Ahoy there mates! An update is waaaaay overdue, so please accept my apologies for such a long stretch of radio silence.
It’s now more than five months since I reported the sad news that my daughter was rediagnosed with cancer, and she remains ‘under the doctor’. Indeed, I am writing this from the hospital room that has been our place of residence this weekend.
While there is light at the end of the tunnel for the poor girl, there are some certain bumps ahead as she undergoes the final stage of treatment, which features high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell replacement treatment. She’s likely to be in hospital continually for another month at least until her little body has fully recovered. As of right now, though, she’s in good spirits, so we can’t complain too much.
She had surgery in mid-December, but complications meant she needed to spend Christmas and New Year in hospital, which meant very little seasonal cheer at Columbophile HQ. We didn’t even put the tree up, and a turkey roast was out of the question…
Hospital time, allied with work commitments and lack of heart have sorely diminished my enthusiasm for casual writing, hence the lack of new content in recent months. My first post of each year would normally be to chronicle the Columbo stars that sadly left us over the previous 12 months, but I simply haven’t been following events closely enough to have done the subject justice.
My sincere thanks for the many hundreds of thoughtful messages and well wishes on this site since August. I’m aware that several kind folk have also emailed me, but alas I only sporadically check in nowadays, so have found time to reply to very few. Apologies once more…
I haven’t even been active on social channels these past few months but will endeavour to do better in 2024 (although I’ve pretty much ditched Twitter due to the ruinous impact that IDIOT Elon Musk has had on the platform since his ill-fated takeover).
That’s about all I have to report, folks. Rest assured the love for the Lieutenant remains strong, even if I’ve been unable to clearly demonstrate that in recent times.
I wish you all a very belated Happy New Year. Here’s hope 2024 will be a good one for us all.
Wishing you and your family all the best. I recently discovered your blog while rewatching Columbo, and it’s been brilliant reading your reviews after each episode. Hope you see you back again soon.
God bless. Best wishes for your family. Happy New Year.
It’s just not necessay to concern yourself with the site’s fans at the moment. You have MUCH bigger fish to fry. Prayers for your family.
Great to hear from you CP, even though it’s not all positive. Stay strong! And lots of love and the best of luck to you and your family.
I’m so sorry that your daughter has to go through this. I also have a daughter with serious health issues and I know how difficult it is. Wishing all of you the best of luck
Sorry to hear that your daughter has been unwell and in hospital; my thoughts and prayers are with her for a full and speedy recovery. Thanks too for your efforts in running this blog, especially under such trying circumstances. I look forward to receiving further updates in regard to all things Lieutenant Columbo as and when available.
Take care,
Mark S Doughty.
My heartfelt wishes for a full a recovery for your little girl. No apologies necessary.
Very best wishes to you and your daughter.
Great to hear from you after so long; but sad regarding your daughter’s health. Keeping her in mind for healing…
FYI locally here in a small town in south-eastern Australia we had a local drama group put on Columbo’s Prescription Murder. It was really well done. Changed it a little but a great job overall 🙂 …a few links below…
https://www.tarrangowertimes.com.au/news/cathouse-players-present-columbo-prescription-murder
https://cathouseplayers.com.au/__static/d6a86230-0aa9-4f4d-a1ec-c6492c82ae47/image_laptop
https://cathouseplayers.com.au/__static/16a50020-1b57-4881-8b0d-1142dbab8df6/image_laptop
Thanks Rod, and great to hear about the PM stage play. Were you the driving force behind it?
No not at all. I was surprised when the flyers appeared around town. But great to see as hadn’t been to a live play in ages. They did a great job!
Sorry my post came up twice.
Great to hear from you after so long; but sad regarding your daughter’s health. Such a hard time for her and your family. Keeping her in mind for healing…
FYI locally here in a small town in south-eastern Australia we had a local drama group put on Columbo’s Prescription Murder. It was really well done. Changed it a little but a great job overall 🙂 …a few links below…
https://www.tarrangowertimes.com.au/news/cathouse-players-present-columbo-prescription-murder
https://cathouseplayers.com.au/__static/d6a86230-0aa9-4f4d-a1ec-c6492c82ae47/image_laptop
https://cathouseplayers.com.au/__static/16a50020-1b57-4881-8b0d-1142dbab8df6/image_laptop
You have your priorities in the correct order. No worries about your blog until your daughter is better. I have prayed for your little girl, so thank you for giving us an update about her! I wish you and your family a happy 2024! I’ll keep you guys in my prayers. God bless you!
I sincerely wish your daughter a swift and complete recovery, and for the very best tidings for you and your family. Take care.
Wolf, USA
Praying your daughter gets better soon,
Ed the librarian
We may disagree on episode rankings but we’re wholly unified in our support for you and your family.
