Columbo is TV detective series starring Peter Falk as the rumpled-but-effective homicide detective Lt. Columbo. The series began with 2 made-for-TV movies, then became part of the NBC Mystery Movie "wheel" series, broadcasting one new episode per month in rotation with three other series. It ran from 1971 to 1977, then was revived in the 1990s with a new series of made-for-TV movies.
Columbo's cases typically involved murders committed by the wealthy and influential. Some actors appeared in Columbo as different killers in more than one episode (e.g. William Shatner), while Martin Landau played identical twin brothers who conspired to commit murder in one episode.
Many notable actors appeared on Columbo in roles other than the villain, such as Vincent Price, Bradford Dillman, Martin Sheen, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Leslie Nielsen appeared twice, playing the murderer neither time. Ray Milland appeared as the murder victim's husband in one episode, then as the killer in a different episode the following year.
The popularity of Columbo resulted in a spin-off series entitled Mrs. Columbo (later re-titled Kate Loves a Mystery), starring Kate Mulgrew. Donald Pleasence played murderers in both series.
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