Columbo is an American detective mystery television film series (1968-1978, 1989-2003), starring Peter Falk as Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.[2][3] The character and television show were created by William Link and Richard Levinson. The show popularized the inverted detective story format. Almost every episode began by showing the commission of the crime and its perpetrator. The series has no "whodunit" element. The plot mainly revolves around how the perpetrator, whose identity is already known to the audience, will finally be caught and exposed.

The title character is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective (of Italian descent) who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Most people are initially reassured and distracted by his circumstantial speech, then increasingly irritated by his pestering behavior. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach, though apparent to the viewer, often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.

The episodes are all movie-length, between 73 and 100 minutes long. The series was once broadcast on over 80 networks, spanning 44 countries. In 1997, "Murder by the Book" was ranked No. 16 on TV Guide'100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[4] and in 1999, the magazine ranked Lt. Columbo No. 7 on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time list.[5] In 2012, the program was chosen as the third best cop or legal show on Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time.[6] In 2013 TV Guide included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time.[7] In 2013, Writers Guild of America ranked it No. 57 in the list of 101 Best Written TV Series.[8]


 [hide*1 Series format

Series format[edit]Edit

The series reversed the format of the standard whodunit mystery and in almost all of the episodes of Columbo, the audience sees the crime unfold at the beginning and knows the identity of the culprit. The objective is to observe the way Columbo finds and follows the clues that will lead him to the solution, and to enjoy the tricks he will use to obtain a confession. This allows the story to unfold simultaneously from the point of view of Columbo and the murderer as they play cat and mouse. Describing the character, Variety columnist Howard Prouty wrote that "The joy of all this is watching Columbo disassemble the fiendishly clever cover stories of the loathsome rats who consider themselves his better."[9]

In some episodes, such as the original film Prescription: Murder, Columbo does not appear until halfway through the episode. A Columbo mystery tends to be driven by the characters. The audience observes the criminal's reaction to the ongoing investigation, and to the increasingly intrusive presence of Columbo. As a distraction, Columbo is generally polite to the suspects as the investigation proceeds.

Class tension is often apparent between Columbo – with his seemingly humble, working class origins – and the killer, who is usually affluent, well-positioned and condescending. The killer's arrogance and dismissive attitude help Columbo with his investigation, as he manipulates his suspects into self-incrimination. With the final arrest, the killer always goes quietly. In some instances, such as Ruth Gordon's avenging mystery writer in "Try and Catch Me", Janet Leigh's terminally ill actress in "Forgotten Lady", or Donald Pleasence's vintner in "Any Old Port in a Storm", the killer is more sympathetic than the victim or victims.[10]

There were very few attempts to deceive the viewer or to provide a twist in the tale although in "Last Salute to the Commodore", Robert Vaughn is seen elaborately disposing of a body but is proved later to be covering for his alcoholic wife who he mistakenly thought to be the murderer.[citation needed]

Development and actors who played Columbo[edit]Edit


The character first appeared in a 1960 episode of the television-anthology series The Chevy Mystery Show, which was itself partly derived from a short story by Levinson and Link, originally published in an issue of the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as "Dear Corpus Delicti". Levinson and Link adapted the TV drama into the stage play Prescription: Murder, and a TV-movie based on the play was broadcast in 1968. The series began on a Wednesday presentation of the "NBC Mystery Movie" rotation: McCloudMcMillan & Wife, and other whodunits. According to TV Guide, the original plan was that a new Columbo episode would air every week, but as a motion picture star, Peter Falk refused to commit to such an arduous schedule, which would have meant shooting an episode every 5 days. The high quality of ColumboMcMillan & Wife, and McCloud was partly due to the extra time they could spend on each episode. The term Wheel show was coined to describe this format, and additional such series were attempted by NBC, but the astounding success of the NBC Mystery Movie series was not repeated, and the term is now considered archaic. After one season, the series moved as a group to Sundays. Columbo aired regularly from 1971–78 on NBC, and then less frequently on ABC beginning in 1989. The final episode was broadcast in 2003.[12]

