Columbo (character)#First name
{{Short description|Fictitious character in eponymous American TV detective crime drama series}}
{{Redirect2|Lieutenant Columbo|Frank Columbo|the series itself|Columbo|other uses|Columbo (disambiguation)}}
{{mdy|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Columbo
| series = Columbo
| image = Columbo Peter Falk 1973.JPG
| caption = Peter Falk as Columbo, 1973
| first = "Enough Rope"
(1960)
| last = "Columbo Likes the Nightlife"
(2003)
| creator = Richard Levinson
William Link
| portrayer = Bert Freed (1960, TV)
Thomas Mitchell (1962, stage)
Peter Falk (1968–2003, TV)
Dirk Benedict (2010, stage)
John Guerrasio (2011, stage)
}}
Lieutenant Frank Columbo is the main character in the American detective crime drama television series Columbo created by Richard Levinson and William Link. Columbo is a shrewd and exceptionally observant homicide detective who often disguises his aptitude with his inelegant, shambling manner; trademarks of his blue-collar ethos include his rumpled beige raincoat, cigar and relentless investigative approach.{{Cite book |last=Dawidziak |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fJJGywEACAAJ |title=The Columbo Phile: A Casebook |date=November 1, 2019 |publisher=Commonwealth Book Company, Incorporated |isbn=978-1-948986-12-0 |language=en |access-date=October 7, 2022 |archive-date=October 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007100523/https://books.google.com/books?id=fJJGywEACAAJ&newbks=0 |url-status=live }}
Character history
Columbo first appeared in a 1960 episode of The Chevy Mystery Show titled "Enough Rope", wherein he was portrayed by Bert Freed.{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Steve |title=Columbo: The Complete Series available in 34-disc set |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2012/10/20/columbo-peter-falk-boxed-set/1637909/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US |archive-date=2020-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020030926/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2012/10/20/columbo-peter-falk-boxed-set/1637909/ |url-status=live }} After this, the character was portrayed almost entirely by Peter Falk, who appeared in the role from 1968 through 2003.
Levinson and Link have said that the character was based on the Crime and Punishment character Porfiry Petrovich.{{Cite news |title="Columbo" shows the benefits of asking just one more thing |url=https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/02/12/columbo-shows-the-benefits-of-asking-just-one-more-thing |access-date=2024-08-13 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=2024-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240813124519/https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/02/12/columbo-shows-the-benefits-of-asking-just-one-more-thing |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2021-09-22 |title=Columbo at 50: How Peter Falk's shambling detective became an enduring TV icon |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/columbo-peter-falk-anniversary-b1919806.html |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=2024-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240813124519/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/columbo-peter-falk-anniversary-b1919806.html |url-status=live }} Roger Ebert claimed that Columbo's character was also influenced by Inspector Fichet from the French suspense-thriller film Les Diaboliques.{{cite news|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/diabolique-1995|title=Sun Times reviews|publisher=Rogerebert.suntimes.com|accessdate=June 27, 2011|date=February 17, 1995|archive-date=December 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213121740/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19950217%2FREVIEWS%2F502170302%2F1023|url-status=live}}
Columbo's signature catchphrase, "just one more thing", originated when Levinson and Link were writing a scene in which Columbo interrogated a criminal before leaving his apartment. The scene was too short, however, and they could not add conversation into the middle of the scene as they were using a typewriter, and that would require rewriting the scene from the beginning. They decided to fix this by having Columbo stick his head back through the door and say "just one more thing" as if he had forgotten something.
