July 2nd features four notable Columbo birthdays.
Barbara Colby
First off, the ill-fated Barbara Colby - who played the ill-fated Lily La Sanka in Murder by the Book. She was born July 2nd, 1939 in New York.
Her career was just starting to take off - she'd filmed 3 episodes of a new Mary Tyler Moore spinoff called "Phyllis" when tragedy struck. She was gunned down in an apparent random act of gang violence while leaving an acting class in Los Angeles in 1975. The crime was never solved.
She was replaced on the Phyllis show by Liz Torres.
Trivia: Colby was married to, but separated from at the time of her death, Robert Daniels Levitt...whose mother was the legendary Ethel Merman.
Ron Castro
Even a lot of hard-core Columbo fans may be asking "Who?" Maybe this will refresh your memory.
Castro played Officer Sanchez, the handsome young "slick sleeve" who took Mrs. Stewart's statement about seeing General Hollister murder somebody. Castro was born July 2nd, 1942 in Dallas, TX.
He was moderately busy with TV roles through the 1970s including Adam-12, Streets of San Francisco, and Ironside.
Fun fact: Adam-12 starred Martin Milner as Officer Milloy. Milner also played Jim Ferris, the murdered mystery writer in Murder by the Book.
Joshua Bryant
Another actor that Columbo fans will recognize by face, if not by name. He was Dr. MacMurray, the coroner who tells Columbo that Mrs. Halperin had soap in her lungs in A Friend in Deed.
He was also the shipyard foreman, Wayne Taylor, in Last Salute to the Commodore. You may recall the Commodore pointed him out as the only honest man in the room.
Bryant was born July 2nd, 1940 and made the rounds of all the 1970s/1980s network shows such as The Love Boat, Hawaii 5-0, The Rockford Files, M*A*S*H, CHiPs and lots more.
Julia Montgomery
The pretty assistant with the red ribbon in her hair, Cindy Gault, from Sex and the Married Detective. She was, of course, also the one who was having a fling with the eventual murder victim, David.
Perhaps better known as Betty from Revenge of the Nerds Julia was born July 2nd, 1960 in Kansas City, Missouri.
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