The Legendary Michael William Lally

Other than Peter Falk himself, nobody has appeared in more episodes of Columbo than Michael Lally. 

(Credit to Vagebond's Columbo Screenshots for many of the shots in this post)

So ingrained in Columbo lore is he that when you go to his IMDB page the picture that appears is Peter Falk, not Lally himself. In real life he and Falk were good friends, and Lally was apparently on-set pretty much every filming day of all of the original episodes, even the ones he didn't actually appear in.

Lally was born June 1st, 1900, which means this year would have been his 123rd birthday. He passed away February 15th, 1985, and aside from his 25 credited appearances on Columbo he had FOUR-HUNDRED and SIXTY other acting credits, virtually all of them as "Man at airport", "Party guest", or "Bartender".

Ironically spotting him in a Columbo episode is often like playing "Where's Waldo". He's usually an "extra", or an unnamed character with barely a line of dialog (and sometimes no dialog at all). But for Columbo fans it's always delightful to recognize Mr. Lally on screen. So, here's where he is in all 25 of his Columbo appearances (plus maybe 1 or 2 he didn't get credit for).

1. The tram operator in Short Fuse

Lally makes his Columbo debut near the end of season 1, and...near the end of the episode. Around the 1 hour, 7-minute mark of Short Fuse, Columbo, Mr. Logan, and Roger are going to take the tram up to see Aunt Dorie. Columbo is about to spring his trap...but first, Michael Lally springs open the door of the tram to let them on board.

2. Just waiting in line in Blueprint for Murder

The very next episode Mike Lally is back...this time just standing in line behind Columbo at the building permit office in Blueprint for Murder. 

3. Frank the Mechanic

Season 2 opens with John Cassavetes as an adulterous conductor who murders his mistress in Etude in Black. As part of his alibi, he drops off his fancy Jaguar at Mike's repair shop, where Mike and his trusty assistant Frank can get it fixed.

Recognize Frank?

Fun fact: Etude in Black not only has a brief appearance by Mike Lally as Frank, but it has an "appearance" by Gwyneth Paltrow. Her real-life mom, Blythe Danner, plays Cassavetes wife and she was quietly pregnant with Paltrow when the episode was filmed. There are many scenes in the episode where she's seated, standing behind something, or holding something in front of her, presumably to conceal the baby bump.

4. Have some OJ

Lally took a bit of a break in season 2 but returned in episode 6, A Stitch in Crime. Killer Dr. Barry Mayfield (played by Leonard Nimoy) had just murdered Nurse Sharon Martin (played by Anne Francis) and Columbo has staggered into the murder scene to investigate. Hungry, tired, and cracking open an egg on the fender of the victim's car, he asks for coffee. There's no coffee handy but in steps Detective Mike Lally (officially credited as "Cop with orange juice") to offer the Lt. some refreshment.

5. Counting the cash

In Double Shock, Martin Landau plays twins who murder their uncle. Around the 27 minute mark Columbo goes to visit suspect Norman at his bank and finds him in the vault counting cash. Assisting in the count...the legendary Michael Lally.

6. Belly up to the Bar

The second episode of season 3 is a fan favorite - and apparently one of Peter Falk's favorites too - Any Old Port in a Storm. Columbo is in a bar, watching a news report about the victim's death, and wondering about the weather. Behind the bar, offering up the libations is...Mike Lally.

7. Entourage

The very next episode in season 3 is one of my favorites: Candidate for Crime. About a dozen scenes into the episode, Columbo has arrived at Hayward's house to ask him about the clothes the victim was wearing and among the crew there to help Nelson film his TV ad is Mike Lally, looking sharp in the grey suit.

8. Put it over There

The next episode in season 3 is Double Exposure, featuring Robert Culp as blackmailing, deadly, advertising exec Dr. Bart Keppel. It barely features Michael Lally, who is really hard to spot as the parking attendant. You catch a glimpse of him a couple of times in the episode, but he's easy to miss.

9. Back Behind the Bar

If you thought he was hard to spot in Double Exposure, wait until you see Publish or Perish. Here he's behind the bar while Riley Greenleaf is getting drunk to set up his alibi...but he's not the bartender serving Greenleaf. In fact, he's barely visible BEHIND that bartender. 

Oh, there's Waldo!

10. Haulin' the Mail

In Mind over Mayhem he's SLIGHTLY easier to spot. You'll find him in the opening scenes, in the "war room" delivering messages to the participants.

11. Counting Cash's Cash

In Swan Song he's on screen for quite a while, by Lally standards, and even has a snippet of dialogue! You'll find him after the concert in Mr. Dodds' office counting the cash, while Edna scolds Dodds for using profanity.

Fun fact: Mike Lally's son, Michael, *ALSO* appears in Swan Song. He's the cameraman at the crash scene who complains about Columbo repeatedly walking into their shot.

