From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Bert Freed November 3 1919 August 2 1994 was a prolific American character actor voice over actor and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo on television Born and raised in The Bronx New York Freed began acting while attending Penn State University and made his Broadway debut in 1942 Following World War II Army service in the European Theatre he appeared in the Broadway musical The Day Before Spring in 1945 and dozens of television shows between 1947 and 1985 His film debut occurred oddly enough in a musical Carnegie Hall 1947 A prominent role was as the villainous Ryker in the television series Shane in which Freed added a unique touch of realism by beginning the show cleanshaven and growing a beard from one week to the next never shaving again through the season Freed played Columbo in a live 1960 episode of the Chevy Mystery Theatre seven years before Peter Falk played the role Thomas Mitchell also played the part on stage prior to Falks version which is probably where many of the eccentric Columbo traits originated only a few were visible in Freeds straightforward interpretation although the character as played by Freed is recognizably Columbo He appeared sometimes more than once in television shows such as The Rifleman Bonanza Gunsmoke The Big ValleyThe Virginian Mannix Barnaby Jones Charlies Angels Then Came Bronson Run For Your Life Get Smart The Lucy Show Hogans Heroes Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Dr Kildare Ben Casey Perry Mason Combat Petticoat Junction The Outer Limits Alfred Hitchcock Presents Route 66 Ironside The Green Hornet The Munsters and many many more He directed one episode of THE Cat Freed appeared as a racist club owner in No Way Out 1950 a gangster in Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town 1950 a Marine private in Halls of Montezuma 1951 film an Army sergeant in Take the High Ground 1953 the Police Chief in Invaders From Mars 1953 Sgt Boulanger in Paths of Glory 1957 the hangman in Hang Em High 1968 Maxs father in Wild in the Streets 1968 as Chief of Detectives in Madigan 1968 a homosexual prison guard in There Was a Crooked Man 1970 and Bernards father in Billy Jack 1971 in which he got whumped on the side of the face by Billy Jacks right foot just for the hell of it He retired from acting in 1986 and died of a heart attack in Canada in 1994 while on a fishing trip with his son Description above from the Wikipedia article Bert Freed licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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