Episode 58 – Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star

The fifty sixth episode of Columbo was titled Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star and was the final episode of the show’s short tenth season. Blackmail once again proves unwise as a peerless defence lawyer murders his rock star lover. In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at a tricky case with some unusual clues.     Hugh Creighton (Dabney Coleman) is A Big Deal, or so he believes. Unbeaten as a trial lawyer and in a relationship with former rock star Marcy Edwards (Cheryl Paris), he has few worries. That changes when he learns of Marcy’s ongoing affair with her former bandmate Neddy Malcolm (Julian Stone). No matter; for a man like Coleman, the simple task of murdering Edwards and implicating Malcolm should be largely straightforward and so he does kill her.   Complications for Creighton include his colleague Trish Fairbanks (Shera Danese), who unwittingly assists him in faking an alibi before taking advantage of her leverage to secure a partnership and engagement to Creighton and Columbo’s successful apprehension of Malcolm, with assistance from Sgt. Hubach (Sondra Currie) and Little Richard (himself). Creighton’s gardener (Tad Horino) also supplies vital evidence.   Producer Alan Levi directs the second of his three episodes, working with William Read Woodfield‘s final script (following Columbo Goes to the Guillotine and Columbo Cries Wolf).   If you have thoughts on any aspect of Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star, please share them below, or find us on Twitter at @columbopodcast.   The Columbo Podcast is widely available – on iTunes, Stitcher, tunein, Pocket Casts or pretty much wherever you choose to receive and manage your podcasts. If you enjoy the show it would be greatly appreciated if you consider leaving ratings and reviews on these sites – particularly iTunes – as that can make a big difference to growing the podcast’s audience.   Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star was released in 1991. It is 98 minutes long and originally aired on the ABC network. This episode is not available on Netflix, but can be found on the Season 10 or complete collection DVD box sets from Universal.   Tweet