The guy wasn’t exactly your typical detective, at least not like the ones we’d been used to seeing on television. He didn’t adorn himself with fancy threads like those from Miami & Hawaii, but rather preferred to don a scruffy trench coat (which always looked slightly too big for him) and a battered fedora hat which had obviously seen better days.
In fact, in one episode I remember, he actually got mistaken for a vagrant while attempting to locate a witness at a homeless shelter! That was perhaps his real charm and a large part of the reason fans loved the show.
Yes, Columbo (Peter Falk) might have been a strange and, in many ways, unkempt detective, yet he always seemed to nail the bad guys even if the process did involve confusing everyone around him.
Mind you, that was half the fun of watching the show, as he would slowly and surely set about investigating the crime and, although often appearing more confused than the guys he was interrogating, he would eventually fathom it all out and somebody would be heading off to jail.
Of course, it wasn’t simply his choice in clothing which set the man apart from the other TV detectives. For a guy who often bumbled around like the proverbial nutty professor, Columbo wasn’t about to be seen swanning around town in a pretty Rockford-style Pontiac Firebird or one of those fancy Italian Ferrari jobs some others chose to drive. Oh no, that would never do for Lieutenant my-entire-body-needs-ironing Columbo.
No, he wanted a vehicle which blended with his onscreen persona, so he chose a suitably well-loved yet worn oddity, his 1959 Peugeot 403 Cabriolet. It’s rumoured that the actor chose the vehicle personally after seeing one parked in the studio car park.
Perhaps not the smartest of choices for a police detective to drive, though. After all, the classic drop-top boasted a maximum speed of around 80 mph and a 0-60 time of over 20 seconds. And that was when it was brand-spanking new!
Still, the car suited his character and fans loved his quirky admiration of the vehicle. In one episode, he’s heard explaining how there were only 3 of these cars in North America. Now, whether that was true or not is anyone’s guess but it may well have been, as the French manufacturer only produced about 500 units in 1959, and most of those were obviously sold in Europe.
Yeah, an oddball detective, driving an oddball vehicle while wearing oddball clothing. That’s probably how most will remember the character Peter Falk, who passed away last year at the age of 83, created. Personally, I view him as much more than that.
To me, Lieutenant Columbo bucked the typical trend of Hollywood. He demonstrated that you didn’t need to be a dapper-looking pretty boy in a flash automobile to be one of television’s great detectives. He was strange in many ways, but we bought into his character and viewers loved the show. Will they ever do a remake of Columbo? I hope they don’t. He was a one-of-a-kind and in my mind, he should remain just that!
 |
| Photo: Universal Television |
In fact, in one episode I remember, he actually got mistaken for a vagrant while attempting to locate a witness at a homeless shelter! That was perhaps his real charm and a large part of the reason fans loved the show.
Yes, Columbo (Peter Falk) might have been a strange and, in many ways, unkempt detective, yet he always seemed to nail the bad guys even if the process did involve confusing everyone around him.
Mind you, that was half the fun of watching the show, as he would slowly and surely set about investigating the crime and, although often appearing more confused than the guys he was interrogating, he would eventually fathom it all out and somebody would be heading off to jail.
Of course, it wasn’t simply his choice in clothing which set the man apart from the other TV detectives. For a guy who often bumbled around like the proverbial nutty professor, Columbo wasn’t about to be seen swanning around town in a pretty Rockford-style Pontiac Firebird or one of those fancy Italian Ferrari jobs some others chose to drive. Oh no, that would never do for Lieutenant my-entire-body-needs-ironing Columbo.
No, he wanted a vehicle which blended with his onscreen persona, so he chose a suitably well-loved yet worn oddity, his 1959 Peugeot 403 Cabriolet. It’s rumoured that the actor chose the vehicle personally after seeing one parked in the studio car park.
Perhaps not the smartest of choices for a police detective to drive, though. After all, the classic drop-top boasted a maximum speed of around 80 mph and a 0-60 time of over 20 seconds. And that was when it was brand-spanking new!
Still, the car suited his character and fans loved his quirky admiration of the vehicle. In one episode, he’s heard explaining how there were only 3 of these cars in North America. Now, whether that was true or not is anyone’s guess but it may well have been, as the French manufacturer only produced about 500 units in 1959, and most of those were obviously sold in Europe.
Yeah, an oddball detective, driving an oddball vehicle while wearing oddball clothing. That’s probably how most will remember the character Peter Falk, who passed away last year at the age of 83, created. Personally, I view him as much more than that.
To me, Lieutenant Columbo bucked the typical trend of Hollywood. He demonstrated that you didn’t need to be a dapper-looking pretty boy in a flash automobile to be one of television’s great detectives. He was strange in many ways, but we bought into his character and viewers loved the show. Will they ever do a remake of Columbo? I hope they don’t. He was a one-of-a-kind and in my mind, he should remain just that!
 |
| Photo: Universal Television |