10 Famous Directors Who Made Columbo Episodes
2. Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan's name may not be as ubiquitous now as it once was, but in the '60s and '70s, his roles in Danger Man (a spy thriller with a central character quite similar to James Bond) and the classic sci-fi miniseries The Prisoner (which he co-created) made him a household name around the world.
Some may also remember McGoohan as Dr Paul Ruth in David Cronenberg's sci-fi horror Scanners, which features the most impressive head explosion effect ever put to film, or as the despicable Edward Longshanks in Mel Gibson's 1995 gorefest Braveheart.
Throughout his long career, McGoohan appeared on several other well-known television shows including Murder She Wrote and The Simpsons (reprising his role as Number Six from The Prisoner) but his most prolific contribution was to Columbo.
Across four seasons he wrote one episode, directed five, starred as the murderer four times (more than any other actor) and produced two episodes. He also had the exquisite pleasure of bumping off none other than The Naked Gun's Leslie Nielsen.