365 Days of Columbo: December 23rd

Credit to Vagebond's Columbo Screenshots for the images in this post.

James Gregory

Actor James Gregory was born December 23, 1911. Columbo fans may remember him as Coach Rizzo - the cranky football coach that Paul Hanlon torments in The Most Crucial Game, or as David Buckner, the ill-tempered executive that Roddy McDowall murders with an exploding cigar box in Short Fuse.

Gregory, on the right

Aside from Columbo, Gregory had a long career, with nearly 200 acting credits on his resume.

He passed away in 2002, in Sedona, Arizona, at the age of 90.

Victor Izay

Columbo occasional Victor Izay was born December 23rd, 1923 in Watertown, New York. He has three credited appearances in Columbo. He was Lassiter the locksmith in Now You See Him, and a small part as Conroy in Fade in to Murder but he is perhaps most recognizable as the medical examiner in An Exercise in Fatality.

Aside from Columbo, Izay has credits in Star Trek, and the John Travolta/Tim Allen biker comedy "Wild Hogs". He passed away in January, 2014.

Mark Wheeler

Mark Wheeler was born December 23rd, 1947. Most people may recognize him as Neil Armstrong in Apollo 13, or as one of the firefighters in Backdraft...but Columbo fans know him as troubled Cadet Springer in By Dawn's Early Light.