God bless you and your family! I know what your going through. So I thank you for still thinking of us fans here on Columbophile. I wish your daughter a healthy recovery! Have you thought of a go fund me page? Or is that not needed? Or perhaps getting a P.O box, I’m sure people would like to send you/family some items!
Sincerely,
Janea
Stay with subject matter instead of politics – if Musk and Trump were Democrats, the Far Left may have them both on a Pedestal
We see what you did there, Bob – asking folks to stop injecting politics into the conversation while simultaneously injecting politics into the conversation.
With all due respect, absolutely nowhere in CP’s column did he make any comments whatsoever about Elon Musk’s politics. Since he took over Twitter/X, Musk has made a cascading series of creative and organizational decisions that have called his business acumen into question and lessened the quality of the Twitter/X experience for many. That alone is a legit reason to choose not to engage with the platform anymore, and CP is informing us of this choice. Anything else beyond that is a political inference, full stop.
CP is letting us know about his blogging and social media presence in light of his daughter’s illness. Can we please just leave it at that.
You’re so naive
And we keep personal snipes out of the blog too, Jack. But thanks for playing.
Thank you…I play well.
Agreed. But there is another incontrovertible fact also worth mentioning: This is CP’s blog! He gets to say whatever he wants!
Sorry to hear of your daughter’s illness, thoughts and prayers for strength during this difficult time. Columbo will always be with us. I love the posts and just checking in is a welcoming sign.
May the gifts of faith, hope and ❤️ continuously surround you and your family during this extremely challenging time.
Thank you for the update which could not have brn easy to share. It is greatly appreciated.
May the gifts of faith, hope and ❤️ continuously surround you and your family during this extremely challenging time.
Thank you for the update which could not have been easy to share. It is greatly appreciated.
May God bless your child and your family. When a child is ill, times are strained, difficult, but very, very precious. I wish your family the very best!!!
Great to hear from you, and I know you and your family have been in our thoughts so it’s very nice to hear there’s a light at this end of the tunnel, as you said. Hang in there and we’ll also hang in until you’re all ready to go – we miss you, but will gladly wait!
Thinking of you, sending virtual hugs, saying prayers. Focus on getting your girl well & we’ll see you then.
Tell your daughter to hang in there! Columbo fans the world over are rooting for her!
Thanks for the update, CP. We are all thinking of you and your family.
[Apologies if this comment appears twice. The first posting was “Under Moderation” because of links I included in the Edit phase of posting, and may be lost to the internet refuse bin.]
Continued best wishes for CP and his family during this time of recovery and optimism. The Columbophile community remains strong, as CP’s daughter is.
CP references his yearly Columbo In Memorium column, but for 2023, there looked to be very few passings related to the show. In an odd twist, there were 3 connected to the classic episode “Publish or Perish”.
Peter Fischer was one of the best Columbo writers, crafting some of the most clever and interesting episodes, including “Negative Reaction”, “Publish or Perish” and “A Friend in Deed” among others. He later became the show’s story editor and left to create “Murder She Wrote”.
Robert Butler directed two eps, “Double Shock” and “Publish or Perish”, and was one of the most influential TV directors of the era. I highlighted his work in CP’s “Publish or Perish” column.
And finally, Lew Polter played lab technician Sweeny in “Publish or Perish”. Polter was best known for his Isidor Straus role in “Titanic”.
If readers are aware of any other Columbo-related passings, we can group-source them here and share the info that CP would have so thoroughly and ably done.
With Falk, Levinson, Link, Bochco, Gillis, McGoohan, Cassidy, and Culp all predeceasing him, Peter S. Fischer represented one of the last great pillars of Columbo. His passing leaves only Dean Hargrove (age 85, who wrote “Ransom for a Dead Man,” “Candidate for Crime,” and “Mind Over Mayhem,” and produced 19 episodes) and Everett Chambers (age 97, who produced 16 episodes) as major Columbo icons still with us.
Some people would count William Shatner as a “major Columbo icon.” 🙂
Two guest appearances? Neither in the best of episodes? Even one of George Hamilton’s was more memorable.
Columbo fans periodically wonder about the status of the 70s killers.
Of the Classic Era villains, 9 were women, and 5 are still with us: Susan Clark, Vera Miles, Lee Grant, Trish Van Devere, and Joyce Van Patten. The Bad Guys still left standing are Dick Van Dyke, George Hamilton, Hector Elizondo, Clive Revill, and the perpetually ageless William Shatner.
And Bob Dishy remains with us, still wondering whether Wilson’s first name is Freddie or John.
God Bless you and your family. Saying prayers for your daughter’s full recovery.
I wish your daughter a speedy recovery and Happy New Year for 2024!
Continued best wishes for CP and his family during this time of recovery and optimism. The Columbophile community remains strong, as CP’s daughter is.
