365 Days of Columbo: August 13th

Happy birthday Pat Harrington Jr.

Harrington is best remembered by television audiences as Dwayne Schneider, the ever-present building superintendent on One Day at a Time, a role that eventually brought him both Emmy and Golden Globe recognition. But a year before that series began, he turned up opposite Peter Falk and Robert Conrad in the 1974 Columbo episode An Exercise in Fatality. Harrington played Buddy Castle, Milo Janus’ right-hand man.

Happy birthday to Gretchen Corbett

Born August 13, 1945, in Portland, Oregon, Corbett is well-known to Columbo fans as Jessica Conroy, Milo Janus’s cool and capable secretary in An Exercise in Fatality. Jessica makes a memorable entrance when Columbo calls at Milo's home. But she proves to be much more than just a pretty face: her recollection of Milo’s movements helps the Lieutenant put another piece of the puzzle into place.

Corbett would become even better known to television audiences as attorney Beth Davenport on The Rockford Files, opposite James Garner — another classic Universal detective series of the 1970s.

Charles Macaulay died on August 13, 1999

Macaulay was a veteran stage, film and television actor whose long career included two appearances in Columbo. His first appearance was as Durkee in Etude in Black - we meet him briefly in the restaurant with George Gaynes. His more significant role was in Mind Over Mayhem where he played the dog school headmaster who tells Columbo that Dog has to leave.

He died at age 71 after a career stretching across Broadway, television and movies.

Rest in peace, Michael Sloan 

Sloan later became particularly well known as the co-creator of The Equalizer, but Columbo fans know his name from the credits of one very special episode: Now You See Him.

Sloan wrote the 1976 episode that brought Jack Cassidy back for his third and final turn as a Columbo murderer, this time as master magician The Great Santini.

In his personal life he was married to Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Sue Anderson.

He died on August 13, 2025, at the age of 78.