365 Days of Columbo: May 22nd

Happy Birthday Frank Converse

Actor Frank Converse was born May 22, 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri. Columbo fans know him from Requiem for a Falling Star, where he plays Mr. Fallon in one of the show’s most Hollywood-saturated outings.

It’s a relatively small role, but he’s in good company. Requiem for a Falling Star gives us Anne Baxter as fading movie queen Nora Chandler, Mel Ferrer as gossip columnist Jerry Parks, Pippa Scott (see below) as Jean Davis, Kevin McCarthy as Dr. Frank Simmons, and even Edith Head as herself. Not a bad call sheet.

Converse would go on to a long television career, including starring roles in Coronet Blue, N.Y.P.D., and Movin’ On.

Remembering Pippa Scott

Actress Pippa Scott passed away on May 22, 2025, at the age of 90. She too was in
Requiem for a Falling Star, where she plays Jean Davis, Nora Chandler’s loyal secretary and companion — and, as we eventually learn, the person Nora really intended to kill.

Outside Columbo, Scott had a wide-ranging career. She appeared in The Searchers, Auntie Mame, The Twilight Zone, Mission: Impossible, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and many other shows and films. Later in life, she also became active in human-rights work and documentary production.

“The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case” Premieres

On May 22, 1977, The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case first aired. It was the final episode of Columbo’s sixth season.

The episode stars Theodore Bikel as Oliver Brandt, a brilliant accountant and member of the Sigma Society who murders his partner Bertie Hastings, played by Sorrell Booke, after Bertie discovers Oliver has been embezzling money. Samantha Eggar plays Vivian Brandt, Kenneth Mars turns up as Mike, and a young Jamie Lee Curtis has a small appearance as a waitress.

What makes the episode so satisfying is that Oliver really is smart. He isn’t just rich, arrogant, or lucky. He constructs a genuinely intricate alibi, complete with a timed record-player trick, and he has the self-regard of a man who believes he is the smartest person in every room. Naturally, that makes him perfect prey for Columbo.