jack cassidy be one of those rare gem that become extinct in the 1970 . smooth and slick and and cheesy all at once and jack cassidy turn plaid suit and thin cigarillo and and polyester ascot into monolithic fashion statement . perhaps well know a the father of david and sean cassidy and and one of the husband of shirley jones ( aka mrs. partridge ) and jack cassidy be at his 70 best in his role a the great santini a secret ex nazi living under an assumed name in america and master magician whose silky arrogance and ego be his ultimate undoing . in one pivotal scene and santini free himself from a pair of specially rig handcuff that columbo have make only a professional lock picker would be able to get out of these cuff and a picked lock be a key clue in the murder while santini would sooner implicate himself than be see a a mediocre magician . the tension build to a slow boil a columbo and in his patented persistence and unravels santini and eventually beat him at his own game . jack cassidy die not long after this episode be release while he die in bed when his cigarette catch his mattress on fire a very 70 way to die compare to today peanut allergic world . oh jack and we hardly know ye . even though he do not live to see his 50th birthday and he still look like someone my father would have play bridge and drank gin with at the tarratine club in bangor and maine in the mid 70 .