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20 August 2020“My name is Columbo, I’m a Lieutenant.”
"Just one more thing..." is possibly one of the most iconic catchphrases in the history of television, as well as the character pronouncing it: Lieutenant Columbo.Played by the great Peter Falk, Columbo has been one of the longest running TV shows and its protagonist one of the most loved TV cops (if not even characters).
The Series changed the narrative of the typical police procedural dramas: instead of revealing the villain at the end and surprising the viewer with the articulate arguments of the detective, each episode typically opens with a sequence depicting how and why the crime was committed and, most importantly, by whom. Therefore, the focus is no longer on who or why did something, rather on how this apparently dimwitted detective is going to find out the perpetrator of one of the most heinous crimes: homicide.
In a similar fashion, Columbo also managed to transform the stereotype of the American policeman on the small screen: from the distant, formal, serious “All we want are the facts, ma'am” of the sharp looking Sergeant Joe Friday, to this shabby, easy going and voluntarily clumsy cop, usually looking like an accountant after a day of work and talking about his wife to annoy his suspects. Hidden behind a façade of simplicity and friendly demeanor, Peter Falk’s character rarely reveals his acumen during the plot of any episode, but at the end. Afterall, he's a veteran officer and a hell of a good detective.
A lot could be written about Columbo. You may read it on Wikipedia as well. What you can’t read anywhere else is a commentary about what’s behind some of the Lieutenant’s iconic items: his badges and his ID cards.
As a regular policeman with the Los Angels Police Department (LAPD), he's issued a gun, a pair of handcuffs, a badge and an ID card. While we see very rarely his revolver or his handcuffs, we stumble upon his badge and ID in every episode, typically when he identifies himself as a member of the police force.
That being said, there have been 3 series of identification sets made for the show. I’ve named them Series 1, 2 and 3 for categorization reasons, but these aren't official denominations.
Series 1
Columbo's Series 1 set from S01E03 "Dead Weight".
Close up of Columbo's Series 1 badge, from S05E04 "A Matter of Honor".
At first glance, the screen used badge seems to recall LAPD Series 5 badges, which featured a shield shape and an eagle at the top. Anyway, following further research, I came to the conclusion that Columbo's Series 1 badge actually replicated the Second Issue San Diego Police (SDP) badge for Reserve Officers: while the actual LAPD Series 5 badges were all gold and depicted the Seal of the City of Los Angeles at the center, the screen used one was silver with gold scrolls and displayed an unrecognizable seal with a thin white border. The very same design can be found on the said SDP badges which have been issued since 1960 to date. Moreover, on such badges the Seal of the City of San Diego at their center has a thin white border just like the one of the prop badge. Despite that, the fonts used on the screen used item seem to match pretty closely the actual ones (of both SDP and LAPD badges).
On the left, a LAPD Series 5 badge; on the right a Second Issue San Diego Police badge for Reserve Officers. While the prop badge was likely based off the one on the right, it's worh noticing that the LAPD badge on the left reads DETECTIVE, while Columbo's one reads POLICE on one of the bottom scrolls. This was not technically wrong, since genuine Series 5 badges usually displayed the word police at the bottom. Detective was reserved for those officers tasked primarily with investigative duties. If it wasn't for a digit on the badge number, this could have been be the real-life version of Columbo's Series 1 badge...if only Columbo was set between 1923 and 1940, when the Series 5 badges were in use.
The screen used badge displays the number 416 which has wrongfully become known as Columbo’s badge number (see below).The screen used ID card shares a design similarity with the actual LAPD IDs from the same period: the badge drawing and bearer’s photo were in the same place. Other than that, the prop ID is quite different: black and white graphics with no space for typed name, serial number and signature of the Chief of Police.
Close up of Columbo's Series 1 ID card, from S05E04 "A Matter of Honor".
Nonetheless, it’s a trove of trivia. We find out that Columbo’s first name is Frank (at last according to the signature). Actually, there's no consensus on this: the 1984 300 million lawsuit over the real name of Columbo brought no answer, other than creating a false memory that Columbo’s name was Philip. It was only with the advent of high resolution technology and remastered episodes that has been possible to find out about Columbo’s first name. To date anyway, there is no agreement between two opposite factions. One claiming that the real name is Frank and providing as evidence what appears on the screen used prop ID cards; one affirming that the production and even Peter Falk never intended to have a name cast for the character: the use of Frank was just made up by the prop department for prop purposes.
