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ABC THURSDAY NIGHT MOVIE: COLUMBO: ASHES TO ASHES (TV)

Summary

One in this series of police dramas in which Los Angeles homicide detective Lt. Columbo's unassuming manner masks his keen intelligence and sharp investigative abilities. In this episode (presented under the umbrella of "ABC Thursday Night Movie"), Father Fred practices eulogizing dead movie star and war hero Chuck Houston as funeral home owner Eric Prince times the speech. Then, Eric gets a call from gossip reporter Verity Chandler. She insists that they meet before the funeral. Afterward, Verity watches a promo for her gossip show "Hollywood Heartbeat" in which she plugs a particularly salacious show slated for the following weekend. That afternoon, Verity and others attend Chuck's funeral. Verity makes a showy display of kissing the corpse on the cheek. Eric speaks with widow Liz Houston, who claims to appreciate his comfort. Then, Eric's attorney, Henry Chalfont, arrives to get the papers signed for Eric's twenty-fourth funeral home. Afterward, Verity speaks with Eric in the mortuary. She tells him that in retribution for his dumping her, she's going to expose how he stole a diamond necklace from the corpse of movie legend Dorothea Page, thus allowing him to purchase more funeral homes. She claims she will expose him on "Hollywood Heartbeat." Furious, Eric strikes Verity with a trocar and then beats her until she's dead. Eric later returns to sit with Liz at Chuck's funeral. After the funeral, Eric puts Verity's corpse into Chuck's casket and burns it. He later gives Liz an urn which he says contains her husband's remains. Later, she takes a helicopter ride over Los Angeles and dumps them over the Hollywood sign. That night, Eric sneaks into Verity's house and goes through her belongings to set up a scene that indicates she's been kidnapped. He also eliminates his file from her computer while adding another about cocaine abuse. Afterward, Eric goes to see Liz, his new romantic interest, with champagne. By the next day, Sergeant Degarmo is investigating the missing Verity, having been alerted by her perplexed secretary Roger Gambles. Columbo arrives at Verity's house with his dog and begins studying the scene. Sergeant Degarmo and Roger assume that the controversial cocaine story may have led to her disappearance. Looking at her planner, Columbo notices an entry stating that Verity was going to Chuck's funeral. Columbo also finds eleven pictures of a dog, then asks the sergeant to find the negatives. Roger then realizes that he's forgotten about Louella, Verity's bulldog. They discover that the pet went unfed on the night that Verity was supposedly home with it, prior to the alleged kidnapping. Meanwhile, Eric meets with client Mrs. Lerby and offers her a plan for her husband's remains. Then, Eric's assistant Rita tells him that the cremation oven is being repaired. Columbo pays a visit to Eric to discuss Verity and her appearance at the previous day's funeral. Afterward, Columbo meets with Rita and studies the list of cars which were parked at the home for Chuck's funeral. He realizes that Verity's wasn't among them. Rita also reports that Verity took a funeral home brochure before kissing Chuck's corpse, and leaving a red lipstick kiss on his cheek. Later, Sergeant Degarmo informs Columbo that there was a missing picture from Verity's roll of film -- a photo depicting a Hollywood mansion. Meanwhile, as Liz hangs out with Eric, she gets a call from Columbo, asking her to meet him at Verity's house. Eric "escorts" Liz to the residence, where Columbo questions them on what they were doing the previous night. Liz reveals that Eric had spent the evening with her for "grief counseling." The nervous Liz asks for a glass of bourbon. Columbo asks dog owner Liz how Verity could have seemingly forgotten to feed her own pooch the previous night. Columbo then questions Eric on whether he saw Verity kiss Chuck's corpse. Columbo notices that the lipstick that was on Chuck's face is different from the one that was left on the glass of scotch Verity seemingly drank on the fateful night. Columbo realizes something is up with the different shades of lipstick. He also knows that it is quite easy for one to change time-stamps on computers. Before the two leave, Columbo questions Eric and Liz as to whether they recognize the house Verity photographed. Later that night, following the crematorium's repair, Eric finally disposes of Chuck's body, adding the remains in the Lerby urn. Meanwhile, Columbo goes to speak with Eddie Fenelle, the cabbie who drove Verity to the funeral home. Columbo deduces that Eddie was once in prison. There, Columbo makes a discovery about the abbreviations in Verity's planner on the day she disappeared. He heads to Sunset Boulevard, where he finds the house that Verity had photographed. There, Columbo meets the current owner, Sheik Yarami, who ignores television and thus doesn't know Verity. He claims to loves movie stars, noting that his mansion once belonged to Dorothea Page. He reveals that Dorothea's jewels were stolen after she died. Then, Columbo learns that Verity took the picture of the house just a few day's previous. Columbo goes back to Eddie to question him as to whether he stole Dorothea's diamonds. Eddie reveals that Verity thought that Eric had fenced Dorothea's diamonds. Later, after Eric is honored with an award for Funeral Director of the Year, Columbo confronts the mortician to reveal his latest findings. Eric talks about Dorothea's body being brought to his funeral home back in 1979. Columbo asks Eric why Verity would take a picture of Dorothea's house just a few days before she died. Then, Columbo plays Eric a tape of Verity's promo for her story on "grizzly undertakings on Sunset Boulevard." Columbo tells Eric that he thinks Verity was doing a story on how he stole the million-dollar necklace. Columbo also theorizes that Verity took the photo of the mansion to show Eric; Eric responds that he has never seen Dorothea's house and couldn't have recognized it. Later, Columbo goes to question Roger, but he says he knows nothing about Verity digging into Dorothea's story. However, Roger shows Columbo how Verity's pager was cut off at 12:32 p.m. on the day she went missing. Meanwhile, Mrs. Lerby goes to get her husband's remains. Columbo does some sleuthing in Eric's preparation room, curious about the cremation process. Eric claims that certain items don't burn in the cremation process, such as pacemakers. Columbo tells Eric that he believes Verity was killed at the funeral, switched with Chuck's body, and then cremated, which would explain the mystery with the pager. Eric taunts Columbo that no case can be made without the bodies. Columbo returns to Liz, who offers a confession of her own about where she left her husband's ashes. He also finds out a crucial bit of information about the late war veteran. Soon, Columbo goes to Eric, revealing how he thinks Eric swiped Dorothea's diamonds. Columbo subsequently has Liz brought to Eric's funeral home, revealing that she has been arrested for dropping ashes over the Hollywood sign. Then, Columbo has Mr. Lerby's ashes brought to them, revealing how they contain a piece of fifty-year-old shrapnel that was in Chuck's body, not that of Mr. Lerby, who never served in the military. Columbo says this proves that Chuck's body was switched with Verity's corpse by Eric, and thus he is the murderer. Seeing no other option, Eric finally admits his guilt. Includes commercials.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: October 8, 1998 Thursday 9:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:54:52
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T:55079
  • GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective
  • SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1968-1978; ABC - 1989-2003
  • COMMERCIALS:
    • TV - Commercials - Ace Hardware stores
    • TV - Commercials - America's Dairy Farmers for cheese
    • TV - Commercials - Buick automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - Carnival cruise lines
    • TV - Commercials - Children First Mentoring Hotline
    • TV - Commercials - Clorox 2 detergent
    • TV - Commercials - DirecTV satellite television
    • TV - Commercials - Dove soap
    • TV - Commercials - Education Excellence Partnership for Big League Parents
    • TV - Commercials - Excedrin Migraine pain relief
    • TV - Commercials - JC Penney stores
    • TV - Commercials - Jeep automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - K-Mart stores
    • TV - Commercials - Kellogg's cereals
    • TV - Commercials - Lays potato chips
    • TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
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    • TV - Commercials - Mitsubishi automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering
    • TV - Commercials - Nicotrol inhaler quit-smoking aid
    • TV - Commercials - Olive Garden restaurants
    • TV - Commercials - Partnership for a Drug-Free America/Office of National Drug Control Policy
    • TV - Commercials - Pharmacia & Upjohn bladder infection information
    • TV - Commercials - Robitussin cough syrup
    • TV - Commercials - Salon Selectives shampoo
    • TV - Commercials - Sears stores
    • TV - Commercials - Slim Fast diet shakes
    • TV - Commercials - The Home Depot stores
    • TV - Commercials - The National Institute for Literacy
    • TV - Commercials - Toaster Breaks Pizza Hot-Pockets snacks
    • TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - United Way organization
    • TV - Commercials - Vaseline Intensive Care lotion
    • TV - Commercials - Visa check card
    • TV - Commercials - Wendy's restaurants
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    • TV - Commercials - Wisk detergent
    • TV - Commercials - Ziploc storage bags
    • TV - Commercials - Zyban quit smoking aid
    • TV - Commercials - Zyrtec allergy relief
    • TV - Promos - "20/20"
    • TV - Promos - "Assassins"
    • TV - Promos - "Cupid"
    • TV - Promos - "Eyewitness News"
    • TV - Promos - "Fantasy Island"
    • TV - Promos - "Monday Night Football"
    • TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
    • TV - Promos - "Nightline"
    • TV - Promos - "Rear Window" (1998)
    • TV - Promos - "Spin City"
    • TV - Promos - "Sports Night"
    • TV - Promos - "The Practice"
    • TV - Promos - Oprah Winfrey Presents "David & Lisa"

