The Trivia Encyclopedia - Columbo Controversy

Columbo Controversy

Lt. Columbo's first name was never spoken aloud in the TV series Columbo. When pressed, he would insist that it was "Lieutenant".

The "fact" that the Lieutenant's full name was "Philip Columbo" was planted by Worth in his book (and its sequels) in an attempt to catch out anyone who might try to violate his copyright. Worth's ploy was, however, only partially successful.

In 1984, he filed a $300 million lawsuit against the distributors of the board game Trivial Pursuit, claiming that they had stolen their questions from his books. The ace up his sleeve was a Trivial Pursuit reference to the TV character of "Philip Columbo" -- despite the name being an invention of Worth's.

The makers of Trivial Pursuit did not deny that they sourced material from Worth's book, but argued that there was nothing improper about using that book simply as one of the many sources from which the game's material originated. The judge agreed, ruling in favor of Trivial Pursuit and the case was thrown out of court.

However, the misinformation lives on in popular culture. Several sources cite the name "Philip Columbo" as the Columbo character's full name, variously claiming that the name was either in the original script for Prescription: Murder or that it was visible on his police badge. (In fact, close-ups in two episodes of a signature on Columbo's police badge would appear to reveal that his first name is "Frank".) Peugeot even ran an advertising campaign that mentioned "Lt. Philip Columbo" as the most famous driver of the Peugeot convertible.