Leftenant Columbo Trivia Quiz

Answer: Patrick Mcnee

Patrick, who was born into a wealthy family in London in 1922, has played the suave Englishman in many a film, mini-series and programmes around the world, including the Australian 'For the Term of his Natural Life'. He became a US citizen in 1959.

Ian Hendry, Douglas Muir and Jon Rollason were all actors in 'The Avengers' which starred Patrick Mcnee and Honor Blackman. Ian Hendry was the original avenger along with Mcnee.

Answer: doctor

Dr Frank Pierce diagnosed the murderer as having had a mild heart attack when Hayden Danziger (Robert Vaughn) collapsed into the swimming pool. This gave him an alibi which Columbo saw through when he found a feather on the floor. Later he was to ask the doctor if he could have been fooled into thinking someone had a heart attack.

Answer: Honor Blackman

Honor's career has included appearances in British sitcoms, 'Dr Who' and a number of films on both sides of the Atlantic. She played Lilian Stanhope in 'Dagger of the Mind', one of the pair discovered by Columbo as being those who accidentally killed Sir Roger and then tried to cover their tracks by deliberately killing the butler in order to frame him for the deed.

Answer: Billy

Dame Judi played Queen Victoria in 'Mrs Brown' while Scottish Billy Connolly played John Brown; he played Findlay Crawford in 'Murder with Too Many Notes' in 1999. Billy is best known in the UK as a no-holes-barred stand-up comedian, but he has had many parts in films in his career, and has produced television series of his journeys through the UK and Australia which have proved popular.

Answer: Columbo Cries Wolf

Alan's character knew about the plot to grab headlines with a bogus murder investigation, and set the ball rolling by reporting Diane Hunter as missing; we only see him a few times, but his character is important as he was also the person to whom Diane intended selling her controlling interest in the magazine she owned with Sean.

Answer: Bernard Fox

Bernard Fox also appeared in 'A Night to Remember' (1958) as the man who gave the iceberg warning, and 39 years later in 'Titanic' as Colonel Archibald Gracie, who comments on Jack saving Rose - "Well, the boy's a hero! Good for you, son. Well done."

William Lamb was Lord Melbourne's name (he was one of the Prime Ministers during Queen Victoria's reign), Michael Fish was a British weather-man and John Bull is a British symbol just as Uncle Sam is an American image.

Answer: 'Dagger of the Mind' / 'Last Salute to the Commodore'

In 'Last Salute to the Commodore' Hyde-White played the family lawyer who was one of the least-likely suspects in the first Columbo film which does not identify the murderer in the first scenes. He played Sir Roger Haversham's butler in 'Dagger of the Mind'; he worked out what happened and ended up framed and dead himself.

Answer: Donald Pleasence

All four actors listed were in 1973 Columbo films, but only Donald Pleasance ('Any Old Port in a Storm') was British. Born in 1919, he died in 1995, a famous figure around the world thanks to his varied career in films and television. His war service was tardy as he originally registered as a Conscientious Objector, then joined the RAF and served as a wireless operator when he was shot down and taken prisoner.

While a POW he organised a theatrical group to help pass the time in the camp, and this led on to an acting career on film.

Answer: the ship's captain

With all the Irish accents in this episode, it was surprising that only one listed actor came from the Emerald Isle! Clive Revill, who is often mistaken for a Brit, had a wonderful southern Irish accent, but the character claimed to come from Belfast, which is in Northern Ireland. The ship's captain, who only speaks in one scene, when being asked to delay the sailing, was played by Sean McClory, who appeared in 'The Quiet Man' with John Wayne.

Technically speaking, Sean McClory is not a Brit, having been born in Dublin, which is in Eire (only Northern Ireland is part of the UK), but I am twisting things a bit because the Irish would also pronounce Columbo's rank as 'leftenant'. Awful reasoning, but there you are.

Answer: Anthony Andrews

This particular Columbo film, although slow in places, is a good one. Andrews plays Elliott Blake, who very nearly escapes from Columbo's clutches by means of being relocated by the military; a young lad helps our rumpled detective, and he is uncovered as a fraud. Soon after this, Columbo takes a chance and tricks Blake into attempting to decapitate him.