A genuine LAPD Series 6 badge. Series 6 badges were adopted in 1940 and, with minor variations, are still currently issued by the LAPD.
Another very interesting detail about the Series 1 ID card is represented by the badge drawing: it pictures a Series 6 badge (oval shape with the Los Angeles City Hall in the middle), which is consistent with both the era when the show is set and what appears on the actual LAPD IDs issued at the time, but is different from the metal badge in the wallet (a Series 5 badge). Despite the common belief that Columbo’s badge number is 416, it can be observed that the rank and number on it are different: on the metal one, the rank is Lieutenant and badge number is 416, while on the ID card the rank is Sergeant (one below Lieutenant) and the badge number is 235. Despite that, the ID clearly states LIEUTENANT in the bottom right corner, so go figure…Last but not least, the ID card gives away another very interesting information: the height of our beloved Lieutenant. There are small horizontal and parallel lines, next to the top right corner of the character’s photo, with a 5 at the bottom and a 6 at the top. Maybe 5 foot and 6 inches? Peter Falk height was 5 foot and 6/7 inches. Could be just a coincidence, but a curious one indeed, considering that height posters behind policemen taking mugshots for their ID cards were common practice at the time…
Series 2
The Series 2 identification set can be seen in the last 3 seasons (8 to 10 plus specials), aired on ABC. Again, the set consists in a leather wallet with a metal badge and his ID card.
Columbo's Series 2 set from 1991 Special "Death Hits the Jackpot".
A short article about the screen used Series 2 set appeared at page 48 of the Radio Times magazine edition of 3-9 January 2009. The article pictures a clear photo of the prop badge, wallet and ID along with the caption: "This came from the property master on the show. It got fished out of his storage and he thought, Shall I let this piece rot away in my garage? maybe it's better that it lives on. And that's how we got it. It's the only one ever to surface with the ID card and metal police badge in a wallet, with his name - Columbo's first name is Frank. It looks like they took the photo of Peter Falk after the cocktail hour because he looks a little tired!"
While the badge number is now different from the previous ones (thus proving that the Columbo’s badge number hasn't always been the same), it's worth noticing that his ID card now displays the correct badge drawing (a Series 6 one) with matching rank and badge number. Similarly to the metal badge, the ID card is virtually the actual one issued by the LAPD at the time, with the same design elements and data you would find on the real thing (we even get to know that Columbo's LAPD Serial number is 64321-0).
A genuine LAPD ID card from before 1972. This design has been first issued in late 60s and has been maintained with basically no variations, until replaced in the early 2000s.
Noticeable differences exist in the design of the badge drawing, color of the badge background and fonts of the word POLICE at the top (also typing the badge number at the bottom of the badge drawing on the ID card wasn't actually a thing in the LAPD).Despite there's no official truth about Columbo’s first name, it’s quite interesting to notice that the prop department reiterates the use of the first name Frank on the Series 2 ID card too. The signature reads Frank Columbo and the name printed on card is Lt. Frank Columbo. Now, the way the name is typed brings up an interesting theory: Lt. is the abbreviation of the rank of Lieutenant, and it appears here probably because it was just a common practice to state the officer’s rank on the name line on prop IDs, especially the ones based off LAPD ID cards. Columbo always claims that his name is just Lieutenant and on the name line of actual LAPD IDs only the name was stated, never the rank. The prop ID seems to somewhat reflect this gag, making Columbo’s first name actually Lieutenant. Likely not like that, but it’s still fun to think that Columbo’s ID may involuntarily confirm that part of his first name was his police rank.
Series 3
The Series 3 set is not an actual set, I consider it for the sake of completeness. This set never appears in the show and was not even produced by the prop department. It appears in the Columbo’s TV card of Fox Family (Freeform) Channel. Even there, the set consists in a metal badge, a wallet and an ID card.
Columbo's Series 3 set as it appears on the Fox Family Channel TV card.
Close up of Columbo's Series 3 set from the TV card introducing each episode.
The ID card features two photos of a surprised Columbo and is based off the Virginia Driving License at the time. There are few differences: the words Commonwealth of Virginia are replaced by the word LAPD, the words Driver's License are replaced by a line and some data at the bottom disappear. Unsurprisingly, the signature just reads Lt. Columbo. No effort or creativity needed there.In conclusion, there have been 3 sets of identification, the third one being forgettable and regrettable, while the first two were screen used and full of interesting trivia.
There were also other kind of interesting IDs that appeared during the episodes of Columbo…but this one may be a story for another article.
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