Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American actor. He is best known for his role asLieutenant Columbo on theNBC/ABC seriesColumbo (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he won fourPrimetime Emmy Awards (1972, 1975, 1976, 1990) and aGolden Globe Award (1973). In 1996,TV Guide ranked Falk No. 21 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.[1] He received a posthumous star on theHollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.[2][3]
He first starred as Columbo in two 2-hour "World Premiere" TV pilots; the first withGene Barry in 1968 and the second withLee Grant in 1971. The show then aired as part ofThe NBC Mystery Movie series from 1971 to 1978, and again onABC from 1989 to 2003.[4]
Born inManhattan, New York City, Falk was the son of Michael Peter Falk, owner of a clothing anddry goods store, and his wife, Madeline (née Hochhauser).[5] Both his parents were Jewish.[6]
Falk's right eye was surgically removed when he was three because of aretinoblastoma.[a] He wore anartificial eye for most of his life.[7] The artificial eye was the cause of his trademarksquint.[8] Despite this limitation, as a boy he participated in team sports, mainly baseball and basketball. In a 1997 interview inCigar Aficionado magazine withArthur Marx, Falk said:
I remember once in high school theumpire called me out at third base when I was sure I was safe. I got so mad I took out my glass eye, handed it to him and said, 'Try this.' I got such a laugh you wouldn't believe."[9]
Falk briefly attendedHamilton College inClinton, New York. He then tried to join the armed services, asWorld War II was drawing to a close. Rejected because of his missing eye, he joined theUnited States Merchant Marine and served as a cook and mess boy. Falk said of the experience in 1997: "There they don't care if you're blind or not. The only one on a ship who has to see is the captain. And in the case of theTitanic, he couldn't see very well, either."[9] Falk recalled in his autobiography:
A year on the water was enough for me, so I returned to college. I didn't stay long. Too itchy. What to do next? I signed up to go to Israel to fight in the war on its attack on Egypt. I wasn't passionate about Israel, I wasn't passionate about Egypt—I just wanted more excitement ... I got assigned a ship and departure date but the war was over before the ship ever sailed.[13]
After a year and a half in the Merchant Marine, Falk returned to Hamilton College and also attended theUniversity of Wisconsin. He transferred toThe New School for Social Research in New York City, which awarded him a bachelor's degree in literature and political science in 1951.
Falk traveled in Europe and worked on a railroad inYugoslavia for six months.[14] He returned to New York, enrolling atSyracuse University,[9] but he recalled in his 2006 memoir,Just One More Thing, that he was unsure what he wanted to do with his life for years after leaving high school.[15] Falk obtained aMaster of Public Administration degree at theMaxwell School of Syracuse University in 1953. The program was designed to train civil servants for the federal government, a career that Falk said in his memoir he had "no interest in and no aptitude for."[16]
He applied for a job with theCIA, but he was rejected because of his membership in theMarine Cooks and Stewards Union while serving in the Merchant Marine, even though he was required to join and was not active in the union (which had been under fire for communist leanings).[17] He then became a management analyst with the Connecticut State Budget Bureau inHartford.[18] In 1997, Falk characterized his Hartford job as "efficiency expert": "I was such an efficiency expert that the first morning on the job, I couldn't find the building where I was to report for work. Naturally, I was late, which I always was in those days, but ironically it was my tendency never to be on time that got me started as a professional actor."[9]
While working in Hartford, Falk joined a community theater group called the Mark Twain Masquers, where he performed in plays that includedThe Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,The Crucible, andThe Country Girl byClifford Odets. Falk also studied withEva Le Gallienne, who was giving an acting class at theWhite Barn Theatre inWestport, Connecticut. Falk later recalled how he "lied his way" into the class, which was for professional actors. He drove down to Westport from Hartford every Wednesday, when the classes were held, and was usually late.[9] In his 1997 interview withArthur Marx inCigar Aficionado Magazine, Falk said of Le Gallienne: "One evening when I arrived late, she looked at me and asked, 'Young man, why are you always late?' and I said, 'I have to drive down from Hartford.'" She looked down her nose and said, "What do you do in Hartford? There's no theater there. How do you make a living acting?" Falk confessed he was not a professional actor. According to him Le Gallienne looked at him sternly and said: "Well, you should be." He drove back to Hartford and quit his job.[9] Falk stayed with the Le Gallienne group for a few months more, and obtained a letter of recommendation from Le Galliene to an agent at theWilliam Morris Agency in New York.[9] In 1956, he left his job with the Budget Bureau and moved toGreenwich Village to pursue an acting career.[19]
