Colombo succeeded because it dared to be different it did what no cop shows were doing at the time
it tried a reverse mystery format knowing the details of the crime from the beginning didn't
ruin the experience seeing how Colombo figured out what you knew created an addicting sense of
dramatic irony keep watching to learn about some interesting Colombo bloopers and facts
Columbo the evidence tamper evidence tampering is a serious crime sentences include fines in
misdemeanor cases and up to 20 years in prison for federal cases you'd think a cop like Colombo
would know that he frequently gathers evidence and carries it around in his pocket before bringing it
in assuming it'll still be admissible he's willing to plant evidence to get a confession such as in
dagler of the mind he also pretends to have false evidence like in lying to the perp Colombo doesn't
stop evidence tampering if it'll get him a confession later an uneasy lies the crown he
confronts two criminals about moving a body into their car and pushing it off a cliff he notices
but thanks them and moves on he got the confession later but isn't that a bit of an extreme way to
do it obfuscating stupidity Colombo also loves to pretend he doesn't know as much as he does a
Trope known as obfuscating stupidity you might think Crooks would catch on after a while his
cases deal with middle to upper class criminals they don't plan their Crimes of Passion with
each other and wouldn't immediately recognize him the underworld circles who would warn each other
about him show respect for him in later Seasons mob bosses even help him in episodes such as a
bird in the hand and Colombo likes The Nightlife Colombo's continual obfuscating strategy is also
made more realistic because it doesn't always work he asserts he only solves half his cases and a few
of his suspects notice that he knows more than he's leading on he always waits until the right
time to reveal the truth reaching confessions manipulating evidence and obfuscating stupidity
aren't the only ways he reaches confessions he admits most of his evidence is circumstantial
and weak but he knows how to use it in the episode an exercise in fatality he Nails the criminal with
a detail as small as the knot on the victim's shoelace does Colombo have one eye the actor
who played Columbo Peter Falk had a glass eye it's not immediately clear if that stood true
for the character but there is evidence backing it up in one episode he says he and his dog have
quote three good eyes combined that would mean at least one of them is missing one in the episode a
trace of murder he tells the forensic investigator quote three eyes are better than one Frank Skinner
told q i that he was confused about the issue and argued about it with his comedy partner
David badio there's been no definitive answer from the showrunners so decide for yourself
disappearing and reappearing items in one episode killer Elliot marham writes blueprint for murder
on the Blackboard he reaches up to erase it because he's taller than Colombo there's a
large chalk mark on his left shoulder but when they start talking it disappears a drawing of
an Egyptian pyramid behind him also appears and disappears until he finally erases it and the
text on the Blackboard shifts in candidate for Crime Chadwick the tailor puts his glasses on in
one shot by the time you see him in a close-up shot they've disappeared a moment later a long
shot shows them back on his nose in the episode murder smoke and shadows Columbo finds some ice
cream sodas left in Alex Brady's office he gives an exact measure of their length and fullness by
the time he leaves Brady goes to destroy them but they're empty did Colombo decide to have a
treat there are also Goofs where objects grow and shrink in the most crucial game Colombo
was relaxing in his car listening to the Rockets basketball game on the radio while smoking a cigar
the ash falls on his raincoat as it's reduced to a butt a few seconds later it's back to full size
eyes open playing a corpse and keeping your eyes closed may be a difficult task but there are two
times in Columbo when actors failed the first was in the episode it's all in the game Lisa
Martin Waits with the body and it dramatically blinks when a doorbell rings in Murder with too
many notes the victim's eyes stay closed on the rooftop until he shoved off the building and
his eyes are wide open the writer admits no one noticed it in multiple screenings
name changes in now you see him the sign outside the magic club first says it's the Cabaret of
magic that's also what the MC calls it star later a letter to the Department of Immigration written
by the club's owner calls it the magic circle club that name was inspired by LA's famous Magic Castle
whose owner Mark Wilson was a technical advisor for the episode he'd think he'd noticed the
change Sergeant Wilson's first name is Frederick and Columbo calls him Freddy that was until the
same episode now you see him the showrunners once again made a mistake and had him call him John J
Wilson it's one of the better known Goofs in the series a less famous name change goof comes in
the episode murder under glass Mr Gerard tells Colombo that Mary choi's restaurant is called
the house of Choi the cop later has a meeting with bankers and calls it the house of Shanghai
facts about Colombo the show Colombo ran for 35 years from 1968 to 2003. the show is one of
the first to use the inverted mystery technique audiences would see how the crime played out and
who did it first the fun of each episode was finding out how our favorite cop would solve
the case two actors played Columbo Before Peter Falk Bert freed starred in the one-off TV movie
Enough Rope in 1960. Thomas Mitchell took him to the stage of prescription murder in 1962.
Bing Crosby was offered the role but turned it down joking he'd rather focus on his golf
game Peter brought a great performance to the role but most people don't know he supplied the
character's entire wardrobe he first wore his signature raincoat in a storm in New York in
1967 and only cost him 15 bucks Peter didn't have the best relationship with universal and believed
they wouldn't let him direct any episodes he was barred from set until they eventually
let him lead 1971's blueprint for murder he's rumored to also have shared directorial duties
with with John cassavetti her Etude in Black in 1972. Steven Spielberg even directed the
first season episode Murder By the book in 1971. Patrick mcguin played a murderer on Columbo four
times which is more than any other actor Jack Cassidy and Robert gulp got three appearances
while William Shatner and George Hamilton got two notable long time baddies include Leonard
Nimoy Johnny Cash John cassavetes Dick Van Dyke and Faye Dunaway the most recurring character
besides Colombo and dog was Sergeant Kramer who appeared six times between 1974 and 1990. the
show had an unofficial theme song This old man it was ad-libbed into a scene in the episode any old
port in a storm Colombo hums it while making a call in 1997 Murder By the book was ranked
number 16 in TV guide's 100 greatest episodes of all time and they put Colombo at number 7 on their
50 greatest TV characters of all time Peter falk's personal favorite episodes are any old port in a
storm forgotten lady now you see him and identity crisis each episode was rumored to earn him three
hundred thousand dollars by the time he returned for season six and his salary doubled per episode
when the series returned in 1989. he won four Emmys and his acceptance speech in 1972 was a
memorable one a bronze statue of Colombo and dog was unveiled in Budapest Hungary in 2014.
Peter Falk has reportedly a distant relative of Hungarian politician journalist and author miksa
Falk the character has also been referenced and spoofed in popular culture on Sesame Street with
a detective that solves nursery rhyme crimes the claudumbo strip in Mad Magazine and even a board
game now it's time to hear from you which one of these facts and Goose was most surprisingly
hear about what's your favorite episode of Colombo let us know in the comment section below