Happy birthday Thomas Mitchell!
Actor Thomas Mitchell was born July 11, 1892, in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Most Columbo fans understandably think of Peter Falk as the Lieutenant, and a few deep-cut fans may even remember Bert Freed, who played the character in the 1960 Chevy Mystery Show episode Enough Rope. But Mitchell has his own special place in Columbo history: he was the first actor to play Columbo on stage.
In 1962, Richard Levinson and William Link adapted their earlier TV mystery into the stage play Prescription: Murder. The production starred Joseph Cotten as the murderous psychiatrist, Agnes Moorehead as his wife, and Thomas Mitchell as Lieutenant Columbo.
Mitchell was already a Hollywood legend by then. He had appeared in Gone with the Wind, Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It’s a Wonderful Life, High Noon, and plenty more. But his turn as Columbo ended up being one of his final roles. He died later that same year, in December 1962.
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