Everyone knows Columbo, the famous lieutenant hero of the TV series of the same name. But this cult character is still surrounded by many amusing mysteries, starting with his first name.
Ah, Lieutenant Columbo… Everyone knows this cult television character who left his mark on several generations of viewers with his bewildered look, his rumpled clothes, his offbeat remarks and his way of asking “innocent” questions during his investigations. However, despite his countless appearances on screen – the series has 69 episodes produced between 1971 and 2003 and still broadcast today – one detail remains mysterious: his first name. And this is not the only one about him, because several vague elements surround the life of the brilliant policeman, always scruffy and clumsy.
The principle of the series, which has never changed since the TV film which served as a pilot, is already very original. On the one hand, we witness the murder from the beginning and we immediately know the culprit. On the other hand, the plot always takes place in wealthy circles, and it is Columbo, a very popular ethnic policeman who solves the enigma, like a hero restoring a certain social justice. Two characteristics which greatly contributed to the success of the series.
But it is undoubtedly his extraordinary personality that has made the character so popular. At first glance, Columbo is far from corresponding to the image of the ideal detective: a worn beige raincoat that he never seems to take off, a smelly cigar stuck to his lips, a Peugeot 403 convertible that has seen it all, and an obsession with little details that no one would notice. One might believe that Columbo, with his apparent confusion, is an incompetent police officer, but that is the essence of the character and the series: he always solves his investigations brilliantly, thanks to his sharp mind and his false clumsiness.
Peter Falk, the actor who plays the famous lieutenant, greatly contributed to forging this character. Thus, the actor wore his own clothes in the series, in particular his famous raincoat and his shoes. And he was the one who chose his car from a junkyard! Above all, he gave a real human density to Columbo with his incongruous behavior and his often very funny anecdotes, while maintaining a clever mystery around his private life.
Columbo very often refers to his family in his adventures. He talks constantly about his wife, who is never seen on screen, adding an aura of mystery around this elusive character – even though Shera Danese, Peter Falk’s real-life wife, appears in a few episodes! And he readily talks about his grandfather who made wine in the family cellar, his father who taught him to play billiards, his brother-in-law or even a cousin throughout his various anecdotes. However, it is difficult to know what is true or what he is inventing for his investigations.
But let’s come back to what interests us here: his first name. If you’ve followed the series closely, you may have noticed that no one ever calls him by his first name. Well, almost never. In one episode, a veterinarian addresses him by calling him Bob (but only in the French version!). But very attentive fans also spotted that his police badge is in the name of Frank Columbo, during a particularly fleeting scene.
So, is his name really: Bob? Frank? Or something else? In fact, it doesn’t matter! Because just like the family name of the Malcolm series, the mystery of Columbo’s first name maintains the legend of this character who is as imaginary as he is endearing.