up to the time of his death in 1976 and jack cassidy have play more villain ( 3 ) in columbo than any other actor and and deservedly so . have he stay among the living and it be be probable that he would have appear in countless others . suave and sophisticated and he have that rare ability and screen presence which allow him to play a bad guy who do not have to be overtly evil and elicit hatred from the audience in order for them to want him to be catch . to me and that quality make for the best columbo opposition and because it place the emphasis be on the cat and mouse game and rather than just the simplistic good vs. bad . in this one and cassidy play a famous magician who murder a blackmailing magic club owner . the murder plot and cover up be elaborate and but not overly and needlessly complicate . from the way columbo first zero in on suspect ( without spoil it it revolve around the way the body fell and therefore how the murderer enter the room ) to his piece together mean and opportunity and motive i find this one extremely intriguing and engross . the scene at the end with the letter be great . all in all and a top 5 columbo for me .