Richard Dawson
Hal Holbrook
O.J.

Thanks to his SERIOUS role in EXERCISE IN FATALITY, I always wish Pat Harrington had played a COMICAL role in some other episode. (Was Joyce Van Patten the only person who got to do both things?)

As we saw with Dick vandyke, mild mannered comedy actors being murderers, e.g. Groucho Marx, Phil Silvers, Charlie Chaplin (who played a serial killer in Monsieur Verdoux).

Ida Lupino guest starred in two episodes, once as the victim and once in a different supporting role. She was quite horrible as Edna in ''Swan song'' and could have made an interesting murderess for Columbo

Vincent Price makes an appearance in a few scenes in Lovely But Lethal and looks like he could have made a good villain

I think Cary Grant would have been good as a Jarvis Goodland/Ray Milland type of murderer

I've said this before, but because of the movie "LUV" with Peter Falk, I wish Elaine May had been on the show at least once. In fact, if they had ever shown Mrs. Columbo, she would have been a very good choice.

#1 at the top of the list for me would be Joan Collins. She would have been better I think than Vera Miles for "Lovely But Lethal." And the contrast with Falk would have been perfect with her Alexis-in-training demeanor looking down on Columbo as an insignificant threat.

I would have loved to have seen Larry Hagman play a villian on Columbo. Coming off of his comedic role on I Dream of Jeannie and before his great run as the villianous J.R. Ewing on Dallas.

This one might be far-fetched because it's someone without a great deal of "star power" (except for Price is Right fans!), but the actress / model Anitra Ford played a tiny uncredited tole in MURDER BY THE BOOK, and I can imagine her in a bigger COLUMBO role. If not as "the" murderer, maybe as a female accomplice. Sort of a more aggressive version of Tracy O'Connor or Joan Hudson. (She played a pretty great "shrew" in The Longest Yard and a great SCIENCE FICTION villainess in "Invasion of the Bee Girls.")

Jonathan Harris
Terry-Thomas
Paul Lynde

Terry-Thomas would have been great in DAGGERS OF THE MIND. Of course, some COLUMBO fans already dislike its over-the-top English characters, so he would have definitely added to that, but I really can't see too much of Terry-Thomas.
Or maybe TROUBLED WATERS.

I said it a few years ago, but Peter Falk as a lookalike killer.

Carol O'Conner was a pretty big name during the Columbo years.

Another I think would have been interesting is Henry Winkler. He was wildy popular as 'The Fonz', but a relative unknown as anything else.

Those who were "stars" on another series at the time really never had the time to get away to do a full-fledged guest shot on another show. Martin Milner was a sort-of exception in "Murder By The Book" but playing the victim, rather than the killer meant that he didn't need to take too much time away from "Adam-12" to do the episode.

Raymond Burr, Elizabeth Montgomery, Gregory Peck, Hal Linden, and Tony Franciosa immediately come to mind. George Peppard could have given a smooth performance, and Burgess Meredith and Ben Gazzara were two almost-stars I'd have liked to have seen make the show.

Would like to see how long John Vernon's patience would last against Columbo's questions.

Plus I always thought that charles grodin as a newspaper boss would've been an interesting setup. A neurotic mix of comedy and drama

Bradford Dillman

Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury

Howard Duff.

He appeared in just about every series of the era (even as the killer in Ellery Queen), and I've always been puzzled how a spot in "Columbo" could have escaped such a great character actor.

I always thought that Rod Serling during the "Night Gallery" era looked like Peter Falk.

David Cassidy with Jack Cassidy....

One playing the Murderer and the other playing the victim.



Telly Savalas.

Gene Barry (again)

Larry Hagman

Chuck Barris, god rest his soul.