Columbo's first name is never mentioned in dialogue, although the name "Frank Columbo" is briefly visible on pieces of identification in a few episodes.{{cite news |last=Reinstein |first=Mara |date=August 13, 2023 |title=The Greatest TV Cops of All Time |url=https://parade.com/tv/greatest-tv-cops |work=Parade |page=10 |archive-date=August 13, 2023 |access-date=August 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813195319/https://parade.com/tv/greatest-tv-cops |url-status=live }} Due to Columbo's first name being obscure in the show, author Fred L. Worth intentionally included a fictitious entry in The Trivia Encyclopedia, falsely claiming that the character's first name was "Philip" in order to catch copyright infringement of the book. This incorrect trivium was reused in Trivial Pursuit, causing Worth to sue the game's publishers. The lawsuit was dismissed by the judge.{{Cite web |last=Botes |first=Zanandi |date=2022-04-09 |title=How A 'Columbo' Answer Caused A $300 Million Trivial Pursuit Lawsuit |url=https://www.cracked.com/article_33354_how-a-columbo-answer-caused-a-300-million-trivial-pursuit-lawsuit.html |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=Cracked.com |language=en |archive-date=2024-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240820155628/https://www.cracked.com/article_33354_how-a-columbo-answer-caused-a-300-million-trivial-pursuit-lawsuit.html |url-status=live }}
Fictional character biography
As an Italian American police lieutenant for the Los Angeles Police Department,{{Cite journal |last=Corcos |first=Christine Alice |year=1993 |title=Columbo goes to law school: Or, some thoughts on the uses of television in the teaching of law |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/laent13&i=511 |journal=Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Journal |volume=13 |issue=3 |page=504}} Columbo investigates elaborate murders committed by intelligent criminals who are often members of high society. With his high intelligence and keen eye for detail, Columbo usually suspects the true killer soon after investigating the scene of the crime. During the rest of the investigation, Columbo relies on his unassuming personality and seemingly clumsy manner to ingratiate himself with the suspect. Often, the suspect eventually confesses after Columbo reveals small but highly incriminating details he has discovered about the crime. Columbo classically drives an old beat-up Peugeot 403 car,{{cite web |last1=Burns |first1=Stephen |last2=Kerin |first2=Ted |date= |title=Columbo's car - Just One More Thing |work=The Ultimate Columbo Site |url=http://www.columbo-site.freeuk.com/car.htm |url-status=live |access-date=July 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623061751/http://www.columbo-site.freeuk.com/car.htm |archive-date=June 23, 2022}}{{cite web |date=February 13, 2022 |title=The 10 coolest Columbo cars of the 70s |work=Columbophile |url=https://columbophile.com/2022/02/13/the-10-coolest-columbo-cars-of-the-70s/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717221011/https://columbophile.com/2022/02/13/the-10-coolest-columbo-cars-of-the-70s/amp/ |archive-date=July 17, 2022}}{{cite news|url=https://eu.wickedlocal.com/story/carver-reporter/2020/06/29/cars-we-remember-peugeot-history-and-detective-columbos-1959-peugeot-403/114632890/|title=Peugeot history and Detective Columbo's 1959 Peugeot 403|first=Greg|last=Zyla|access-date=July 17, 2022|archive-date=October 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001223636/https://eu.wickedlocal.com/story/carver-reporter/2020/06/29/cars-we-remember-peugeot-history-and-detective-columbos-1959-peugeot-403/114632890/|url-status=live}} which sometimes helps lull suspects into a false sense of security about the detective's competence. He does not carry a gun, and in later episodes is occasionally accompanied by a basset hound he calls "Dog".
Information about Columbo's life outside of his police work is scarce and revealed through his rambling anecdotes. Columbo often refers to his wife ("the Mrs."), who is an unseen character in the show. She later received a spin-off show called Mrs. Columbo, although the canonicity of this show is disputed.{{Cite web |title=Mrs Columbo Revealed! |url=http://www.columbo-site.freeuk.com/mrsc.htm |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=www.columbo-site.freeuk.com |archive-date=2024-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422104300/http://www.columbo-site.freeuk.com/mrsc.htm |url-status=live }}
Reception and legacy
File:GézaDezsőFekete-Columbo-Detail2.JPG in Budapest, Hungary]]
In a 2001 poll conducted by Channel 4 in the UK, Columbo was ranked 18th on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531160558/http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archivedate=31 May 2009 |title=100 Greatest TV Characters |accessdate=26 May 2019 |publisher=Channel 4}} He was also listed by Parade as one of the "greatest TV cops of all time", and The Independent described him as "an enduring TV icon".
=Statue=
{{main|Columbo statue}}
In 2014, a bronze sculptural work with life-sized statues of Columbo and his dog, by the sculptor {{Interlanguage link|Géza Dezső Fekete|hu|Fekete_Géza_Dezső}} was erected in Miksa Falk Street, Budapest.{{Cite web |last=Grundhauser |first=Eric |date=2015-05-13 |title=Budapest Has a Strange Statue of TV Detective Columbo in a Public Square |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2015/05/13/hungary_s_columbo_statue_is_an_odd_tribute_to_the_tv_detective.html |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Slate Magazine |archive-date=2017-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022035058/http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2015/05/13/hungary_s_columbo_statue_is_an_odd_tribute_to_the_tv_detective.html |url-status=live }} An urban legend states that the Hungarian politician and journalist Miksa Falk and Peter Falk were distant relatives, although this is untrue.{{cite web |last1=Csiffáry |first1=Gabriella |title=Peter Falk dédapja Falk Miksa volt? |url=https://www.urbanlegends.hu/2013/03/peter-falk-dedapja-falk-miksa-volt/ |website=Urbanlegends.hu |publisher=Ivan Marinov |accessdate=23 September 2020 |language=Hungarian |date=2013-03-20 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323004111/http://www.urbanlegends.hu:80/2013/03/peter-falk-dedapja-falk-miksa-volt/ |archive-date=2013-03-23 }}