Falk's first New York stage role was in anoff-Broadway production ofMolière'sDon Juan at the Fourth Street Theatre that closed after its only performance on January 3, 1956. Falk played the second lead, Sganarelle.[20] His next theater role proved far better for his career. In May, he appeared as Rocky Pioggi atCircle in the Square in a revival ofThe Iceman Cometh directed byJose Quintero, withJason Robards playing the lead role of Theodore "Hickey" Hickman.[18][21]
In 1972, Falk appeared in Broadway'sThe Prisoner of Second Avenue. According to film historianEphraim Katz: "His characters derive added authenticity from his squinty gaze, the result of the loss of an eye..."[23] However, this production caused Falk a great deal of stress, both on and offstage. He struggled with memorizing a short speech, spending hours trying to memorize three lines. The next day at rehearsal, he reported behaving strangely and feeling a tingling sensation in his neck. This caught the attention of a stage manager, who told him to go "take aValium". Only later did Falk realize he was having ananxiety attack. He would not go on to perform in any other plays, citing both this incident and his preference for acting in film andtelevision productions.[24][25]
Despite his stage success, a theatrical agent advised Falk not to expect muchfilm acting work because of his artificial eye.[18] He failed a screen test atColumbia Pictures and was told by studio bossHarry Cohn: "For the same price I can get an actor with two eyes." He also failed to get a role in the filmMarjorie Morningstar, despite a promising interview for the second lead.[26] His first film performances were in small roles inWind Across the Everglades (1958),The Bloody Brood (1959), andPretty Boy Floyd (1960). Falk's performance inMurder, Inc. (1960) was a turning point in his career. He was cast in the supporting role of killerAbe Reles in a film based on the real-lifemurder gang of that name who terrorized New York in the 1930s.The New York Times film criticBosley Crowther, while dismissing the movie as "an average gangster film," singled out Falk's "amusingly vicious performance."[27] Crowther wrote:[27]
Mr. Falk, moving as if weary, looking at people out of the corners of his eyes and talking as if he had borrowed Marlon Brando's chewing gum, seems a travesty of a killer, until the water suddenly freezes in his eyes and he whips an icepick from his pocket and starts punching holes in someone's ribs. Then viciousness pours out of him and you get a sense of a felon who is hopelessly cracked and corrupt.
The film turned out to be Falk's breakout role. In his autobiography,Just One More Thing (2006), Falk said his selection for the film from thousands of otherOff-Broadway actors was a "miracle" that "made my career" and that without it, he would not have received the other significant movie roles that he later played.[28] Falk, who played Reles again in the 1960 TV seriesThe Witness, was nominated for aBest Supporting ActorAcademy Award for his performance in the film.
In 1961, multiple Academy Award-winning directorFrank Capra cast Falk in the comedyPocketful of Miracles. The film was Capra's last feature, and although it was not the commercial success he hoped it would be, he "gushed about Falk's performance."[4] Falk was nominated for an Oscar for the role. In his autobiography, Capra wrote about Falk:
The entire production was agony ... except for Peter Falk. He was my joy, my anchor to reality. Introducing that remarkable talent to the techniques of comedy made me forget pains, tired blood, and maniacal hankerings to murderGlenn Ford (the film's star). Thank you Peter Falk.[29]: 480
For his part, Falk says he "never worked with a director who showed greater enjoyment of actors and the acting craft. There is nothing more important to an actor than to know that the one person who represents the audience to you, the director, is responding well to what you are trying to do." Falk once recalled how Capra reshot a scene even though he yelled "Cut and Print," indicating the scene was finalized. When Falk asked him why he wanted it reshot: "He laughed and said that he loved the scene so much he just wanted to see us do it again. How's that for support!"[4]
For the remainder of the 1960s, Falk had mainly supporting movie roles and TV guest-starring appearances. Falk portrayed one of two cabbies who falls victim to greed in the epic 1963 star-studded comedyIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, although he appears only in the last fifth of the movie. His other roles included the character of Guy Gisborne in theRat Pack musical comedyRobin and the 7 Hoods (1964), in which he sings one of the film's numbers, and the spoofThe Great Race (1965) withJack Lemmon andTony Curtis.
