Columbo: Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star

When Columbo goes to the private detective, hired by Hugh Creighton (Dabney Coleman) to check on his mistress, the series pays homage to classic film noir "private eyes". The name of the private eye is Sam Marlowe. This is a combination of the names Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe. Sam Spade was the fictional private detective of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel, The Maltese Falcon. Phillip Marlowe was the fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in his 1939 novel "The Big Sleep". Additionally, there is a statuette of a black bird on the windowsill in Sam Marlowe's office that looks like the famous bird from The Maltese Falcon (1941).

When the champagne bottle is first placed in the fridge, it is placed on the left. When the victim opens the fridge later, the fatal bottle is located in the middle.

Featured in The 43rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1991)