365 Days of Columbo: January 18th

Happy birthday Basil Hoffman

Born January 18th, 1938, in Houston, Texas, Basil Hoffman is best known to Columbo fans as Mr. Danziger, the high-strung Sigma Society president in The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case.

Outside of Columbo he had over 125 acting credits, including The Artist (2011), Hail, Caesar! (2016), and The West Wing (2002).

In 2008, he went to Beirut as a U.S. State Department Cultural Envoy to Lebanon to teach acting and directing at the University of Balamand's Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts, Lebanese University, Notre Dame University and St. Joseph University's Institut D'Etude Sceniques Audiovisuelles et Cinematographiques.

He passed away September 17th, 2021.

Joyeux anniversaire Robert Carricart

Best known to Columbo fans as the loyal assistant Hector Rangel, whom Ricardo Montalban murders with a bull in A Matter of Honor, Carricart was actually not Mexican. In fact, he was born in Bordeaux, France on January 18th, 1917.

Outside of Columbo he was known for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Time Tunnel.

He passed away on March 3rd, 1993 in Los Angeles, CA.

Happy birthday Leeza Vinnichenko (Lisa Pera)! 

Born January 18, 1940 in Volgograd, Russia she had a diverse career in both film and television mostly credited as Lisa Pera. She began her Hollywood journey in the late 1980s, appearing in films like "18 Again!" (1988) and TV movies such as "Too Good to Be True" (1988) and "She Was Marked for Murder" (1988).

Throughout the 1990s, Vinnichenko continued to showcase her versatility with roles in TV shows like "The Mommies" (1993-1995) and "Chicago Hope" (1994-2000). She also lent her voice to animated series such as "The Wild Thornberrys" (1998-2004).

Columbo fans remember her best as the charmed cleaning lady in Sex and the Married Detective.

Her later career included appearances in "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004), one of her final roles before her passing in 2013. 

Don't bet on any horses Jeff Yagher

Born January 18th, 1961 in Lawrence Kansas, Columbo fans will know him as Teddy McVeigh, whose vices and questionable friendships doomed him to murder at the hands of his brother Graham in Strange Bedfellows.

He's also a talented sculptor working primarily in plastic and resins, and his work has appeared in major movies.