In 1961, Falk earned the distinction of becoming the first actor to be nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy in the same year. He received nominations for his supporting roles inMurder, Inc. and the television programThe Law and Mr. Jones. Incredibly, Falk repeated this double nomination in 1962, being nominated again for a supporting actor role inPocketful of Miracles and best actor in "The Price of Tomatoes," an episode ofThe Dick Powell Show, for which he took home the award.[30]
In 1963, Falk andTommy Sands appeared in "The Gus Morgan Story" on ABC'sWagon Train as brothers who disagreed on the route for a railroad. Falk played the title role of "Gus", and Sands was his younger brother, Ethan Morgan. After Ethan accidentally shoots wagonmaster Chris Hale, played byJohn McIntire, while in the mountains, Gus has to decide whether to rescue Hale or his brother (suffering from oxygen deprivation). This episode is remembered for its examination of how far a man will persist amid adversity to preserve his own life and that of his brother.[32]
Having had many roles in film and television during the early 1960s, Falk's first lead in a television series came with CBS'sThe Trials of O'Brien. The show ran from 1965 to 1966, its 22 episodes featuring Falk as a Shakespeare-quoting lawyer who defends clients while solving mysteries.[30] In 1966, he also co-starred in a television production ofBrigadoon withRobert Goulet.
In 1971,Pierre Cossette produced the firstGrammy Awards show on television with some help from Falk. Cossette writes in his autobiography, "What meant the most to me, though, is the fact that Peter Falk saved my ass. I love show business, and I love Peter Falk."[33]
Although Falk appeared in numerous other television roles in the 1960s and 1970s, he is best known as the star of the TV seriesColumbo, "everyone's favorite rumpled television detective."[4] His character, known for hiscatchphrase: "Just one more thing,"[34] is a shabby and deceptively absent-minded police detective driving aPeugeot 403, who had first appeared in the 1968 filmPrescription: Murder.Columbo was created byWilliam Link andRichard Levinson.[30] The show was of a type known as aninverted detective story; it typically reveals the murderer at the beginning, then shows how the Los Angeles homicide detective goes about solving the crime. Falk would describe his role to film historian and author David Fantle:
Columbo has a genuine mistiness about him. It seems to hang in the air... [and] he's capable of being distracted... Columbo is an ass-backwardsSherlock Holmes. Holmes had a long neck, Columbo has no neck; Holmes smoked a pipe, Columbo chews up six cigars a day.[4]
Television critic Ben Falk (no relation) added that Falk "created an iconic cop... who always got his man (or woman) after a tortuous cat-and-mouse investigation." He also noted the idea for the character was "apparently inspired by Dostoyevsky's dogged police inspector, Porfiry Petrovich, in the novelCrime and Punishment."[35]
Peter Falk tries to analyze the character and notes the correlation between his own personality and Columbo's:
I'm aVirgo Jew, and that means I have an obsessive thoroughness. It's not enough to get most of the details; it's necessary to get them all. I've been accused of perfectionism. WhenLew Wasserman (head of Universal Studios) said that Falk is a perfectionist, I don't know whether it was out of affection or because he felt I was a monumental pain in the ass.[4]
With "general amazement", Falk notes: "The show is all over the world. I've been to little villages in Africa with maybe one TV set, and little kids will run up to me shouting, 'Columbo, Columbo!'"[4] SingerJohnny Cash recalled acting in one episode ("Swan Song"), and although he was not an experienced actor, he writes in his autobiography, "Peter Falk was good to me. I wasn't at all confident about handling a dramatic role, and every day he helped me in all kinds of little ways."[36]
The first episode ofColumbo as a series was directed in 1971 by a 24-year-oldSteven Spielberg in one of his earliest directing jobs. Falk recalled the episode to Spielberg biographerJoseph McBride:
Let's face it, we had some good fortune at the beginning. Our debut episode, in 1971, was directed by this young kid named Steven Spielberg. I told the producers, Link and Levinson: "This guy is too good forColumbo"... Steven was shooting me with a long lens from across the street. That wasn't common twenty years ago. The comfort level it gave me as an actor, besides it's a great look artistically—well, it told you that this wasn't any ordinary director.[37]