The first actor to portray Columbo, Bert Freed, was a stocky character actor with a thatch of grey hair. The teleplay in which he starred, Enough Rope, was adapted by Levinson and Link from their short story "May I Come In" (been published as "Dear Corpus Delicti" and which had no Columbo character[13] ). Freed wore a rumpled suit and smoked a cigar to play Columbo, but played the part with few of the familiar Columbo mannerisms. However, the character is still recognizably Columbo, and uses some of the same methods of misdirecting/distracting his suspects. During the course of the show, the increasingly frightened murderer brings pressure from the district attorney's office to have Columbo taken off the case, but the detective fights back with his own contacts. Although Freed received third billing, he wound up with almost as much screen time as the killer. Columbo appeared immediately after the first commercial. This teleplay is available for viewing in the archives of the Paley Center for Media in New York City and Los Angeles.



The popularity of the second film prompted the creation of a regular series on NBC, that premiered in the fall of 1971 as part of the wheel series NBC Mystery Movie. The network arranged for the Columbo segments to air once a month on Wednesday nights. Columbo was an immediate hit in the Nielsen ratings and Falk won an Emmy Award for his role in the show's first season. In its second year the Mystery Movie series was moved to Sunday nights, where it then remained during its seven-season run. The show became the anchor of NBC's Sunday night line up. After its cancellation by NBC in 1978 Columbo was revived on ABC between 1989 and 2003 in several new seasons and a few made-for-TV movie "specials".[citation needed]


A few years prior to his death, Falk had expressed interest in returning to the role. In 2007 he claimed he had chosen a script for one last Columbo episode, Columbo: Hear No Evil. The script was renamed Columbo's Last Case. ABC declined the project. In response, producers for the series announced that they were attempting to shop the project to foreign production companies.[16][17] However, Falk was diagnosed with dementia in late 2007.[18] During a 2009 court trial over Falk's care, Dr Stephen Read stated that the actor's condition had deteriorated so badly that Falk could no longer remember playing a character named Columbo, nor could he identify who Columbo was.[18] Falk died on June 23, 2011, aged 83.

Character profile[edit]Edit


Peter Falk as Columbo c. 1973

First appearance "Enough Rope"


Last appearance "Columbo Likes the Nightlife"


Created by Richard Levinson

William Link

Portrayed by Bert Freed (1960)

Thomas Mitchell (1962) Peter Falk (1968–2003)

Catchphrases —"Just one more thing"

—"There's something that bothers me" —"One more question" —"My wife..." —"What Did You Pay For Those Shoes?"[19]

Occupation Lieutenant (police)
Nationality American


Over the years, the chatty Columbo would let slip many details about his personal life in conversations with suspects. However, in the episode "Dead Weight" Columbo more-or-less admits that he will sometimes make up certain details about his life and/or his relatives (or even make up fictional relatives) in order to establish a better rapport with a suspect. So some of the following biographical details may be exaggerated or otherwise inaccurate, particularly those concerning his family life -- although there's no way to tell which details aren't accurate, or how inaccurate they may be.






Columbo rarely carries a gun, and is never shown to exercise much physical force; in some episodes he allows himself to be placed in a predicament in which the killer believes he or she will be able to kill Columbo and escape. In the 1975 episode "Forgotten Lady" it is revealed that he doesn't carry his gun, explaining that he keeps it "downtown". Columbo has failed to attend his required semi-annual evaluation at the department's firing range. When an Internal Affairs sergeant threatens to ask for his badge because of this, Columbo pays a colleague to take the test for him. He does carry a gun for his work in 1992's "No Time to Die"[20] and 1994's "Undercover"[21] (even threatening someone with it in the latter), both of which are based onEd McBain novels.[20]


As per Season 5 episode "Identity Crisis", Columbo clearly speaks fluent Italian, which he demonstrates again later on in "Murder Under Glass".




