Paul Galesko

Evil-doer
Full Name	Paul Galesko
Alias	None
Origin	Columbo
Occupation	Photographer
Powers / Skills	Charisma
Goals	Get away with killing his wife (failed)
Crimes	Murders
Type of Villain	Homicidal Liar

Paul Galesko is the main antagonist of the season four episode "Negative Reaction" of the 1968 crime drama TV show Columbo.

He was portrayed by Dick Van Dyke, who also portrayed Mr. Dawes Sr. in Mary Poppins and Cecil Fredericks in the Night at the Museum series.

Biography

Galesko is a Pulitzer Award winning photographer who murders his abusive wife and then stages it as a kidnapping, using the unsuspecting Alvin Deschler as a helper.

After taking "the kidnapper's" call and later claiming that they demanded a ransom of 20,000 dollars, Galesko breaks into Deschler's motel room, makes it look like the kidnapper's hideout and later meets with Deschler at a graveyard - the place where the exchange is supposed to take place. There, he shoots Deschler, shoots himself in the leg and later makes it appear as if he was defending himself from the kidnapper.

However, after Inspector Columbo investigates, baffled by the fact that Galesko shot the kidnapper without learning the whereabouts of his wife first, while Galesko is recuperating at a hospital.

After finding evidence, Columbo manages to play Galesko, who eventually slips up and incriminates himself by taking the camera that he used to take picture of his tied up wife among several others.