Scotti died of lung cancer in 1996, aged 78.Īdored by Columbo fans the world over, Vito Scotti’s half-dozen appearances managed to cram in a huge amount of humour, warmth and character variety. He also starred as Nazorine in The Godfather. In a 50-year career, he racked up more than 200 screen appearances in shows as varied as Batman, Gilligan’s Island, Hogan’s Heroes, Ironside and The Monkees. A stage actor from the 1930s, he progressed to TV and film in the 1940s. Vito ScottiĪn Italian-American character actor par excellence, Vito Scotti was born in January 1918. A major role, making the most of Avery’s convincing ability to play a low-life, his Artie Jessup played an integral role in bringing down Commissioner Halperin. His highlight, however, was being cast as jewel thief Artie Jessup (pictured) in A Friend in Deed, the dark tale of police corruption from Season 3. Identity Crisis (1975) – Louie the BarmanĬolumbo highlight: After debuting in a cameo in Season 1’s Dead Weight, Avery’s Columbo career upped a notch in Season 2 as he played shady private eye Ralph Dobbs in The Most Crucial Game. So here’s a heart-felt tribute to the ‘Super Six’ Columbo regulars, all of whom are deserving of our great admiration, and listed here in reverse order of how many appearances they made. But all brought a sense of familiarity to keen fans and doubtless helped bring the best out of Peter Falk by their very presence. They weren’t the biggest names, they were often under the radar – even unnoticed, at times, by casual viewers. I’ve identified six great character actors, who clocked up 60 Columbo appearances between them. And that includes a range of semi-regular character actors who helped add great richness, humour and variety to the greatest TV program of all time. But strength-in-depth was another of the show’s characteristics. They left a quite amazing legacy one so strong that Columbo remains as compelling viewing now as it did in its 70s hey-day. Peter Falk and the gaggle of world-class guest star killers who graced the show for so many years will forever loom large over every aspect of Columbo.
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