n Stephen Speilberg - the character first appeared in an episode of The Chevy Chase Mystery show in 1960. The character then popped up in a stage play, Diagnosis Murder which was also made into a TV Movie in 1968. From there it became a TV series, shown as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie.The show was unique for the time in that it was one of the early inverted whodunits. In other words we, the viewer, know who the killer is from the first reel and the rest of the story is spent watching the detective uncover the facts to solve the crime.
Columbo himself, played by Peter Falk, was a superb creation - a scruffy little slob who seemed to bumble from case to case, often overlooked by his own colleagues and underestimated by the criminals he seeks to catch. Beneath this uncouth, almost shambolic figure was a razor sharp mind and the eye of an eagle.
In one episode a killer asks Columbo what's his favourite wine and the detective answers, Coca-Cola. In another episode he is asked what his favourite kind of movies are and he snaps back, good ones.
The show was hugely popular (still is) all over Europe and Columbo has in the past been a ratings topper in the UK, Spain, France and Germany.
TRIVIA: The character of Columbo was first played by Bert Freed in the Chevy Chase Mystery Show and he was later played
by Thomas Mitchell ( pictured in character) in the stage show. But it was Peter Falk's version that really caught the public imagination.The clothes Columbo wore actually belonged to Peter Falk and came from his own wardrobe. He loved the battered raincoat
Although Columbo's first name was never given - the name Fredrick could be clearly seen on his warrant card in the episode, Dead Weight. But Falk claimed that in the original script for the pilot the detective's name was listed as Phillip. In 1984 Fred Worth, author of the Trivia Encyclopedia sued the makers of Trivial Pursuit who had the name Phillip down for the character as one of their entertainment questions. Apparently Worth had created the name Phillip to guard against future copyright infringement. The judge ruled in favour of the makers of Trivial Pursuit who admitted they had got the name from Worth's book but that there was nothing
improper in that.Original choices for Columbo before Falk stepped in were Bing Crosby and Lee J Cobb.
Columbo on the web - Go HERE for the definitive website
1 comment:
I wasn't an avid follower of Columbo, but the episodes I saw kept me glued to the box. Falk was a helluvan actor, although he never seemed to be acting.
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