365 Days of Columbo: July 27th

Happy birthday Dean Hargrove!

July 27, 1938, saw the birth of writer and producer Dean Hargrove in Iola, Kansas. You might not recognize his face, but if you paid any attention to the credits during the early years you'll certainly recognize the name.

Hargrove’s place in Columbo history was secured before the series had even begun its regular run. He wrote the screenplay for Ransom for a Dead Man, the 1971 television movie that served as the second Columbo pilot and helped establish the format that would carry the Lieutenant through the following decades.

Hargrove subsequently became one of the guiding creative figures of the classic NBC years. He served as a producer and executive producer on 20 Columbo installments between 1971 and 1975, helping oversee the program during some of its most celebrated seasons.

He also received a writing credit on Mind Over Mayhem, the 1974 adventure in which Columbo investigates the murder of a scientist at a futuristic research institute. 

Hargrove’s work on Columbo earned him a Primetime Emmy Award as part of the show’s producing team. He later became closely associated with a succession of successful television mysteries, including the Perry Mason television movies, Matlock, Jake and the Fatman, Father Dowling Mysteries and Diagnosis: Murder.

As of this writing he does appear to still be alive.