365 Days of Columbo: December 27th

A tip of the hat to William Link

Columbo co-creator William Link died on December 27, 2020.

Link (working with Richard Levinson) helped invent the entire Columbo template: the inverted mystery, the polite nuisance routine, and the long game where the detective wins by being underestimated.

It’s hard to overstate how many later TV mysteries owe something to that formula. Every time Columbo wanders back into a suspect’s office with ‘just one more thing,’ you can feel the Link/Levinson craftsmanship at work—setting up a conversational trap that sounds harmless until it snaps shut.

Happy birthday Harry Johnson

Actor Harry Johnson was born on December 27, 1942. Best known to Columbo fans as Charlie Lenz in the 1989 episode Sex and the Married Detective.

It’s a small role, but it’s the kind Columbo thrives on: a character who seems incidental at first… until Columbo starts circling and you realize everyone in the room matters.

Outside of Columbo he appeared a couple of times on Battlestar Galactica and Dynasty.

He passed away January 2nd, 2024. 

Happy birthday Shirl Hendryx

Columbo fans won't recognize Shirl's face, but they will recognize his words - he was the writer of the episode A Stitch in Crime. Shirl Hendryx was born on December 27, 1923.

He only wrote one episode of Columbo, but he also wrote episodes of Banacek, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, and The Streets of San Francisco.

Hendryx passed away July 15th, 2023.

Farewell Lawrence Cook

Born May 7th, 1930, Lawrence Cook passed away on December 27, 2003.

Cook appears in Season 1’s Short Fuse as "The best Chauffer/Private Investigator in the business." David's right-hand man, Quincy. 

Cook had a solid film and TV career beyond Columbo, including appearances on Hill Street Blues, and Lou Grant.