Table Of Content

For my mother and father, no mystery why Copyright © 1988, 1989 by Mark Dawidziak Dialogue quoted from episodes of Columbo (copyright © Universal City Studios, Inc.) is used with permission of MCA Publishing Rights, a division of MCA Inc. All rights reserved. The Mysterious Press, 129 West 56th Street, New York, N.Y. 100I9 Printed in the United States of America First Printing: May 1989 I0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 DESIGNED BY GIORGETTA BELL. MCREE Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dawidziak, Mark, 1956– The Columbo phile. Bibliography: p. 344 Summary: Discusses the origins, plots, and personnel of the innovative television mystery show which starred Peter Falk as the scruffy Detective Columbo. 1. Columbo (Television program) [1. Columbo (Television program) 2. Mystery and detective television programs. 3. Television programs] I. Title. PN1992.77.C583D38 1989 791.45'72 88-43479 ISBN 0-89296-376-X Author's Note This book was completed in the fall of 1987 and accepted for publication in March 1988. In May 1988, ABC announced that it was reviving Columbo as part of a new Mystery Movie package. Although plans for the revival are detailed in the ninth section of this study (see the chapter titled "More Columbos"), the focus of The Columbo Phile' is the character's ten-year stint at NBC (1968–78)—two TV movies and 43 episodes. Contents SELECTED QUOTES ...........................................................Xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................xiii FOREWORD ...........................................................................I INTRODUCTION ..................................................................3 PART I. THE PLOT THICKENS OR HOW COLUMBO FOUND NBC 11 The Good Lieutenant ...........................................13 Levinson & Link: The Men Behind the Raincoat 15 Filling the Raincoat .............................................20 Case #1: Prescription: Murder .................... 24 Footnote #1: The Raincoat ..................................32 Case #2: Ransom for a Dead Man ............... 33 PART II. THE FIRST SEASON (1971-72) ..........................39 Getting the Wrinkles in .......................................41 Case #3: "Murder by the Book" ..........................48 Case #4: "Death Lends a Hand" ..........................55 Footnote #2: The Car ..........................................58 Memorable Exchanges About Columbo's Car .....61 Case #5: "Dead Weight" ......................................63 Footnote #3: The Murderers ................................66 Case #6: "Suitable for Framing"...........................69 Case #7: "Lady in Waiting" .................................74 Case #8: "Short Fuse" .........................................79 Case #9: "Blueprint for Murder" .........................83 Summing Up the First Season .............................87 PART III. THE SECOND SEASON (1972-73) ...................91 The Return of the Raincoat .................................93 Case #10: "Etude in Black" .................................97 Footnote #4: Dog ................................................100 Case #11: "The Greenhouse Jungle" .................102 Case #12: "The Most Crucial Game" ................106 Case #13: "Dagger of the Mind" .......................111 Case #14: "Requiem for a Falling Star" ............117 viii THE COLUMBO PHILE Case #15: "A Stitch in Crime" ........................123 Case #16: "The Most Dangerous Match" .......128 Case #17: "Double Shock" ..............................133 Summing Up the Second Season .....................138 PART IV. THE THIRD SEASON (1973-74) • ...............141 The Lucky Third ...............................................143 Case #18: "Lovely but Lethal" ........................146 Case #19: "Any Old Port in a Storm" .............150 Footnote #5: Columbo's Theme Song .............156 Case #20: "Candidate for Crime" ....................157 Case #21: "Double Exposure" ........................................162 Case #22: "Publish or Perish" .........................168 Case #23: "Mind Over Mayhem" ....................173 Case #24: "Swan Song" ...................................178 Case #25: "A Friend in Deed" .........................183 Summing Up the Third Season .......................189 PART V. THE FOURTH SEASON (1974-75) ............191 Fourth and Six ..................................................193 Case #26: "An Exercise in Fatality" ...............197 Case #27: "Negative Reaction" .......................202 Case #28: "By Dawn's Early Light" ................207 Case #29: "Troubled Waters" ..........................213 Case #30: "Playback" .......................................218 Case #31: "A Deadly State of Mind" ..............222 Summing Up the Fourth Season ......................228 PART VI. THE FIFTH SEASON (1975—76) ...................229 A Fifth of Columbo ..........................................231 Case #32: "Forgotten Lady" ............................233 Case #33: "A Case of Immunity" ....................237 Case #34: "Identity Crisis" ..............................241 Case #35: "A Matter of Honor" .......................246 Case #36: "Now You See Him" ......................249 Case #37: "Last Salute to the Commodore" ...254 Summing Up the Fifth Season .........................259 PART VII. THE SIXTH SEASON ( 1 9 7 6 - 7 7 ) ...........261 A Season of Sorts .............................................263 Case #38: "Fade in to Murder" ........................264 Case #39: "Old Fashioned Murder" ................268 CONTENTS ix Case #40: "The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case" .................................................273 Summing Up the Sixth Season ..........................278 PART VIII. THE SEVENTH SEASON (1977-78) ..............279 Seventh Summit .................................................281 Case #41: "Try and Catch Me" ..........................283 Case #42: "Murder Under Glass" ......................288 Case #43: "Make Me a Perfect Murder" ...........292 Case #44: "How to Dial a Murder" ...................297 Case #45: "The Conspirators" ...........................302 The End of the Trail ..........................................306 PART IX. AFTER COLOMBO ............................................307 Falk Talk ............................................................309 The Star, the Producers and the Story Editors After Columbo ................................................311 Mrs. Columbo or Kate Loves a Mystery or Viewers Hate Kate .........................................314 Late Night Columbo ..........................................316 More Columbos ..................................................317 PART X. VIVA COLUMBO! ..........................................321 Columbo at the Emmys .....................................322 Columbo in Print ...............................................323 A Columbo Character Sketch ............................324 The Real Mrs. Columbo ....................................327 Multiple Appearances on Columbo ....................328 Classic Columbo Lines ......................................331 How the Murderers See Columbo .....................338 Columbo Trivia .................................................342 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................344 INDEX ...................................................................................346 Selected Quotes "Columbo, you're magnificent. You really are. . . . You're the most persistent creature I ever met, but likable. The astonishing thing is you're likable. . . . You're a sly little elf." — DR. RAY FLEMING (GENE BARRY) Prescription: Murder (1968) "Columbo is so obsessive. He is so curious. I think he's unaware of just how good he is. These little problems are so interesting and bother-some to him, he doesn't know he forgot to shave that morning. He's a genuine eccentric." — PETER FALK "It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime weddings of character and actor. They come along very rarely." — RICHARD LEVINSON Co-creator of Columbo Columbo: "The most influential, probably the best, and certainly the most endearing cop series on TV." — Time magazine "Mystery is solving a problem, not gunplay and fights and car chases." — VINCENT PRICE "Peter fought every inch of the way for quality." — PATRICK McGOOHAN "You sure don't look like a policeman." — MRS. WALTERS (KATE REID) "Dead Weight" (1971) Mysteries: "They're tricky, I'll tell you that. I could never figure those things out." — LIEUTENANT COLUMBO "Murder by the Book" (1971) "I can look like a mess. That part is me. I can be stubborn. That part is me, too. But I have no great detective powers like Columbo. I'm not good at solving mysteries or puzzles. I mean, Columbo . . . what a mind! Who has a mind that sharp? Maybe Sherlock Holmes is that clever. It's a photo finish." − PETER FALK "This is a murder now, and I kind of figure that's my department." − LIEUTENANT COLUMBO Ransom for a Dead Man (1971)