As Lt. Columbo withMartin Landau in episode "Double Shock" where Landau played a dual role as twin brothers, 1973As Lt. Columbo withRichard Kiley in episode "A Friend In Deed" aired on May 5, 1974
The character of Columbo had previously been played byBert Freed in a 1960 television episode ofThe Chevy Mystery Show ("Enough Rope"), and byThomas Mitchell onBroadway. Falk first played Columbo inPrescription: Murder, a 1968 TV movie, and the 1970 pilot for the series,Ransom for a Dead Man. From 1971 to 1978,Columbo aired regularly on NBC as part of theumbrella seriesNBC Mystery Movie. All episodes were of TV movie length, in a 90- or 120-minute slot including commercials. In 1989, the show returned on ABC in the form of a less frequent series of TV movies, still starring Falk, airing until 2003. Falk won four Emmys for his role as Columbo.[38]
Columbo was so popular, co-creatorWilliam Link wrote a series of short stories published asThe Columbo Collection (Crippen & Landru, 2010) which includes a drawing by Falk of himself as Columbo, while the cover features a caricature of Falk/Columbo byAl Hirschfeld.[39]
Lieutenant Columbo owns aBasset Hound named Dog. Originally, it was not going to appear in the show because Peter Falk believed that it "already had enough gimmicks" but once the two met, Falk stated that Dog "was exactly the type of dog that Columbo would own", so he was added to the show and made his first appearance in 1972's "Étude In Black".[40]
Columbo's wardrobe was provided by Peter Falk; they were his own clothes, including the high-topped shoes and the shabby raincoat, which made its first appearance inPrescription: Murder. Falk would oftenad lib his character's idiosyncrasies (fumbling through his pockets for a piece of evidence and discovering a grocery list, asking to borrow a pencil, becoming distracted by something irrelevant in the room at a dramatic point in a conversation with a suspect, etc.), inserting these into his performance as a way to keep his fellow actors off-balance. He felt it helped to make their confused and impatient reactions to Columbo's antics more genuine.[41] According to Levinson, the catchphrase "one more thing" was conceived when he and Link were writing the play: "we had a scene that was too short, and we'd already had Columbo make his exit. We were too lazy to retype the scene, so we had him come back and say, 'Oh, just one more thing...' It was never planned."[42]
Columbo featured an unofficial signature tune, the children's song "This Old Man". It was introduced in the episode "Any Old Port in a Storm" in 1973 and the detective can be heard humming or whistling it often in subsequent films. Peter Falk admitted that it was a melody he enjoyed, and one day it became a part of his character.[43] The tune was also used in various score arrangements throughout the three decades of the series, including opening and closing credits. A version of it, titled "Columbo", was created by one of the show's composers,Patrick Williams.[44]
A few years prior to his death, Falk had expressed interest in returning to the role. In 2007, he said he had chosen a script for one last Columbo episode, "Columbo: Hear No Evil". The script was renamed "Columbo's Last Case". ABC declined the project. In response, producers for the series attempted to shop the project to foreign production companies.[45][46] However, Falk was diagnosed withdementia in late 2007. Falk died on June 23, 2011, aged 83.[47][48][49]
Peter Falk won fourEmmy Awards for his portrayal of Lieutenant Columbo in 1972, 1975, 1976 and 1990. Falk directed just one episode: "Blueprint for Murder" in 1971, although it is rumored that he andJohn Cassavetes were largely responsible for direction duties on "Étude in Black" in 1972. Falk's own favoriteColumbo episodes were "Any Old Port in a Storm", "Forgotten Lady", "Now You See Him" and "Identity Crisis". Falk was rumored to be earning a record $300,000 per episode when he returned forseason 6 ofColumbo in 1976.[50] This doubled to $600,000 per episode when the series made its comeback in 1989. In 1997, "Murder by the Book" was ranked at No. 16 inTV Guide's '100 Greatest Episodes of All Time' list. Two years later, the magazine ranked Lieutenant Columbo No. 7 on its '50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time' list.[51]
Falk was a close friend of independent film directorJohn Cassavetes and appeared in his filmsHusbands,A Woman Under the Influence, and, in acameo, at the end ofOpening Night. Cassavetes guest-starred in theColumbo episode "Étude in Black" in 1972; Falk, in turn, co-starred with Cassavetes in Elaine May's filmMikey and Nicky (1976). Falk describes his experiences working with Cassavetes, specifically remembering his directing strategies: "Shooting an actor when he might be unaware the camera was running."
