Lots of great references in this thread -- the fans here always make me proud of this Forum!

My thoughts: Columbo is an old-school, old-fashioned Catholic boy who is easily embarrassed by anything that's about sex. But he definitely has an eye for the ladies, and his schoolboy mindset has acquired an overlay of a cop's hardened, street-smart attitudes.

More than anything, he is a man who loves his wife, and it is interesting that the woman he loves so passionately has the figure of a "real" woman, not a fashion-model or stick-figure. My guess is that he and Mrs Columbo make each other very happy in all the ways that count.

If I may speculate: I wouldn't be surprised if, on special occasions, she wears a Catholic schoolgirl uniform for him -- he's that kind of guy. But mostly, he just wants her naked -- and now. Unless she is mad at him, which (as he has admitted) is probably not too unusual around the Columbo house.

Columbo shows his innocent school boy mindset in Etude in Black.

When he goes to Audry's ballet lesson she comes over to him and he says,"Audry I'm very impressed with you. and She says, "Oh really is it my body or my mind"? And Columbo says, "Well it's both really". What a thing to say to a twelve year old! It was very funny.

I think this was improvised by Peter, he almost starts laughing and Audry looks surprised at the line, she smiles and doesn't look like she is expecting him to say that, and almost loses the scene but Peter keeps it going. It doesn't look scripted to me. With Cassavetes on the set I'm always looking for improv in this episode.

Wilton, I agree that the scene with Audrey was funny, but I think there is no way it could be included in any modern TV show.

It could be included in a current show, but probably only if it came from some one-time character instead of a main character, and with some "PSA" kind of stuff attached to it, and so on, probably ruining the whole effect of the little joke!