Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 â€" August 2, 1994) was an American
character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray
Detective Columbo.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).Freed
portrayed Rufe Ryker in the television series Shane, in which Freed
added a unique touch of realism by beginning the show clean-shaven and
growing a beard from one week to the next, never shaving again through
the season.Freed played homicide detective Lt. Columbo in a live 1960
television episode of The Chevy Mystery Show seven years before Peter
Falk played the role, and also before Thomas Mitchell portrayed the
eccentric police detective on stage prior to the Falk version. He made
four guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Ken
Woodman in the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee";
murder victim Joe Marshall in the 1964 episode, "The Case of the
Ruinous Road"; and Carl Holman, whose wife is the murderer in the 1962
episode "The Case of the Poison Pen-Pal."
character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray
Detective Columbo.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).Freed
portrayed Rufe Ryker in the television series Shane, in which Freed
added a unique touch of realism by beginning the show clean-shaven and
growing a beard from one week to the next, never shaving again through
the season.Freed played homicide detective Lt. Columbo in a live 1960
television episode of The Chevy Mystery Show seven years before Peter
Falk played the role, and also before Thomas Mitchell portrayed the
eccentric police detective on stage prior to the Falk version. He made
four guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Ken
Woodman in the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee";
murder victim Joe Marshall in the 1964 episode, "The Case of the
Ruinous Road"; and Carl Holman, whose wife is the murderer in the 1962
episode "The Case of the Poison Pen-Pal."
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