The "Do You Remember..." Story

It was an ordinary day.  Asking my wife if she might remember what TV series began its run 50 years ago.  Tough question I know, and probably wasn't fair to ask her the question, but when I told her the answer, she found it hard to believe.  And...I sort of find it hard to believe also.  But, it didn't begin its run on television.  It began on the printed page in the short story, "May I Come In."  The character known as Columbo was created by writers Richard Levinson and William Link in the March, 1960 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.  The first time the character appeared on TV was later that year on the anthology series The Chevy Mystery Show on NBC.  OK...I must admit I never heard of that show either.  Well, Bert Freed played detective Columbo on that show.  The episode led directly to a stage play titled "Prescription: Murder."  It debuted in San Francisco in 1962 with Thomas Mitchell as Columbo.  Remember Thomas Mitchell?  Nah, me neither!  Anyway...by 1968 NBC wanted to make the play into a stand-alone television Movie of the Week and the director of the show, Richard Irving, wanted Peter Falk who had earned nominations for both Emmys and Oscars in 1961 and 1962.  But, Levinson and Link were skeptical since Falk, at the age of 41, was much younger than the other actors who had played the character in the past.  But, Irving prevailed and the TV movie version of "Prescription: Murder" was a major hit.  NBC decided to make another Columbo TV movie as a pilot to see if an ongoing TV series could happen.  The second film was seen in 1971 and was called "Ransom for a Dead Man" which was also a big hit.  They decided they needed to continue with a weekly show with Falk as the star.  Peter Falk wasn't interested in a weekly show because of the grind of a weekly TV show.  So...NBC began a rotational series with Rod Serling's "Night Gallery", McCloud, and Columbo rotating in the same time slot every three weeks.  Eventually McMillan & Wife joined McCloud and Columbo.  The main draw for the viewers was Peter Falk's performances where he wore his own clothes, including his famous raincoat.  He frequently would wander the set during shots on purpose as a way of keeping his castmates off-balance and on their toes.  He earned an Emmy for the role during his first season and two more in later years.  Many of his episodes were written by Stephen Bochco and directed by the up-and-coming youngster Steven Spielberg.  All three shows were a huge success for years.  

Columbo wound down its original run in May of 1980.  Then in 1989 ABC resurrected the mystery wheel concept with The ABC Mystery Movie in 1989.  Falk returned as Columbo with Louis Gossett, Jr as Gordon Oliver and Burt Reynolds as B.L. Stryker.  But, the show stopped after the first year.  Peter Falk continued to play Columbo in an ongoing series for 14 TV movies for the next 13 years.  In 2011 Peter Falk died, closing the book on one of the great TV detectives.  Peter's run began 50 years ago and entertained everyone whom watched his character on television.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.