1. Peter Falk

 

Where else to start but with Columbo himself? In his long career, the actor earned just one single directing credit on his resume, and it came quite early in Columbo's run. The star directed "Blueprint for Murder," the seventh and final episode of the first season. In that case, Columbo catches the killer, played by Patrick O'Neal, through a radio station tuned to classical music.

2. Steven Spielberg

 

We are going to focus mostly on actors in this list, but the biggest name here is undoubtedly Spielberg. The E.T. and Indiana Jones director helmed the Columbo series debut, "Murder by the Book," back in 1971. It was one of his earliest credits in Hollywood. The visionary was a mere 24 years old when the episode aired. Previously, he had directed an episode of Marcus Welby and some segments of Night Gallery.

Image: The Everett Collection

3. Nicholas Colasanto

 

You know him as Coach on Cheers, but Colasanto had numerous television directing credits to his name. He helmed episodes of Bonanza, CHiPs, Starsky and Hutch, McCloud, Ironside and Garrison's Gorillas, to name a few. For Columbo, he directed "Étude in Black" and "Swan Song." He also sat behind the camera for seven episodes of Run for Your Life, which brings us to our next name…

Image: The Everett Collection

4. Ben Gazzara

 

On Run for Your Life, from 1965-67, Gazzara portrayed a lawyer with just two years to live. Fortunately, this wonderful actor had a career that stretched much longer. Younger folks might even recognize him as Jackie Treehorn, the adult film producer who sets off the entire bizarre noir mystery in The Big Lebowski. Long before that, he was appearing in classics like Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and, um, Road House (1989). The Emmy Winner did not direct too much over his career, but he did helm the episodes "Troubled Waters" and "A Friend in Deed."

Image: The Everett Collection

5. Patrick McGoohan

 

As the star of Secret Agent and the pioneering, trippy series The Prisoner, McGoohan became associated with hip spy thrillers in the 1960s. In the following decades, he stayed remarkably loyal to Columbo. Not only did he play the killer in four separate episodes, he directed a whopping five episodes over the span of a quarter century — "Murder with Too Many Notes" (2000), "Ashes to Ashes" (1998), "Agenda for Murder" (1990), "Last Salute to the Commodore" (1976), "Identity Crisis" (1975).

Image: The Everett Collection

6. Leo Penn

 

Leo Penn might now be best remembered for his sons — actors Sean and Christopher, and musician Michael. But dad had an impressive career himself. On the small screen, he is best known as Dr. David McMillan on the hit '60s medical drama Ben Casey. You can also spot him on The Untouchables and Have Gun - Will Travel. His Columbo episodes — "Goes to the Guillotine," "The Conspirators" and "Any Old Port in a Storm" — are just a fraction of his television directing credits. He also worked on In the Heat of the Night, Magnum, P.I., Trapper John, M.D., Hart to Hart, Kojak, Bonanza, I Spy… and so much more.

Image: The Everett Collection

7. Jonathan Demme

 

He won the Academy Award for directing Silence of the Lambs and demonstrated his range in movies as diverse as Philadelphia, the Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense and Married to the Mob. Demme has very few television credits to his name, but his earliest is the Columbo episode "Murder Under Glass."

Image: The Everett Collection

8. Richard Quine

 

Quine became a Hollywood star in the years before World War II, largely as fresh young face alongside his pal Mickey Rooney. Babes on Broadway, with Rooney and Judy Garland, gave him his breakout role. A year later, he played Garland's brother in For Me and My Gal. In the mid-'50s, Quine created The Mickey Rooney Show with his old friend. For Columbo, he would direct "Dagger of the Mind," "Requiem for a Falling Star" and "Double Exposure."

Image: The Everett Collection

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