1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,679 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 1: show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,159 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier, and in this episode, we're taking a 5 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: closer look at the ultimate TV underdog, a disheveled detective 6 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: who outwitted dozens of well healed criminals and stole viewers' 7 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: hearts in the process. So fire up your Poojo convertible 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: and grab yourself a big bowl of chili, because it's 9 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: time to catch up with Colombo. The day was September fifteenth, 10 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one. The long running detective series Colombo premiered 11 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: on NBC. It followed the exploits of Lieutenant Frank Colombo 12 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: of the LAPD, an eccentric, unassuming police detective portrayed by 13 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: the ever charming Peter Falk. The character had already been 14 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: introduced to viewers in two made for TV movies, one 15 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty eight and the other in early nineteen 16 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: seventy one. The warm response from viewers convinced NBC to 17 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: give Colombo his own ongoing series, albeit in a somewhat 18 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: unusual format. Colombo would air as one of several rotating 19 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: shows on a weekly anthology series called the NBC Mystery Movie. 20 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: The other shows in the original rotation were McLeod and 21 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: McMillan in Wife, and while all three proved successful, Colombo 22 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: was the most popular, most influential, and most long lasting 23 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: by far. The series ran on NBC until nineteen seventy eight, 24 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: and then, after a ten year hiatus, it was revived 25 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: on a different network, where it continued to air new 26 00:01:55,320 --> 00:02:00,080 Speaker 1: episodes and specials intermittently all the way until two thousand three. 27 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: The character of Lieutenant Columbo actually predates the TV series 28 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: by more than a decade. He was created by two 29 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: school friends turned writing partners named Richard Levinson and William Link, 30 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:16,519 Speaker 1: and if those names sound familiar, it could be because 31 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: they went on to co create another beloved TV sleuth, 32 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: Jessica Fletcher of Murder She wrote. Back in nineteen sixty, 33 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: the duo published a short story called May I Come In, 34 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: which featured a squat, unkempt police lieutenant named Fisher. The 35 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: character was supposedly inspired by Porfiry Petrovitch, The shrewd but 36 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: unconventional Investigator and Dostoyevsky's eighteen sixty six novel Crime and Punishment. 37 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 1: In the summer of nineteen sixty, Levinson and Link adapted 38 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: their story into a teleplay called Enough Rope, which aired 39 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: on The Chevy Mystery Show in late July. In the adaptation, 40 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: Lieutenant Fisher became Lieutenant Columbus and was portrayed for the 41 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: first time by actor Bert Freed. That early version of 42 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: the character displayed some of his now familiar trademarks, including 43 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 1: a rumpled suit and a taste for cheap cigars, but 44 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,959 Speaker 1: he wasn't yet the bumbling, meandering detective that viewers would 45 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: later fall in love with. Levinson and Link revived the 46 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: character again when they adapted Enough Rope into a stage play. 47 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,919 Speaker 1: The play was titled Prescription Murder, and although Columbo was 48 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: only a secondary character, he quickly became an audience favorite. 49 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: Buoyed by that positive response and hoping to break into television, 50 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: the pair pitched Prescription Murder to NBC as a one 51 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: off TV movie in the late nineteen sixties. The role 52 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: of Colombo was expanded in the script, and semi retired 53 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: crooner Bing Crosby was in early talks to play the part. 54 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: In the end, though Crosby passed on the project, fearing 55 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: it would cut into his time on the golf course. 56 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: That the way for Peter Falk to read the script, 57 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: and when he did, he immediately called Levinson and Link 58 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: and told them quote, I'd kill to play that cop prescription. 59 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: Murder starring Peter Falk aired on NBC on February twentieth, 60 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty eight. It was so well received that the 61 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: network immediately wanted to spin off Colombo into his own series. However, 62 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: neither the producers nor the lead actor wanted to commit 63 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: to a weekly TV show. The idea was shelved for 64 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 1: the next three years, but then the network began planning 65 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 1: an umbrella anthology show called the NBC Mystery Movie. In 66 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: that format, sometimes known as a wheel show, multiple different 67 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 1: programs would rotate through the same time slot, with each 68 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: series airing a new feature length episode roughly once a month. 69 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: That arrangement proved much more agreeable to Richard Levinson, William Link, 70 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: and Peter Falk, so in early nineteen seventy one, they 71 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: began work on a second Columbo TV movie to serve 72 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: as a kind of pilot. The result was Ransom for 73 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: a Dead Man, which aired on March first, to strong ratings. 