CP references his yearly Columbo In Memorium column, but for 2023, there looked to be very few passings related to the show. In an odd twist, there were 3 connected to the classic episode “Publish or Perish”.
Peter Fischer was one of the best Columbo writers, crafting some of the most clever and interesting episodes, including “Negative Reaction”, “Publish or Perish” and “A Friend in Deed” among others. He later became the show’s story editor and left to create “Murder She Wrote”.
Peter S. Fischer, Who Helped Create ‘Murder, She Wrote,’ Dies at 88 – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Robert Butler directed two eps, “Double Shock” and “Publish or Perish”, and was one of the most influential TV directors of the era. I highlighted his groundbreaking work in CP’s “Publish or Perish” column. https://columbophile.com/2018/02/04/episode-review-columbo-publish-or-perish/
And finally, Lew Polter played lab technician Sweeny in “Publish or Perish”. Polter was best known for his Isidor Straus role in “Titanic”.
If readers are aware of any other Columbo-related passings, we can group-source them here and share the info that CP would have so thoroughly and ably done.
Columbo and Murder She Wrote are two of my favorite shows. I used to watch Murder She Wrote every week when it was originally airing on CBS. There are some novels based on Murder She Wrote. Are there any novels based on Columbo? Novels like that would be interesting to read, IMO.
THanks for the update. All good wishes to you and your family. I trust that your daughter will become as healthy and hale as the good Lieutenant’s hair on a cruise ship during a windy day.
Very strange. I was wondering how you all are only yesterday.
Best of health to your daughter and of course you and your family.
Finally, my advise is to run like the devil from any doctors that look like Barry Mayfield. LOL.
Fingers crossed your daughter will be fully healed soon. LOL about Elon Musk. I agree that he ruined Twitter.
Thank you for the update, Columbophile.
I wish your daughter and your family all the best in the new year. I hope she will have no more illness and be healthy!
I had cancer 15 years ago, and went through the same treatments.
Sending your daughter and your family the best wishes for a full recovery!
Don’t worry about writing about Columbo for now. I’m sure everyone here will understand. Thank you very much.
Sending strong and healing thoughts your way. Take a breath and be good to each other. Best Wishes.
IDIOT Elon Musk? I’ll chalk that absurd characterization up to your personal stress.
Best wishes to your entire family.
So glad to hear from you as my thoughts and prayers have been with you and your family, especially dear daughter. Our family will continue to pray for a complete and happy recovery and will keep Columbo alive by re-reading your past posts and watching the shows! Marie in DE
I’m so very sad to hear that you and your family are going through such a harrowing experience. I hope that the next holiday season finds you all happy and in good health 🙏
Praying for your daughter and for you and your family for courage and strength! May God be with you all. ♥️
The setbacks can be challenging to the spirit not just recovery. Thank you for the update. Look after yourself too! Our thoughts are with your daughter and family. Currently watching The Great Santini and Wilson.
Wishing you & your glorious family all the very best…sounds as though you have all been through the mill & love will continue to get you through. Your daughter sounds like a spirited angel! Thanks so much for checking in; no need for apologies, just sending ongoing gratitude for your love of Columbo, extraordinary wit & devotion to your family. ✌🏼♥️
Many blessings, love and continued support for you, your family and your precious daughter.
So glad to hear from you in my email today! Continued best wishes and positive thoughts for your brave daughter and all your family! Columbo remains go to comfort viewing as I deal with the loss of my soulmate and personal health issues, though not life-threatening! Again, nothing but positive thoughts and hopes for your dear daughter 🙂
Praying for your daughter’ss healing on this Sabbath.
It was kind of you to provide an update.
Missed you and thought of your daughter and family challenges. All the best always.
Praying for your daughter’s recovery. I like X under Musk.
Many thanks, and each to their own re. Twitter. I personally gained much more pleasure from it in the pre-Musk era.
Could be wrong obviously, I’m thinkin it’s political your reasoning.
Very best wishes to you, and your daughter and the rest of your family!! And my love to your daughter and a good result for her…
God bless you and your daughter. Sounds like she is getting the best care.
With very best wishes to you, your daughter and the rest of your family. Phil (uk)
Sending oodles of love from Hastings – keep your tongue out (as they used to say on Steve Wright in the afternoons) xx
I have never heard that phrase before, but thank you (I think!)
Wishing you and your family all the best for a good result for your daughter.
Hi there,
Really sorry to hear that your daughter is going through this and the stress it must be causing you all!!
I’ve got everything crossed for her that she gets through it and emerges stronger than ever, she’s obviously a little fighter!
Don’t worry about the updates, you’ve had far too much on and we can wait patiently for your return when you have the time and hopefully the bumps in the road of life have been taken care of. It’s a tough situation, sending all my love and take care of yourselves best you can.
Claire, UK. x