Columbo

"Howcatchum".

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Lt. Columbo played by Peter Falk in the hit Tv series Columbo is probably one of the most iconic TV detectives of all time. Along with Kojak, McCloud, Monk, Magnum, Poirot, Morse and very few others, Columbo is a detective known by just one name, just as well as his given name is never revealed in the series.

Peter Falk first played the role of Lt. Columbo in 1968 when a two hour television movie broadcast on NBC as part of their Sunday eveing Mystery Movie feature. Initially veteran actors Lee J Cobb and Bing Crosby were considered for the role, the first was unavailable and the second turned it down. Peter Falk was not an obvious choice for the role, in 1968 he was considerably younger than the writers envisaged the character to be, it is a compliment to Peter Falks acting skill that he was able to pull it off to the satisfaction both of the public and the shows producers and writers. His youth clearly played in favour of the longevity of the show, as he literally grew into the role as he aged.

Columbo aired regularly on NBC from 1971 to 1978, and pioneered the "inverted detective story". We the audience know who the murderer is right from the start, and the story shows how, despite the perpertrators skill and good fortune, Columbo slowly but surely tracks him down and exposes him. The producers of the show described it as a "Howcatchum" rather than a "Whodunnit". Thanks to the length of each Columbo episode and the columbo TV movies the plot is shown from the murderers point of view, plenty of time is given to outline the complex natire of the crime. Columbo regularly does not appear until 30 minutes into the show.

Columbo came back onto US TV screens in 1989 on ABC and in 2003 the last show was broadcast. the show has been picked up by TV channels all over the world and has been seen by millions of people in dozens of differant languages. The show initially released on VHS and then DVD has sold in the millions all over the world, making Peter Falks character Columbo a Global icon.

The character of Lt. Columbo is in the tradition of the detective everyone underestimates, he is not an genius like Sherlock Holmes, more a Miss Marple or Father Brown, he is more Monk than a Kojak. He is scruffy (he always seems to wear a rain coat despite working in Los Angeles), he is apparently absentminded, hence is catch phrase uttered as he is leaving the room "Oh and one more thing") but he has a razor sharp mind and does not let any detail, however small, go by without being studied from every angle. Frankly is is a surprise that with his record of cases solved he is still a Lieutenant.

The great writing, the huge popular success and the time allowed for character development, all created a veritable waiting list of stars lining up to star in the show either  as  victims, murderers or in supporting roles, here is a list of a few of the stars who have played murderers:

Anthony Andrews, Richard Basehart, Ed Begley, Jr., Honor Blackman, Johnny Cash, John Cassavetes, Billy Connolly, Robert Conrad, Jackie Cooper, Robert Culp, Tyne Daly, Faye Dunaway, Dick Van Dyke, José Ferrer, George Hamilton, Laurence Harvey, Louis Jourdan,Martin Landau, Janet Leigh, Roddy McDowall, Patrick McGoohan, Ray Milland, Ricardo Montalban, Leonard Nimoy, Donald Pleasence, William Shatner, Rip Torn, Robert Vaughn and Nicol Williamson.

And here is a list of some of the stars who have played victims: Lola Albright, Sian Barbara Allen, Richard Anderson, Sorrell Booke, Barbara Colby, Anjanette Comer, Pat Crowley, John Dehner, Bradford Dillman, Greg Evigan, Joel Fabiani, Nina Foch, Anne Francis, Charles Frank, Will Geer, Leslie Nielsen, James Gregory, Deidre Hall, Wilfrid Hyde-White,  Ida Lupino,  Martin Sheen, Mickey Spillane, Dean Stockwell, Forrest Tucker, Robert Vaughn, and Lesley Ann Warren.

Other guest stars who have appeared in Columbo over the years are : Kim Cattrall, Jamie Lee Curtis, Samantha Eggar, Blythe Danner, Jeff Goldblum, Gena Rowlands,
Don Ameche, Robert Loggia, Myrna Loy, Patrick Macnee, Juliet Mills, Sal Mineo, Julie Newmar, Leslie Nielsen, John Payne, Vincent Price, Kate Reid, Madeleine Sherwood, Rod Steiger, David White, Jose Ferrer and Roddy McDowall.

Universal Playback released this month, the Columbo Complete Series Box Set - all 68 episodes including pilot episodes and Mrs Columbo. to get your copy click here