10 Famous Directors Who Made Columbo Episodes

8. Boris Sagal

Columbo Spielberg
NBC

Boris Sagal is another prolific film and television director who has worked on episodes of shows like The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. but he's also well known to science fiction fans for his turn at directing 1971's classic post-apocalyptic action film The Omega Man.

The Omega Man is based on Richard Mathieson's novel I Am Legend and while it's not perfect, it's definitely the best of the three film adaptations out there (with loads of great one-liners and memorable set pieces) earning it a lovingly produced homage on The Simpsons and a place amongst Tim Burton's favourite films.

Sagal directed two episodes of Columbo: Season 2's "Greenhouse Jungle" and Season 3's "Candidate for Crime" both of which are fairly middle of the road but still quality slices of American crime drama.

Sadly, Boris Sagal was killed in a bizarre accident - during production of the miniseries World War III, he was partially decapitated by the rotor blades of a helicopter after exiting the vehicle.

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Christopher is a freelance pop culture writer, podcaster and self-confessed nerd from Scotland. He's also the owner, founder and editor at "The Head Scratcher" and a host of "The Scratch Cast" podcast. Visit www.theheadscratcher.com to find out more.