Happy birthday to Patrick O'Neal
September 26th is the birthday of Patrick O’Neal, born in 1927. Columbo fans first met him as Elliot Markham, the ambitious architect at the center of Season 1’s Blueprint for Murder.
Markham has a grand vision for a new city, but the money behind it belongs to Bo Williamson. When Williamson threatens to pull the plug, Markham decides to remove the obstacle. O’Neal gives him just the right air of confidence: this is a man who believes he has planned for everything, including where a body might be hidden. Naturally, Columbo has a few questions about the plans.
O’Neal returned six years later in Make Me a Perfect Murder, this time as television executive Frank Flanagan. It’s a different role and a smaller part, but a welcome second appearance for an actor who made his first encounter with the lieutenant so memorable.
Happy birthday to Charles Macaulay
Also born on September 26, 1927 was Charles Macaulay, who turned up three times in the early Columbo years.
He played Richard in the second pilot, Ransom for a Dead Man, Durkee in Étude in Black, and Farnsworth, the dog school headmaster, in Mind Over Mayhem.
Happy birthday to Anita Dangler
Anita Dangler was born on September 26, 1922. She appears as Mrs. Weatherford in Death Hits the Jackpot, alongside Michael Prince as Mr. Weatherford.
It’s a small part in an episode with a lot going on, but these are exactly the faces that make another viewing of Columbo rewarding. You can watch an episode for the murder plot and still spot someone you hadn’t noticed before.
Happy birthday to Britt Lind
Death Hits the Jackpot gives us two September 26 birthdays. Britt Lind, who plays Trish, was also born on this date, in Norway.
She's a poet. And a potter. And has the hots for Columbo.
Remembering John Ashton
September 26 also marks the anniversary of John Ashton’s death in 2024, at age 76.
Long before most moviegoers knew him as Sergeant Taggart in Beverly Hills Cop, Ashton appeared in Columbo as real estate agent Calvin MacGruder in Negative Reaction. It’s a brief appearance, but one worth looking out for the next time Dick Van Dyke’s photographer Paul Galesko tries to talk his way out of trouble.
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