Harold Van Wick

In 'Playback' Harold Van Wick is played by Austrian actor Oskar Werner. In the episode, the managing director of a family business (Harold Van Wick), who is also an electronics genius, decides to eliminate his mother-in-law after learning of her intentions to remove him from his position. She holds him responsible for the company's financial losses, which she believes are a result of his extravagant spending on electronic devices, amounting to thousands of dollars. In an act of desperation, Harold Van Wick murders his mother-in-law, hoping to prevent her from carrying out her plan to oust him from the business. However, his actions catch the attention of the authorities, and Lieutenant Colombo is called in to investigate the case. Despite the managing director's efforts to cover up his crime, Colombo eventually uncovers the truth and brings him to justice.
Oskar Werner was an Austrian actor born on November 13, 1922, in Vienna, Austria. He is known for his roles in several acclaimed films, including "Jules et Jim" (1962), "Ship of Fools" (1965), and "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (1965). Werner began his acting career in Vienna in the 1940s and gained critical acclaim for his work in the theater. He made his film debut in the 1948 Austrian film "Der Engel mit der Posaune." In the 1950s, Werner gained international recognition for his work in films such as "Decision Before Dawn" (1951) and "Eroica" (1957). Werner's breakthrough role came in François Truffaut's "Jules et Jim" (1962), in which he played the role of Jules. The film was a critical and commercial success, and Werner's performance was widely praised. He went on to appear in several other successful films, including "Ship of Fools" (1965) and "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (1965), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.