Columbo fans all over the world are not only interested in finding out Inspector Columbo’s first name, but also that of his often cited Mrs. Columbo's.

 

There is hardly an episode in which Columbo does not speak of his wife, mentioning her habits and interests. During his murder investigations, his wife often serves as a topic of conversation with a suspect or as an excuse to build a personal relationship with him.

 

And whenever Columbo has to do with a famous personality, he asks them for an autograph for his wife. When asked for her first name, he only answers Mrs. Columbo.

 

The authors of the series have given neither Mrs. Columbo, nor the inspector a first name. Due to the success of the series Columbo, the filmmakers thought thought of bringing Mrs. Columbo to life and turning her into a completely new crime series. This series was called "Kate Loves a Mystery", so a lot of people assumed that Mrs. Columbo was named Kate.

 

Mrs. Columbo has achieved something unprecedented. Although she cannot be seen or heard in any single episode, she achieved great popularity exclusively through the tales of her husband, becoming one of the main characters of the Columbo series.

 

Although we find out quite a lot about Mrs. Columbo in the course of 69 Columbo episodes, we have never come any closer to uncovering her first name. This puzzle is clarified by Inspector Columbo himself.

 

Peter Falk’s only appearance as his alter ego, Columbo, outside of the television series, was on Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin’s show from the 70’s, where he was features as surprise guest and showed up in Columbo’s typical outfit.

 

Columbo suddenly entered stage, waved shyly to the camera in his usual way, as we know from the TV series, and told Dean Martin his famous sentence from Columbo "just one more thing". He then asks Dean Martin if the shoes that he is wearing that evening were only borrowed for this one show.

 

He then handed Frank Sinatra a pan of Mrs. Columbo's homemade lasagna. He thereby warned him that the pan must under no circumstances be cleaned with steel wool-like material, as the pan is coated with Teflon, and the coating would be ruined. And as usual, Columbo said proudly, his wife and his family know everything about show business.

 

We know from the TV series that Columbo asks for an autograph for his wife whenever he meets celebrities during an investigations. Of course, he also did so on his "guest" appearance and asked Frank Sinatra for his autograph. He thereby received a set of instructions on how to write the autograph and the attached dedication.

 

The autograph should first say "To Lt. Columbo" and then "To Lt.. Columbo and Mrs. Columbo". Peter Falk aka Columbo changed his mind and told Sinatra that, on second thought, he should just address the autograph to his wife – to Rose.

 

Sinatra then turned to the camera and told Mrs. Columbo, sitting as a supposed spectator watching television, "Hi, Rosie". This is Columbo’s only appearance outside of the series Columbo, so one can safely assume that Mrs. Columbo’s name is actually Rose. Those who speak English may see the delectable original recording here.

 

One of our readers sent us an email mentioning that Rose was probably not the only first name that Mrs. Columbo beared. His considerations are as follows:

 

How many wives with the surname Columbo lived in Los Angeles in 1977-1979?

How many of these wives have a Basset?

How many people who meet the above conditions have an old and battered Peugeot?

Based on these considerations, our reader concluded that Mrs. Columbo's first name is almost certainly Kate. He concluded, however, that there is a possibility that Mrs. Columbo would have two first names, which is why the inspector called her Rose in the TV appearance.

 

You may find all episodes of Inspector Columbo here.