is the same house belonging to Joanna & Charles Clay in the Last Salute to the Commodore (1976) aired 15 years earlier.
The address is 33148 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA.
35
The episode Murder by the Book in 1971 was directed by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg never directed another episode and went on to be one of the most famous figures of all time in the film industry.
Spielberg said “I looked at every television episode I directed as a stepping stone to getting someone to hire me to direct a feature, So I used the television opportunities to try to do things that would make people think I could do feature films". He soon got the job of directing tv movie Duel because of the Columbo episode.
36
When the first season of Columbo was in production the original plan was for a new episode to air every week. An episode would have been shot every five days. Peter Falk did not want this as he made films and could not commit to this filming schedule for Columbo. Instead Columbo was shown once a month on a Wednesday.
37
In Agenda for Murder (1990) a piece of evidence implicating the murderer involves a bitemark on a piece of cheese. In 1999 doubts about forensic dentistry were raised. Since 2016 bite mark analysis has little support as evidence in legal cases.
38
The white house on the water in Dead Weigh (1971) that belongs to Maj. Gen. Hollister was, in real life, actually owned by Peter Falk, and is located in Newport Beach, California.
39
Peter Falk planned to make a final episode entitled Columbo's Last Case in the 2000's. But his failing health and lack of interest from tv networks meant it was not made.
40
Peter Falk added Columbo's cigar habit. In real life he was a cigarette smoker.
41
The quickest murder in the series is in Suitable for Framing (1971) occurring only about a minute into the episode.
42
The first episode filmed in the first series of Columbo was Death Lends a Hand (1971). It was the second episode aired in Season One.
43
For Season One, the producers Levinson and William Link carefully planned all the episodes. But as the show received great ratings Universal Studios asked for an extra episode for the season. Short Fuse (1972) became an extra episode and was filmed last. This episode was quickly put together and as a result many critics and fans believe it to the weakest in the first season of Columbo.
44
Murder by the Book (1971), the first episode of Season One of Columbo was ranked no 16 in a TV Guide poll of the 100 greatest tv episodes of all time conducted in 1997.
45
The theatre Frame and Stanhope perform Macbeth in in Dagger of the Mind (1972) is the Royal Court theatre in London. Situated in Sloane Square it is a Grade II listed building. The building opened in 1888. It is the home of the English Stage Company known for its contemporary plays.
46
Columbo's clothes were Peter Falk's. He purchased the famous raincoat and the crumpled suit and shoes were his.
47
Even though Anne Francis's character is killed after 15 minutes in A Stitch in Time she has second billing behind villain Leonard Nimoy.
48
Columbo's famous battered old car is a Peugeot 403. The car was in production from 1955 to 1966. The model Columbo drives is a 1959 Peugeot 403 Cabriolet convertible.
49
In Uneasy Lies the Crown (1990) John Roarke plays himself in a poker game. Impressionist, actor and voiceactor Roarke does impressions of: John Wayne, Woody Allen, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Jack Nicholson.
50
In 2012 a poll for Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time Columbo was rated number 3 of all time legal or cop shows.
51
In An Exercise In Fatality (1974), Columbo said of Mrs Columbo's weight: "She was always a happy woman but for
a while got depressed, thought she was getting too fat; she was binging on lasagna and rigatoni. But a TV exercise
show saved our marriage"
52
In the The Most Crucial Game (1972) Valerie Harper has top guest star billing, but does not appear until three quarters of the way in the episode.
53
Peter Falk said that the ideas for the professions of murders came from looking through the yellow pages. One time the yellow pages opened up at Magicians. And thus the idea for the magician murderer The Great Santini in Now You See Him (1976) came about.
54
Columbo is a real Italian name, but the name was changed to Colombo when shown in Italy.
55
Short Fuse (1972) was Peter Falk's least favorite of the first season's episodes.
56
Columbo's famous car is often depicted as as unreliable and in need of repairs. In reality this annoyed Peugeot as it showed their cars in a bad light.
57
The showing a short clip teaser of the episode at the very start started from Season Two.