Columbo appears to be prone to airsickness[22] and seasickness,[23] and he cannot swim, though he has been known to row a boat.[24] In "Dead Weight", when General Hollister (Eddie Albert) comments on Columbo's seasickness by asking why someone with the name "Columbo" would not be at home on a boat, the detective responds, "It must have been another branch of the family." In other episodes, Columbo does claim that his family has a tradition of being descended from Columbus.






In 'Sex and the Married Detective', Columbo is put on the spot when he is asked to play the Tuba. Reluctantly he agrees, only to demonstrate great proficiency. He subsequently claimed that at school, the tuba was the only instrument left.

First name[edit]Edit

[2][3]Columbo's LAPD ID card and badge with the name Frank Columbo in the episode "Dead Weight".



Several sources cite the lieutenant's name as "Philip Columbo". Columbo's first name Philip was conceived by Fred L. Worth. In Worth's book, The Trivia Encyclopedia, the fictitious entryabout Columbo's first name was actually a "copyright trap" – a deliberately false statement intended to reveal subsequent copyright infringement.[26] When his false information was later included as one of the questions in the board game Trivial Pursuit, he filed a $300 million lawsuit. The publishers of Trivial Pursuit did acknowledge that Worth's books were among their sources, but argued that this was not improper, and that facts are not protected by copyright. In addition, they used multiple resources to compile the questions for their game instead of plagiarizing just one source. The district court judge agreed, ruling in favor of the Trivial Pursuit publishers. The decision was appealed, and in September 1987 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the ruling.[27] Worth asked the Supreme Court of the United States to review the case, but the Court declined, denying certiorari in March 1988.[28]







Columbo was born and raised in New York City in a neighborhood near Chinatown. In the episode Murder Under Glass, he says that he ate more egg rolls than cannelloni during his childhood. He is Italian on both sides. The Columbo household included his grandfather, parents, five brothers (one named George), and a sister (Rose). His father wore glasses and did the cooking when his mother was in the hospital having another baby. His grandfather "was a tailgunner on a beer truck during Prohibition" and let him stomp the grapes when they made wine in the cellar. His father, who never earned more than $5,000 a year and bought only one new car in his life, taught him how to play pool, at which Columbo excels in episode How to Dial a Murder.


Columbo frequently mentions his wife. During the first few seasons of the series it was widely believed in Hollywood that the character actually had no wife. However, in A Stitch in Crime (1972) Columbo tells only his fellow officers, when he first arrives on the scene, that his wife has some kind of flu. He explains he had been up all night caring for her and also has the flu as a result. In the episode Troubled Waters (1975) other characters describe meeting and speaking to Mrs. Columbo while they are on a cruise ship, although she remains unseen.

In three other episodes (An Exercise in FatalityAny Old Port in a Storm and Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo), Columbo is seen talking on the telephone with his wife. In Identity Crisis, murderer Nelson Brenner (Patrick McGoohan) bugs Columbo's home and learns Mrs. Columbo's favorite piece of music is Madama Butterfly from Giacomo Puccini. Columbo tells Brenner he is glad his wife does not know about the bugging. In A Matter of Honor, Columbo tells his Mexican colleague (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.) that his wife has left Mexico in order to attend the 10th anniversary celebration of Columbo's cousin, Vito. Columbo explains that his wife is very sensitive about such things, and implies that she is deeply caring about family.


Columbo has children but no details were ever disclosed about them. In "Any Old Port in a Storm", he refers to the difficulty of getting a babysitter. He also mentions in that episode taking his wife and "child" on a picnic and alludes to this child in The Most Crucial Game. In Mind over Mayhem he mentions that his "wife and kids" are in Fresno visiting his mother-in-law. However, in "Rest In Peace, Mrs. Columbo", though, he claims he and his wife have no children.

