I think Greenleaf was mostly faking it. I'm sure he drank a lot, but I don't think he really had a blackout. He was sober enough to accomplish all of his objectives:

Showing up to the party and very publicly threatening to kill Alan Mallory.
Insulting the bartender so that he would be sure to remember him.
Intentionally getting into an accident (being sure to give his correct insurance information).
Park somewhere that the police would notice and arrest him.

I think he was faking it when he said: "What was I doing in Encino", and he clearly remembered that there was more than one person involved in the accident.

I don't think he was truly drunk. He throws one drink back at the bartender (conveniently avoiding having to drink the whole thing?) He sits in his car after getting thrown out of the bar and contemplates what to do next. When the elderly couple come out - he immediately formulates the idea of backing into them. Part of the confusion about whether he is really drunk or not comes from Jack Cassidy's terrific performance. He's a very talented actor and pulls this part off extremely well. The part where he says something about being thankful for "those" people is pretty obviously a mental slip on his part. He knew darn well what he did, where he did it and how he did it the previous evening.

I never used to like this episode much. It's still not one of my favorites, but I've grown to appreciate Cassidy in this part much more. It really had great filming locations UNTIL THE END!!!! Ugh!!!! That cheesy, stupid-looking studio mock up of an office building (it reminded me of a set from Barney Miller) bothers me every time I watch. After blowing up cars in an abandoned lot, filming the bar scenes in believable (probably real restaurants/bars) places, showing Greenleaf in a believable office, showing Greenleaf at an actual house, filming the police finding Greenleaf in a real outdoor setting... after all of that effort - WHY did they choose to film the ending in that drab little set???

I love Jack Cassidy's acting. In fact, you can contrast it with the "acting" of Riley Greenleaf when Columbo tells him that Alan was murdered. Greenleaf overdramatically says: "Murdered? But WHO? WHY?", like he's so shocked. It's done in a subtle corny way and it cracks me up.

I also love near the end of the episode when Columbo introduces Greenleaf to the locksmith. "This is Mr. Brenlin (I forget the real name), he's a locksmith". Greenleaf, with absolutely no patience mumbles: "Hooray". My guess is that response was improvised.

I really enjo*** him in the Columbo episodes. He seemed to be acting circles around everyone else. I never really saw too much of him in film - he had a decent enough part in "The Eiger Sanction" - but his performances were always solid. I remember there was a certain buzz when he was set to appear in "Now You See Him". I don't recall any such excitement when knowing Robert Culp or Patrick McGoohan was set to appear in an episode. I'd rate him as the greatest of all Columbo multi-villiains.

Yeah, Jack Cassidy was great. He was also a big Broadway star I believe. If you've ever seen Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (an absolute classic), Jack is the voice of Bob Cratchitt and sings quite well.

Wow - Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. I know I've seen it but it has been MANY years. As you alluded, Cassidy was multi-talented. Culp was a capable actor and performed his Columbo stints well. McGoohan was the superior actor of the three. Cassidy had an intangible "entertainment" quality which set him apart, in my mind. I think this is what made him so enjoyable to watch.

In a CAROL BURNETT SHOW routine, they do a parody of A STAR IS BORN, where he plays the big egotistical star. Whether he himself was egotistical, it still looks like he's parodying himself a little.

That is exactly what I think as well, he was a little drunk (so quite easy to play drunk) but also completely aware of what he was doing. I didn't like this episode time ago but then I started, I appreciate the intrigue and overall atmoshpere of it. JT what do you mean by " cheesy, stupid-looking studio mock up of an office building (it reminded me of a set from Barney Miller) bothers me every time I watch", I think my english is not good enough in this sentence :) which part of episode you mean? Although some things are bothering me in this episode, I think the biggest one is when Greenleaf is calling some guy to prepare a new key for him for TODAY. I think first of all - to make a new key you need some actual key that you will copy! or at least go and check the lock and then make a key. Greenleaf couldn't afford any of that. Plus he said "for today", I think the whole procedure of checking, making a key, going to pick it up couldn't take only hours. That bothers me :)

another question is: why Columbo heard the blinds sound just after shot? that makes no sense...

I don't want to speak on JT's behalf, but I can answer the language barrier part. Barney Miller was a 70's tv show set in a police station. It was relatively low budget and the studio setting didn't look anything like a real precinct. The term "cheesy" means a lot of things, in this case, basically cheap looking. A "mock up" is a low quality imitation of something.

So JT is turned off that the "gotcha" scene, the climax of the episode, is filmed in such a low quality studio setting, especially after the rest of the episode was shot either on-location, or with high quality settings. Personally, I never noticed it, but now that he mentions it, I see his point.

There was also a running joke on BARNEY MILLER about the office being full of outdated equipment and office supplies. So some of the things that would look dated to people were meant to actually look that way while the show was on the air.

Thank you, Pete. Yes, you've correctly (and succinctly, I might add) summarized exactly what I was saying. The ending to this reminds me of the ending to "A Friend in Deed" - wonderful on location footage - the houses, the bar/pool parlor, the commissioner's office, the helicopter - and then they revert to a cheesy (cheap, obviously fake) set on the studio lot to finish one of the best episodes of the entire series. It sort of kills the moment for me every time I watch - I want to shake the director and yell, "Why??? Why??? Why this stupid set when you could have finished it somewhere more appropriate?"

But that's just me.