Although the first appearance of the Columbo character on television was almost 58 years ago, today marks the 50th anniversary of the first time Peter Falk played the role of Columbo. On February 20th 1968, the TV movie Prescription: Murder, an adaptation of the stage play of the same name, was aired for the first time. This changed the life of Peter Falk and also gave a new and longer life to that wonderful detective character as it paved the way a few years later to the creation of the Columbo series we all love.