In No Time to Die he attends the wedding of his nephew, who is also a police officer. In Short Fuse, he states that his wife's younger brother is a photography buff and in Blueprint for Murder he says he has a brother-in-law who is an attorney. At the end of Dead Weight, he states that he has a niece named Cynthia, who is the daughter of his wife's sister. In Requiem for a Falling Star, he tells the murderess that he has a brother-in-law named George who is a fan and has her speak to him over the phone. In Lovely But Lethal Columbo speaks of his nephew who is a dermatologist and researcher at the university. Columbo often explains that he has an immense family and speaks of several siblings. Two brothers figure quite often: George and Fred (the brother who convinced Columbo to move to California from New York). Columbo sometimes refers to a cousin, also named Fred.[episode needed]

Investigative style[edit]Edit

Columbo is polite. He has a keen intellect and good taste which he hides very well. Though a bit dated, his clothes are high quality. Columbo never divulges his first name. His absent-minded approach to cases, his distracted outbursts and constant pestering of suspects is his modus operandi. He is gifted at lulling anyone guilty into a false sense of security. Often he would pursue a line of question that brings about minimal information, not pressing enough to cause the suspect any alarm. Columbo would thank the suspect, and turn to leave - only to turn back at the last second, claiming to suddenly have remembered something (stating, "Oh, uh, one more thing..." or some variant thereof), and present the suspect with a far more serious and vital question, catching the suspect off guard. This is referred to as "the false exit".


[5][6]Peugeot 403 Cabriolet


Peter Falk selected the car personally, after seeing it in a parking lot at Universal Studios.[30] In season 5 episode "Identity crisis",[31] Columbo boasts that the car is a rare automobile, "only three like it in the States". From June 1956 to July 1961 only 2,050 were produced,[32] and only 504 were produced for model year 1959.[33] Columbo's car frequently has mechanical problems.[34]


Seasons and broadcast history[edit]Edit

See also: List of Columbo episodes and Columbo broadcast history

After two pilot episodes, the show originally aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 as one of the rotating programs of the NBC Mystery MovieColumbo then aired more infrequently on ABC beginning in 1989 under the umbrella of The ABC Mystery Movie.[35] The last film was broadcast in 2003 as part of ABC Thursday Night At The Movies.[36] See List of Columbo episodes for more details.


Directors and writers[edit]Edit

See also: List of Columbo writers

The first season premiere "Murder by the Book" was written by Steven Bochco and directed by Steven SpielbergJonathan Demme directed the seventh season episode "Murder Under Glass". Jonathan Latimer was also a writer. ActorBen Gazzara, a friend of Falk, directed the episodes "A Friend in Deed" (1974) and "Troubled Waters" (1975).



Two episodes, "No Time to Die" and "Undercover", were based on the 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain,[20] and thus do not strictly follow the standard Columbo/inverted detective story format.

Score composers[edit]Edit


Series Music department included:

  • Hal Mooney — music supervisor (27 episodes, 1972–1976)
  • Mike Post — composer: "Mystery Movie" theme (9 episodes, 1989–1990)


Columbo also featured an unofficial signature tune, the children's song "This Old Man". It was introduced in the episode "Any Old Port in a Storm" in 1973 and the detective can be heard humming or whistling it often in subsequent films.Peter Falk admitted that it was a melody he personally enjoyed and one day it became a part of his character.[37] The tune was also used in various score arrangements throughout the three decades of the series, including opening and closing credits. A version of it, entitled "Columbo", was created by one of the show's composers, Patrick Williams.[38]

Awards and nominations[edit]Edit


Home video releases[edit]Edit

DVD releases[edit]Edit




Season #Ep Year DVD Release
DVD name Ep# Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
1 7 1971–1972
7 5 1977–1978
[ 10 and



[DVD 5]



The Complete Tenth Season – Volume 1 (R2/R4)

The Complete Tenth Season – Volume 2 (R2/R4)



N/A June 15, 2009[DVD 6]

July 27, 2009

July 28, 2009

Nov 28, 2009

Other DVD Release
DVD name Ep# Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
The Mystery Movie Collection 1991–1993

[DVD 7]

The Mystery Movie Collection 1994–2003

[DVD 7]
