365 Days of Columbo: July 21st

Happy Birthday Paul Burke

Actor Paul Burke was born July 21, 1926, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Burke made his final screen appearance as Horace Sherwin in 1990’s Uneasy Lies the Crown. Sherwin is the wealthy father-in-law of murderous dentist Wesley Corman, played by James Read. 

Burke had been a familiar television leading man for decades, starring as Detective Adam Flint in Naked City and appearing in shows such as Starsky and Hutch, Dynasty and Hot Shots. He died in 2009 at the age of 83.

Happy Birthday John Martin

John Martin was born July 21, 1951, in Turlock, California.

Columbo fans will remember him as private investigator Sam Marlowe in Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star. Marlowe is hired by defense attorney Hugh Creighton to keep tabs on Creighton’s unfaithful girlfriend, Marcy Edwards. His surveillance photographs ultimately become an important part of Creighton’s elaborate attempt to manufacture an alibi.

The character’s name appears to be a playful combination of two legendary fictional private detectives: Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. That makes Marlowe a particularly appropriate name for a private eye operating in the shadowy corners of Los Angeles.

Remembering Mako

Actor Mako died July 21, 2006, at the age of 72.

He appeared in Murder Under Glass as Kenji Ozu, the visiting Japanese journalist who accompanies food critic Paul Gerard on his rounds of Los Angeles restaurants. Ozu is present for several of Gerard’s imperious performances and later helps Columbo understand the significance of the poisoned fugu fish.

Mako had a remarkable career beyond Columbo. He received an Academy Award nomination for The Sand Pebbles, appeared in films including Conan the Barbarian and Rising Sun, and introduced himself to a younger generation as the voice of Uncle Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Remembering Theodore Bikel

Theodore Bikel died July 21, 2015, at the age of 91.

Bikel gave one of the series’ most memorable portrayals of a murderer as Oliver Brandt in The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case. Brandt is unquestionably brilliant, but he is also vain, insecure and desperate to preserve the expensive lifestyle he believes is necessary to keep his wife. When his business partner Bertie Hastings discovers that Brandt has been embezzling from their clients, Brandt constructs an ingenious murder around a record player, a dictionary and a carefully balanced Sharpie.

Away from Columbo, Bikel was an accomplished actor, folk singer and political activist. He originated the role of Captain von Trapp in the Broadway production of The Sound of Music and played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof more than 2,000 times. He died of natural causes at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.