Death Hits the Jackpot 

Freddie Brower, a down-on-his-luck photographer in the final stages of a divorce, wins $30 million in the lottery. In order to not share it with his wife before the divorce is finalized, he... See full summary »

Director:

Vincent McEveety

Writers:

Richard Levinson (created by), William Link (created by)

Stars:

Peter Falk, Rip Torn, Jamie Rose

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Rip Torn	...	Leon Lamarr
Jamie Rose	...	Nancy Brower
Gary Kroeger	...	Freddy Brower
Betsy Palmer	...	Martha Lamarr
Warren Berlinger	...	Det. Jack Stroller
Antony Ponzini	...	Gregory Lopiccolo
Penny Santon	...	Momma
Marilyn Tokuda	...	Judy
Britt Lind	...	Trish
Robert Alan Browne	...	Detective Lancer
Daniel Trent	...	Detective Braverman
Donald Craig	...	Auctioneer
Peter Schreiner	...	Otto
Shane McCabe	...	Meyer McGinty

Storyline

Freddie Brower, a down-on-his-luck photographer in the final stages of a divorce, wins $30 million in the lottery. In order to not share it with his wife before the divorce is finalized, he arranges for his uncle Leon to cash in the ticket and give Freddy the money after the divorce. But uncle Leon Lamarr has ideas of his own.

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Plot Keywords:

lottery winner | lottery | photographer | renaissance costume | drowning in a bathtub | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

15 December 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kuolema vie päävoiton

Filming Locations:

3100 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the third episode in which Columbo speaks fluent Italian.

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Goofs

At the cemetery, Columbo speaks fluent Italian with one of the mourners (Momma). Yet, two years later in "Strange Bedfellows" (S13E01), Vincenzo Fortelli speaks Italian to Columbo, and Columbo replies that he doesn't speak Italian.

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Quotes

Columbo: [about the things the chimpanzee touched] What do these things have in common? They're all shiny, and they're all metal, just like this medallion.

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Soundtracks

Where Have All The Flowers Gone
(uncredited)
Written by Pete Seeger

User Reviews

fun episode

I think my favorite part of any Columbo episode is that closeup on the killer when he realizes that he's not dealing with an idiot. When Rip Torn is the killer, you just can't wait for him to crash.

Freddy (Gary Kroeger) is going through an awful divorce because his wife (Jamie Rose) is refusing to be part of a debt he incurred. Consequently he is unable to convince her to sign the papers.

Then he finds out he has won $30 million in the lottery, and now he's afraid since they're not divorced, his wife can claim half. His Uncle Leon (Rip Torn), a jeweler, suggests that he claim the money for Freddy. They draw up a letter of agreement.

But Uncle Leon is going to find it difficult to part with that money, even if he is getting 10 percent off the top. He makes it look as if Freddy drowned while taking a bath, and changes the time on the victim's watch to give him a perfect alibi.

Columbo picks up problems with the scene immediately. He comes to believe it was not an accidental death, and not so slowly begins to put the pieces together.

Torn is a riot, using a very broad accent (sounds like Texas) and being a real scum. Betsy Palmer plays his dizzy wife.

Lots of atmosphere here, including a party of hippies singing songs like Where Have All the Flowers Gone, a chimpanzee in a romper, and a millionaires masquerade party. Highly entertaining.