74 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: Colombo was then added to the rotation of the NBC 75 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: Mystery Movie, which was set to premiere that fall. The 76 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: first episode of Columbo the series aired on September fifteenth, 77 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one. It was titled Murder by the Book 78 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: and was directed by none other than Steven Spielberg. It 79 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 1: also featured a script by Stephen Potchko, who would go 80 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: on to create other TV hits such as Hill Street 81 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:43,280 Speaker 1: Blues and Doogie Howser MD. Unlike the majority of detective dramas, 82 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: Colombo didn't set up mysteries for viewers to solve. In fact, 83 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: every episode began with the killer carrying out the crime 84 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: in full view of the audience. Their backstory and motive 85 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: would then be revealed within the first twenty minutes before 86 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:03,480 Speaker 1: Lieutenant Colombo even appeared on screen. Under this approach, known 87 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: as an inverted mystery, viewers weren't meant to track evidence 88 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: to determine a likely suspect they already knew who committed 89 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: the murder. Instead, the fun and the challenge was to 90 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: figure out how Columbo was going to bring the culprit 91 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: to justice. Which small detail would help him crack the 92 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: case and figure out what the viewer already knows. In 93 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,039 Speaker 1: that sense, Colombo wasn't a who done it so much 94 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: as a how catchem This shake up to the detective 95 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: genre was a breath of fresh air to viewers used 96 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: to the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. But 97 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,159 Speaker 1: revealing the villain at the outset wasn't the only thing 98 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: that made Columbo stand out from the crowd. The character 99 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,679 Speaker 1: himself was the opposite of what you'd expect a TV 100 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 1: cop to be. He wasn't physically imposing or temperamental. He 101 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: didn't have a partner or a squad car. He didn't 102 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 1: even carry a gun. Colombo was an observer, not a fighter, 103 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: and aside from the murder and the first act of 104 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: each episode, the show was strikingly devoid of violence, with 105 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: no shootouts or high speed chases to pat out the runtime. 106 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: On the surface, the character seemed borderline inept. He was 107 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: forever misplacing things a pen, a book of matches, his 108 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: car keys, and was overly deferential, always apologizing for some 109 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: assumed mistake. These character traits weren't exactly a ruse, but 110 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: Colombo did know how to use them to his advantage. 111 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:34,119 Speaker 1: He typically squared off against upper crust criminals a famous writer, 112 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: a powerful politician, or a wealthy surgeon, and because of 113 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: their affluence, the perpse also tended to be arrogant, leading 114 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: them to underestimate Colombo as just a bumbling blue collar cop. 115 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: But as they inevitably found out by the end of 116 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: each episode, Colombo was much more astute than his casual 117 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: demeanor let on. He was also a keen judge of 118 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: human character and didn't need to bully or intimidate suspect 119 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: to force a confession. Instead, he would simply pester them 120 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: with questions and misdirections until, in their frustration, they somehow 121 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 1: incriminated themselves. Peter Falk's charisma in the role helped sell 122 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: the every man appeal of Colombo, and many of the 123 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: character's memorable traits and mannerisms came directly from the actor. 124 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: Take Columbo's shabby wardrobe, for instance. When Falk saw the 125 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: clothes intended for his character, he thought they were all wrong, 126 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: so he rated his own closet to find something more fitting. 127 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: What he came up with was an old, wrinkled trench 128 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: coat that he'd bought during a rain storm several years earlier. 129 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,599 Speaker 1: Then he had one of the blue suits provided to 130 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: him dyed brown, establishing the drab, scruffy look that would 131 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: come to define the character. Falk also drew from his 132 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: own experience in deeper ways. He had lost his left 133 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: eye to cancer at the age of three, and as 134 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: a result, he too had been underestimated due to his appearance. 135 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: Many drama teachers and warned him that his cock eyed 136 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: stare would be a hindrance to his career, as it 137 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: made him appear distracted or unintelligent. But just like Colombo, 138 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: Falk learned how to turn his perceived weaknesses into strengths. 139 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: The actor's heartfelt performance as the affable detective made him 140 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,959 Speaker 1: a household name and ultimately earned him four Emmys and 141 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: a Golden Globe. The show's initial run ended in nineteen 142 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: seventy eight after two pilots and forty three episodes, but 143 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: due to popular demand, Colombo made an unprecedented return in 144 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty nine, this time on ABC. Twenty four additional 145 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: feature length episodes were produced off and on over the 146 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:47,360 Speaker 1: next fourteen years, with the final one, Columbo Likes the Nightlife, 147 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: airing in two thousand and three. Of course, since Columbo's 148 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 1: famous catchphrase was just one more thing, many viewers always 149 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: hoped the Lieutenant would be back for one final encore, 150 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 1: and indeed, Peter Falk had hoped to reprise the role 151 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: one last time for an episode set at Colombo's retirement party. Unfortunately, though, 152 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in late two thousand and seven, 153 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: the actor's health declined rapidly, and he passed away in 154 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: twenty eleven at the age of eighty three. In the 155 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: years since Peter Falk's passing, a whole new generation has 156 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:28,559 Speaker 1: discovered his work on Colombo, spawning loving tributes, all night binges, 157 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 1: and of course countless memes. No one would have guessed 158 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: that a seventies crime drama about a schlubby cop would 159 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: have that kind of a resurgence nearly fifty years later, 160 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: but that's Colombo for you. Defying expectations is what he 161 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: does best. I'm Gay Bluesier and hopefully you now know 162 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 163 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: You can learn even more about history by following us 164 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show and 165 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 1: if you have any feedback you'd like to share, you 166 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: can always pass it along by writing to This Day 167 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing 168 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see you 169 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,439 Speaker 1: back here again soon for another Day in History class