10 Famous Directors Who Made Columbo Episodes

5. Nicholas Colasanto

Columbo Spielberg
NBC

Fans of the classic sitcom Cheers will remember Nicholas Colasanto as the beloved bartender Coach who featured in the first three seasons of the show before being replaced by Woody Harrelson (following his untimely death from a heart attack in 1985).

Coach was Sam Malone's former baseball coach (see what they did there) and a sort-of father figure to the show's other main characters, warm and dependable and not nearly as one dimensional or as clueless as his eventual replacement Woody.

Whilst Colasanto is best known for his role in Cheers, he previously had a supporting role in the Scorsese classic Raging Bull and directed episodes for a slew of classic tv shows including Run For Your Life, Ironside, Hawaii Five-O and of course Columbo.

For Columbo, he directed the episodes "Etude in Black" (Season 2) and "Swan Song" (Season 3), both solid episodes, with the latter particularly memorable for Johnny Cash's starring role and its incredibly elaborate murder plot involving a plane crash and a home-made parachute.

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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.