You never knew when the camera might be going. And it was never: 'Stop. Cut. Start again.' John would walk in the middle of a scene and talk, and though you didn't realize it, the camera kept going. So I never knew what the hell he was doing. [Laughs] But he ultimately made me, and I think every actor, less self-conscious, less aware of the camera than anybody I've ever worked with.[52]
In 1978, Falk appeared on the comedy TV showThe Dean Martin Celebrity Roast, portraying his Columbo character, withFrank Sinatra the evening's victim.[53] DirectorWilliam Friedkin said of Falk's role in his filmThe Brink's Job (1978): "Peter has a great range from comedy to drama. He could break your heart or he could make you laugh."[54]
Falk continued to work in films, including his performance as an ex-CIA officer of questionable sanity in the comedyThe In-Laws. DirectorArthur Hiller said during an interview that the "film started out becauseAlan Arkin and Peter Falk wanted to work together. They went to Warner Brothers and said, 'We'd like to do a picture,' and Warner said fine ... and out cameThe In-laws ... of all the films I've done,The In-laws is the one I get the most comments on."[54]: 290 Movie criticRoger Ebert compared the film with a later remake:
Peter Falk and Alan Arkin in the earlier film, versus Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks this time ... yet the chemistry is better in the earlier film. Falk goes into his deadpan lecturer mode, slowly and patiently explaining things that sound like utter nonsense. Arkin develops good reasons for suspecting he is in the hands of a madman.[55]
Falk appeared inThe Great Muppet Caper,The Princess Bride,Murder by Death,The Cheap Detective,Vibes,Made, and inWim Wenders' 1987 German language filmWings of Desire and its 1993 sequel,Faraway, So Close!. InWings of Desire, Falk played a semi-fictionalized version of himself, a famous American actor who had once been an angel, but who had grown disillusioned with only observing life on Earth and had in turn given up his immortality. Falk described the role as "the craziest thing that I've ever been offered", but he earned critical acclaim for his supporting performance in the film.[56]
In 1998, Falk returned to the New York stage to star in anOff-Broadway production ofArthur Miller'sMr. Peters' Connections. His previous stage work included shady real estate salesman Shelley "the Machine" Levine in the 1986 Boston/Los Angeles production ofDavid Mamet's prizewinningGlengarry Glen Ross.[57]Falk starred in a trilogy of holiday television movies –A Town Without Christmas (2001),Finding John Christmas (2003), andWhen Angels Come to Town (2004) – in which he portrayed Max, a quirkyguardian angel who uses disguises and subterfuge to steer his charges onto the right path. In 2005, he starred inThe Thing About My Folks. Although movie criticRoger Ebert was not impressed with most of the other actors, he wrote in his review: "... We discover once again what a warm and engaging actor Peter Falk is. I can't recommend the movie, but I can be grateful that I saw it, for Falk."[58] In 2007, Falk appeared withNicolas Cage in the thrillerNext.
Falk's autobiography,Just One More Thing, was published in 2006.[30]
Falk married Alyce Mayo, whom he met when the two were students atSyracuse University,[59] on April 17, 1960. The couple adopted two daughters, Catherine (who became aprivate investigator) and Jackie. Falk and his wife divorced in 1976. On December 7, 1977, he married actressShera Danese,[60] who guest-starred in more episodes of theColumbo series than any other actress.
Falk was a chess aficionado and a spectator at the American Open in Santa Monica, California, in November 1972, and at the U.S. Open in Pasadena, California, in August 1983.[64]
In December 2008, it was reported that Falk had been diagnosed withAlzheimer's disease.[65] In June 2009, at a two-dayconservatorship trial in Los Angeles, one of Falk's personal physicians, Dr. Stephen Read, reported he had rapidly slipped into dementia after a series of dental operations in 2007.[66] Read said it was unclear whether Falk's condition had worsened as a result of anesthesia or some other reaction to the operations. Shera Danese Falk was appointed as her husband's conservator.[67]
On the evening of June 23, 2011, Falk died at his longtime home on Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills at the age of 83.[68][69] The causes of death were pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease.[70] His daughters said they would remember his "wisdom and humor".[71] He is buried atWestwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.[72]
His death was marked by tributes from many film celebrities includingJonah Hill andStephen Fry.[73][74]Steven Spielberg said, "I learned more about acting from him at that early stage of my career than I had from anyone else".[75]Rob Reiner said: "He was a completely unique actor", and went on to say that Falk's work withAlan Arkin inThe In-Laws was "one of the most brilliant comedy pairings we've seen on screen".[76] His epitaph reads: "I'm not here, I'm home with Shera."[77]
According to Falk's daughter Catherine, his second wife Shera Danese (who also was hisconservator) allegedly stopped some of his family members from visiting him; did not notify them of major changes in his condition; and did not notify them of his death and funeral arrangements.[78] Catherine encouraged the passage in 2015 of legislation called colloquially "Peter Falk's Law".[78] The new law was passed in New York state to protect children from being cut off from news of serious medical and end-of-life developments regarding their parents or from contact with them. The law provides guidelines regarding visitation rights and notice of death with which an incapacitated person's guardians or conservators must comply.[79][60][80][81]
As of 2020, more than fifteen states had enacted such laws.[82] In introducing the measure, New York State SenatorJohn DeFrancisco said, "For every wrong there should be a remedy. This bill gives a remedy to children of elderly and infirm parents who have been cut off from receiving information about their parents. It also gives them an avenue through the courts to obtain visitation rights with the parents."[83]
^This fact is alluded to in the 1997Columbo episode "A Trace of Murder" (Series 13, episode 2), where Detective Columbo invites a colleague to help interview a suspect, stating, "three eyes are better than one".
^They later acted together inThe Great Race and theColumbo episode "Suitable For Framing".
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