58
In Uneasy Lies the Crown (1990) Columbo asks for cream (milk) in his coffee when at the home of the murderer. He normally has his coffee black
59
The producers William Link and Richard Levinson said that the inverted mystery format where the murder is shown at the start of the episode posed difficulties when writing numerous other episodes.
"We had no idea that it would become an eventual trap for us and for all of the other writers who would bang their heads against the wall of the inviolate "Columbo" format."
60
In Murder Under Glass (1978) Columbo states that his father was born in Italy.
61
During the filming of Dead Weight (1971) there were tensions between Peter Falk and the producers and studio Universal. Falk felt that Universal were not fulfilling their promise of letting Falk direct some episodes of Columbo. He left the set stating he was ill. Universal threatened to sue and Falk had to return. During Falk's absence scenes had been shot using a stand in for Falk, and the crew refused to reshoot scenes with Falk.
62
In Death Hits The Jackpot (1991) it is apparent that Columbo is celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary. He mentions it in discussions with colleagues and he shops for a present.
63
Season Six of Columbo which ran from October 10 1976 to May 22 1977 only has three episodes: Fade in to Murder (1976), Old Fashioned Murder (1976) and The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case (1977).
64
In The Conspirators (1978) none of the main four characters playing Irish people are from Ireland. Clive Revill (Joe Devlin) is from New Zealand. Jeanette Nolan (Kate O'Connell) is American. Bernard Behrens (GHeorge O'Connell) is from England. Michael Horton (Kerry Malone) is American.
65
In Now You See Him (1976) the scene where Columbo interviews a character called Lally played by Mike Lally in the boarding house was filmed months after the rest of the episode was filmed.
The plot twist featuring Lally as a witness who revealed Santini's identity had not been completed. Peter Falk wrote and directed the scene.
66
Robert Vaughn features in two Columbo episodes as Hayden Danziger in Troubled Waters (1975) and Charles Clay in Last Salute to the Commodore (1976).
Vaughn (1932 – 2016) had a distinguished career appearing in numerous television episodes as well as film and theatre. His most notable roles were as Napoleon Solo in the 1960s spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E and as Gunman Lee in The Magnificent Seven (1960). Although a respected actor he was a cult actor especially in his appearances in comedy action tv shows. Vaughn received a Ph.D. in communications from the University of Southern California in 1970.
67
When Columbo arrives at a crime scene he either has coffee in a flask or asks for some.
68
Peter Falk bought the famous Columbo raincoat for $15 in 1967.
69
Columbo first aired in Italy in 1977 and the character was renamed Colombo.
The voice of Peter Falk was dubbed by Gian Piero Albertini. After the death of Albertini after the episode Murder, a Self-portrait the dubbing was taken over by Antonio Guidi.
70
In An Exercise in Fatality (1974) Milo Janus, played by Robert Conrad, is 53 years old. Conrad was only aged 39 at the time.
71
Columbo Likes the Nightlife (2003) co stars Matthew Rhys and Peter Falk appeared together in the BBC Television adaptation of The Lost World in 2001. In The Lost World Peter Falk played an extremist religious character and murderer with Rhys as the hero.
72
In Playback (1975) Columbo stated has tried a portable tape dictaphone for his notes as he keeps losing his pencil. But he kept recording other dialogue by mistake - such as talking to his dog.
73
David Koenigauthor of 2021's book Shooting Columbo writes:
"The most important factor to Columbo’s success was the casting of Peter Falk. Yet each episode’s murderer often received as much—if not more—air time than the cop. So frequently casting just the right actor in the role could mean the difference between satisfactory and sensational [episode]. "
74
It's All in the Game (1993) is the second Columbo episode where the murderer tries to change Columbo's clothes. A tie is bought for Columbo which he wears in meetings with her.
In Requiem for a Falling Star (1973) the murderer also has a new tie bought for Columbo.
75
The interiors and stage for Now You See Him (1976) were filmed at The Magic Castle - 7000 Franklin Av Los Angelès, California, USA. The Magic Castle is located in Hollywood and a famous private club for magicians and fans of magic. It is the home of the Academy of Magical Arts. It was built in 1909 in a French chateau style and opened as The Magic Castle in 1963. The club is said to be haunted by the ghost of legendary escape artist Harry Houdini!