12. A Bartender in Deed

In A Friend in Deed we return several times to The Lariat - Arty Jessup's place of business - which is good for Michael Lally because he's behind the bar. So you'll see him several times in this episode.

Did I mention that you should check out Vagebond's Columbo Screenshots if you want more screenshots like this?

13. Getting in Shape

Lally starts season 4 off by getting in shape at Milo Janus' health spa in Exercise in Fatality. He's on the exercise bike when Milo comes into the Chatsworth spa right at the beginning of the episode. Milo even greets him as "Charlie" as he walks by.

14. Lally in the Alley

One of his appearances I sort of enjoy the most is in Negative Reaction, where again you have to be a bit sharp-eyed to spot him. Here he kicks off one of my favorite scenes in the entire Columbo collection...Columbo's visit to St. Luke's Mission to find the wino witness, Thomas Dolan (played delightfully by Columbo regular Vito Scotti), where he's mistaken for a homeless person by a kindly nun (played hilariously by Joyce Van Patten).

That's Mike Lally sitting in the alley, pointing Columbo in the right direction.

15. Detective Mike

Lally's streak continues in By Dawn's Early Light where he has a small (as usual) uncredited role as a detective. You see him with Columbo regular Bruce Kirby at the parade grounds, and again when they're checking out William Haynes' car.

16. Miike Laa-ly...oohh ohh, Cantare, oh-oh-oh-oh

Troubled Waters is one of my favorite episodes and Lally probably enjoyed getting to go on the cruise too. As usual he doesn't have much to do on camera, he brings Melissa and Artie the check during the restaurant scene near the beginning, when Lloyd goes to talk to Rosanna.

He appears later in the episode, also as the waiter, when Columbo and Danzinger are having a drink together.

Fun fact: When Dean Martin sings Volare it only takes a bit over 3 minutes.

17. We're number 1!

In Playback his appearance is once again of the "blink and you'll miss it" variety. But just after the 1-hour mark, Columbo is in a diner getting lunch and the football game is on. Columbo sees them use instant replay and suddenly realizes how Van Wick committed the crime. We may not have realized that Mike Lally is one of the patrons enjoying the football game though.

18. Diamond, Wheeler, and Lally

Lally is characteristically hard to spot in season 5's opener: Forgotten Lady. He's a guest at the party that Diamond and Wheeler throw about an hour and 10 minutes into the episode.

19. Mike goes Behind the Camera

No, literally. In A Case of Immunity, Lally plays the crime scene photographer that you see when they're checking out the office where the first murder occurred, near the beginning of the episode.

20. Lally Behind the Wheel

In Identity Crisis, Mike has a short part as the cab driver who identifies the victim's photo for Sgt. Kramer.

21. The Big One

On February 29th, 1976, Now You See Him premiered. It's somewhat appropriate that it happened on February 29th, a rare "leap day" because this episode featured a rare substantial performance from Lally. Playing a character named, cleverly, "Michael Lally", you first see him at the Cabaret of Magic where he greets his old friend Santini.

Lally's son says his dad wasn't expecting Jack Cassidy to greet him at the bar, and realized afterwards that Falk had "set him up" because Falk intended to shoot a longer scene with him later in the episode. And that's exactly what they did; one of the more memorable scenes in the series. Lally in his boarding house room talking to Falk about Santini's background.

Lally may have been uncomfortable in the scene, but he played it extremely well. Very natural. Mike is the cream of the cream.

22. Back Behind the Camera

In Last Salute to the Commodore (not one of my favorite episodes) Lally goes back behind the camera, in a manner of speaking. He appears very briefly as a police photographer when Charles Clay turns up dead.

23. Mike on the Scene

In Old Fashioned Murder (an underrated episode, in my opinion), Lally has a more substantial than average role. He plays a crime scene guy named "George Carter". He seems to be dusting the phone for fingerprints, but it's otherwise unclear what his character does.

24. Checkmate!

In The Bye Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case the sharp-eyed among you will spot Mike playing chess in the Sigma club when the fake gunshots occur.

I'm not sure if he was winning or not.

25. Apples and Oranges

In Murder Under Glass Mike has a typically brief appearance, as the produce seller in the farmer's market that Columbo and Gerard go to about 26 minutes into the episode.

26. Mike with the Magazine

In Make Me a Perfect Murder, Trish Van Devere's getaway is nearly spoiled by a security guard who pauses in the lobby to look at what appears to be an adult magazine (In the lobby of a TV network?). That security guard looks a lot like Michael Lally, though he isn't credited in IMDB or elsewhere. That said, David Koenig confirms in his book Shooting Columbo that it is Mike Lally.

So what's YOUR favorite Michael Lally appearance? Any that I've missed here? Let us know in the comments below!