What was Lt. Columbo's first name?

mk2norwich

Apparently, he never had one, but some sources say it is Philip. Feb 19 04, 12:05 PM

satguru

I read the same thread recently on a TV site, and when the Radio Times did an article, his warrant card said Frank on it. It also said Philip was a hoax started by someone in the media. Feb 19 04, 6:29 PM

Senior Moments

According to The Guinness Television Encyclopedia, his first name of Philip was mentioned in the first TV movie 'Prescription: Murder' in 1968 before the series started in 1972. Feb 19 04, 6:35 PM

gmackematix

The Penguin TV Companion agrees with you, SM. Just one more thing. http://www.columbo-site.freeuk.com/firstnamecourt.htm Columbo’s First Name and The Supreme Court - The “Philip Columbo” Story "Columbo’s first name was the subject of a $300 million lawsuit, in the 1980s, that was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Fred L. Worth, a former air traffic controller from Sacramento, California, wrote a book called “The Trivia Encyclopedia”, published in 1974. The book was followed by “The Complete Unabridged Super Trivia Encyclopedia” in 1977, a big success which led to additional “Super Trivia” books including “Super Trivia, vol. II” in 1981. Fred was convinced that trivia was about to become a boom industry, and he wanted to protect the work that he had assembled. However, he realized that no one can “own” facts of public record – he could only try to claim rights to the form of his own compilation. In “Super Trivia”, Fred had included the statement that Columbo’s first name was “Philip”. This assertion was completely invented by Fred, for no purpose except to trap potential copycats." Gee, that kind of throws a different light on things, doesn't it, Sir? You see my problem? Just wait till I tell my wife all about this... Feb 19 04, 7:58 PM

onlytvgod

According to Peter Falk in an interview with Entertainment Tonight it was Frank. Feb 20 04, 1:01 AM

JoeLite1945

IMDb says: In the episode "A Matter of Honor," (1976) a Mexican policeman looks at Columbo's badge and identification. If you freeze the frame, you will see that Columbo's first name is indeed Frank. Also see Question #26268 http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question26268.html Nov 10 06, 5:10 PM

Br.John

Frank http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Columbo-Signature.jpg Nov 10 06, 7:45 PM