76
Peter Falk would improvise a lot of a scene and add ad libs. For example he would search for something in his coat pockets, or ask for a pencil. Columbo would talk about his wife and ramble on about random things to annoy the actor playing the suspect for the purposes of the scene.
77
Peter Falk rated Jack Cassidy highly as an actor. Cassidy appears in three episodes of Columbo turning in a wonderful performances as the villain: Murder by the Book (1971), Publish or Perish (1971) and Now You See Him (1976).
78
Troubled Waters (1975) stars Robert Vaughn and Patrick Macnee also appeared together in The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1983).
79
In The Most Crucial Game (1972) Columbo says Mrs Columbo complains that the ice cream man comes before dinnertime and spoils "the child's" appetite.
80
For the casting of Playback (1975) Peter Falk travelled to Switzerland to ask Oskar Werner to play the villain.
81
In Columbo Goes to the Guillotine (1989) a framed poster of the Amazing Randi is on Max Dyson's workshop. The Amazing Randi is James Randi, a magician who debunked psychics and magicians, especially those who were making money from their fraudulent magic. The character of Max Dyson is based on Randi and Dyson is also a debunker of phony psychics.
82
The United States Copyright Office maintains a list of literary works which have been registered for copyright purposes with many writings which have never been published. There are numerous unused Columbo episodes on file.
Columbo: News At Eleven
DATE REGISTERED: November 25, 1998
AUTHOR(s): Jones, Richard David, 1965-
Columbo : Now You See Him, Now You Don't
DATE REGISTERED: November 30, 1998
AUTHOR(s): DAngeli, Frank Paul, 1961-
Columbo : Help Yourself
DATE REGISTERED: June 08, 1998
AUTHOR(s): Goubet, Stephane Olivier, 1972-
Columbo : Murder By Suicide
DATE REGISTERED: March 13, 1998
AUTHOR(s): DAngeli, Frank Paul, 1961-
Columbo's Big Surprise : A Comedy/Murder In Three Acts / by Kitty Czarnelki
DATE REGISTERED: August 16, 1996
AUTHOR(s): Czarnecki, Kitty, 1959-
Columbo : A Deadly Opportunity
DATE REGISTERED: November 16, 1995
AUTHOR(s): VanderLugt, Christopher, 1972-
Columbo : The Conscience Of The King
DATE REGISTERED: October 27, 1994
AUTHOR(s): Carriere, Carolyn J., 1955-
Columbo : Don't Look A Gilt Horse In The Mouth
DATE REGISTERED: May 31, 1994
AUTHOR(s): Schleicher, Donna J., 1947-
Chemical Reaction : A Columbo Movie Of The Week / written by Catherine LaMoreaux and Lawrence Paone
DATE REGISTERED: March 11, 1991
AUTHOR(s): LaMoreaux, Catherine, 1959-; Paone, Lawrence, 1960-
Columbo in The Greatest Night In The History Of Fights
DATE REGISTERED: April 09, 1991
AUTHOR(s): Leventon, Leonard
Columbo : Take My Life, Please! / by Douglas Scott Williams
DATE REGISTERED: May 22, 1989
AUTHOR(s): Williams, Douglas Scott, 1972-
Columbo : Color Number Game
DATE REGISTERED: November 09, 1983
DATE OF CREATION: 1972
AUTHOR(s): Downey, John Thomas, 1929-; Downey, Richard Thomas, 1960-; Downey, Robert Michael, 1962-
“Why Can't I Be Like Lieutenant Columbo ?” [Musical work - Words and music by Tom Babcock]
DATE REGISTERED: August 31, 1979
DATE OF CREATION: 1979
AUTHOR(s): Babcock, Thomas Allan, 1954-
And finally, we find this intriguing entry in the records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office:
83
The construction site in Blueprint for Murder (1972) is of the Century City Plaza building and parking garage at 1801 Century
Imprint
Publisher: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Publication Date: 08-29-2023
ISBN: 978-3-7554-5138-9
All Rights Reserved