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OBITUARY OF COLUMBO CHARACTERS FROM THE 1970’S TV SERIES

(Sent to us by Robert Thornsby)

Ayres, Lew 
Played Professor Howard Nicholson in Mind Over Mayhem (1974)

Born Lewis Ayer in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 26th December 1908.
Died in his sleep after being in a coma for several days in Los Angeles on

30th December 1996.

Additional Notes:      Married to Ginger Rogers from 1934-1940


Basehart, Richard

Played Nicholas Frame in Dagger of the Mind (1972)

Born in Zanesville, Ohio on the 31 August 1914. 

Died from multiple strokes in Los Angeles on 17th September 1984.

Baxter, Anne

Played Nora Chandler in Requiem for a Falling Star (1974)

Born in Michigan City, Indiana on the 7th May 1923. 

Died from a stroke in New York on 12th December 1985.

Booke, Sorrell

Played:           J J Stringer in Swan Song (1973)

            Bertie Hastings in Bye Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case (1977)
 

Born in Buffalo, New York on the 4th January 1930. 

Died from cancer in Sherman Oaks, CA on 11th February 1994.


Cassavetes, John

Played Alex Benedict in Etude in Black (1972)

Born in New York on 9th December 1929.

Died in Los Angeles on 3rd February 1989.

Additional Notes:  Peter Falk said of John Cassavetes “John was the most fervent man I ever met, and he didn’t have a copy-cat bone in his body”.

Cassidy, John Joseph Edward

Played:           Ken Franklin in Murder by the Book (1971)

                        Riley Greenleaf in Publish or Perish (1974)

                        The Great Santini in Now You See Him (1976)

Born 5th Match 1927.

Died in a fire accident in Los Angeles on 12th December 1976.  He fell asleep smoking, which ignited the couch and him.

Elliott, Ross

Played Dr Landberg in Forgotten Lady (1975)

Born in New York on 18th June 1917.

Died from cancer in Los Angeles on 12th August 1999.

Ferrer, José

Played Dr Marshall Cahill in Mind Over Mayhem (1974)

Born José Vicente Ferrery Cintron in Coral Gables, Florida on the 8th January 1912.

Died after a brief illness in Santruce, Puerto Rico on 26th January 1992.

Additional Notes:  José was the uncle of actor George Clooney.

Gordon, Ruth

Played Abigail Mitchell in Try and Catch Me (1977)

Born Ruth Gordon Jones in Wollaston, MA on 30th October 1896. 

Died from a stroke in Edgartown, MA on 28th August 1985.

Harvey, Laurence

Played Emmet Clayton in The Most Dangerous Match (1973)

Born Laruschka Mischa Skikne in Joniskis, Lithuania on 1st October 1928.  Died from stomach cancer in Hampstead, London, England on 25th November 1973.

Additional Notes:  Adopted his stage name Harvey from the Harvey Nicholls Group.

 

Head, Edith

Played herself as fashion consultant to Anne Baxter in

Requiem for a Falling Star (1974)

Born in San Bernadino, CA on 28th October 1897. 

Died from bone marrow disease on 24th October 1981.

Additional Notes:  Edith received 34 Oscar nominations and 8 awards which makes her the most honoured costume designer in Academy award history.

 

Kiley, Richard

Played Mark Halperin in A Friend in Deed (1974)

Born Richard Paul Kiley in Chicago, IL on 31st Match 1922. 

Died from bone marrow disease in Warwick, NJ on 5th March 1999.

 

Lally, Michael 

Born Michael Lally on the 1st June 1900 in Brooklyn, NY.

Died 15 February 1985 in Woodland Hills, CA.

Additional Notes: Mike not only starred in all but the last two of the
1970's Columbo series but appeared in 81 movies covering half a century
from 1932-1982. He was often unaccredited for his roles of various
guises but usually played either a reporter, taxi driver or gangster.

Lupino, Ida

Played Doris Buckner in Short Fuse (1972)

Played Edna Brown in Swan Song (1973)

Born in London, England on 4th February 1918. 

Died from a stroke in California on 3rd August 1995.

 

Martin, Ross

Played Dale Kingston in Suitable for Framing (1971)

Born Martin Rosenblatt in Grodek, Poland on the 22nd March 1920. 

Died from a heart condition on 3rd July 1981.

Additional Notes:  Note the marvellous interplay between Martin and Falk in Suitable for Framing.  Ross was Falk’s acting instructor in years passed.  The 2 also worked together in The Great Race (1965) in which Falk played Maximillian “Max” Meen and Martin played Baron Rolfe Von Stuppe.

 

McDowall, Roddy

Played Roger Stanford in Short Fuse (1972)

Born Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall in Herne Hill, London on 17th September 1928.

Died from cancer in Studio City, CA on 3rd October 1998.

Additional Notes:  His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

 

Milland, Raymond

Played Jarvis Goodland in The Greenhouse Jungle (1972)

Played Arthur Kennicut in Death Lends a Hand (1972)

Born Reginald Alfred Truscott-Jones in Neath, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, England on 3rd January 1907. 

Died from lung cancer in Torrance, CA on 10th March 1986.

 

O’Neal, Patrick

Played Elliott Markham in Blueprint for Murder (1972)

Played Frank Flanagan in Make Me a Perfect Murder (1978)

Born 26th September 1927. 

Died from respiratory failure in Ocala, Florida on 9th September 1994.

 

Pleasance, Donald

Played Adrian Carsini in Any Old Port in a Storm (1973)

Born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England on 5th October 1919.

Died in St. Paul de Vence, France on 2nd February 1995.

 

Price, Vincent

Played David Lang in Lovely but Lethal (1973)

Born Vincent Leonard Price in St Louis, Missouri on 27th November 1911.

Died from lung cancer in Los Angeles on 25th November 1993.

 

Tucker, Forrest

Played Beau Williamson in Blueprint for Murder (1972)

Born in Plainfield, Indiana on 12th February 1919.

Died from lung cancer in Woodland Hills, CA on 25th October 1986.

 

Werner, Oskar

Played Harold Van Wyck in Playback (1975)

Born Oskar Josef Bschliebmayer in Vienna, Austria on 13th November 1922.

Died in Marburg, Germany on 22nd October 1984.

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