CREDITS

  • Peter Falk … Executive Producer
  • Patrick McGoohan … Co-Executive Producer, Director
  • Christopher Seiter … Producer
  • Jack Horger … Co-Producer
  • Bruce E. Gorman … Associate Producer
  • Richard Levinson … Created by
  • William Link … Created by
  • Jeffrey Hatcher … Writer
  • De Benedictis, Dick … Music by
  • Peter Falk … Cast, Columbo
  • Patrick McGoohan … Cast, Eric Prince
  • Rue McClanahan … Cast, Verity Chandler
  • Richard Riehle … Cast, Sergeant Degarmo
  • Spencer Garrett … Cast, Roger Gambles
  • Aubrey Morris … Cast, Father Fred
  • Edie McClurg … Cast, Mrs. Lerby
  • Richard Libertini … Cast, Sheik Yarami
  • Ron Masak … Cast, Eddie Fenelle
  • Catherine McGoohan … Cast, Rita
  • Scott N. Stevens … Cast, Gerald
  • Sally Kellerman … Cast, Liz Houston
  • Conrad Bachman … Cast, Henry Chalfont
  • Ken Weiler … Cast, Singer
  • Sid Burston … Cast, Driver
  • Ted Rooney … Cast, Mortician #2
  • Charlie Dell … Cast, Moritician #1
  • Arthur Duncan … Cast, Tap Dancer
  • David Doty … Cast, Colleague
  • Roberta Hanlen … Cast, Bartender
  • Roy Kerry … Cast, Guard #1
  • Marco Khanlian … Cast, Guard #2
  • Karissa Corday … Cast, Anchorwoman