Columbo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Columbo |
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DVD cover art for the first season
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| Genre | Crime drama Detective fiction Neo-noir |
| Created by | Richard Levinson William Link |
| Starring | Peter Falk |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 69 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Philip Saltzman |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 73–98 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Universal Television (1968–78, 1989–98) Studios USA (1998–2002) Universal Network Television (2002–03) |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC (1968–1978) ABC (1989–2003) |
| Picture format | Film |
| Audio format | Mono (1968–1978) Stereo (1989–2003) |
| Original release | February 20, 1968 – January 30, 2003 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Mrs. Columbo (1979–1980) |
Columbo is a popular American crime drama TV show. It stars Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo. He is a smart detective from the Los Angeles Police Department. The show first aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978. Later, new episodes came out on ABC from 1989 to 2003.
Lieutenant Columbo is a clever detective. He often wears a wrinkled beige raincoat. He also smokes cigars and drives an old Peugeot 403 car. He loves chili con carne and often talks about his wife, who is never seen. Columbo has a famous line: "Just one more thing." He says this when he is about to ask a very important question.
The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link. It made the "inverted detective story" style very popular. This means the show first reveals who did the crime. Then, the story is about how Columbo figures out how to catch the criminal. It's not about guessing "whodunit" (who did it). Instead, it's about "howcatchem" (how they get caught).
The people Columbo investigates are usually rich and powerful. They try hard to hide their crimes. At first, they don't take Columbo seriously. They think he is clumsy and not very smart. But Columbo's constant questions and strange behavior slowly reveal the truth. His way of working often makes criminals confess or give themselves away.
The Detective: Columbo's Character
The character of Columbo first appeared in a TV show called The Chevy Mystery Show in 1960. An actor named Bert Freed played him. This early Columbo also wore a rumpled suit and smoked cigars. He used similar tricks to confuse suspects.
Later, the TV drama was turned into a play called Prescription: Murder. This play was first shown in 1962. An actor named Thomas Mitchell played Columbo in the play.
In 1968, the play became a two-hour TV movie for NBC. Director Richard Irving thought Peter Falk would be perfect for the role. Falk was very excited to play the detective.
Columbo quickly became a big hit. Peter Falk won an Emmy Award for his acting in the first season. The show was a main part of NBC's Sunday night TV lineup. Columbo aired regularly from 1971 to 1978. After NBC stopped making it, ABC brought Columbo back. New episodes and TV movies aired between 1989 and 2003.
Peter Falk wanted to play Columbo one last time before he died. He even picked a script for an episode called "Columbo: Hear No Evil." But ABC decided not to make it. Falk was diagnosed with dementia in 2007. He sadly passed away in 2011 at age 83.
Fun Facts About Columbo
- Columbo's clothes were actually Peter Falk's own. This included his high-top shoes and his famous shabby raincoat. The raincoat first appeared in the TV movie Prescription: Murder.
- Peter Falk often made things up while filming. For example, he might pretend to search his pockets for evidence but find a grocery list instead. He did this to surprise the other actors. This made their reactions to Columbo's odd behavior seem more real.
- Columbo's catchphrase "Just one more thing" became famous. It even inspired a sales trick called the "Columbo Close." A salesperson uses this line to offer the best part of a deal right when a customer is about to leave.
- The creators of Columbo, Richard Levinson and William Link, said the character was partly inspired by other detectives. These include Porfiry Petrovich from Crime and Punishment and G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown.
- Peter Falk also directed one episode, "Blueprint for Murder." He also helped write another episode called "It's All in the Game."
- Columbo episodes are usually between 70 and 98 minutes long. The show has been shown in 44 different countries.
- The BBC has called Columbo "timeless." It is still popular today.
- The show has an unofficial theme song: the children's song "This Old Man." Columbo often hums or whistles it. Peter Falk said he liked the song, and it became part of his character.
- The 1971 episode "Murder by the Book" was directed by Steven Spielberg. TV Guide magazine ranked it as one of the greatest TV episodes ever.
- In 1999, TV Guide also ranked Lt. Columbo as one of the 50 greatest TV characters of all time.
- In 2014, a statue of Lieutenant Columbo and his dog was put up in Budapest, Hungary. This is because Peter Falk might have been related to a Hungarian writer named Miksa Falk.
- People in Japan really love Columbo. There's even a Japanese TV show called Furuhata Ninzaburō that is like the Japanese version of Columbo.
Awards and Recognition
Columbo won many awards from 1971 to 2005. These include 13 Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards. Peter Falk also won several awards for his role as Columbo.
Books and Spin-offs
There are also Columbo books! Some were based on the TV show. Others were new stories written by William Harrington. William Link, one of the show's creators, also wrote a collection of Columbo short stories.
Mrs. Columbo Spin-off
A spin-off TV show called Mrs. Columbo aired in 1979. It starred Kate Mulgrew. This show was about Columbo's wife, who was a newspaper reporter. She solved mysteries too! Lieutenant Columbo himself was never seen in this show. But the show made it clear it was connected to the original Columbo series. For example, Columbo's car and his dog were shown.
Columbo's First Name Mystery
Columbo's first name is never said in the TV show. But sometimes, his police ID shows "Frank Columbo." This mystery led to a funny story. The creator of a book called The Trivia Encyclopedia put a fake name, "Phillip Columbo," in his book. This was a "copyright trap" to catch anyone who copied his work. When the game Trivial Pursuit used "Phillip" as the answer to Columbo's first name, the book's creator sued them. However, the court decided that facts cannot be copyrighted. So, using a fact from an encyclopedia was allowed.
Images for kids
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The first Columbo pilot, "Prescription: Murder", was filmed at the Stahl House.
See also
In Spanish: Columbo para niños
