Peter Falk

Peter Falk Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: September 16, 1927

Death Date: June 23, 2011

Birth Place: New York City, New York

Permanently enshrined in the hearts of television viewers and mystery fans for his Emmy and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of the savvy Lt. Columbo, actor-director-producer Peter Falk was a much-admired star of television, film and stage for over half a century. Falk brought streetwise energy to his comic roles, which included his Oscar-nominated turn in "Pocketful of Miracles" (1961) and the enduring cult favorite "The In-Laws" (1979), but could also be searingly intense in dramas, as he proved in a string of films for his close friend, independent filmmaker John Cassavetes, including "Husbands" (1970) and "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974). After reviving "Columbo" for a string of successful television movies in the late 1980s, he remained a fixture in television movies and feature films, which frequently tapped his boundless charm to play wise grandparents and even the occasional angel. His image as the perennially trenchcoat-clad curmudgeon was an enduring one; he was always ready with an endearing quip, and he became one of the most beloved television characters of all time.

Born Peter Michael Falk on Sept. 16, 1927 in New York City, he was raised in Ossining, NY. At age three, he earned his trademark squint after his right eye was removed due to a malignant tumor and replaced by a glass prosthetic. Falk received his first taste of the limelight at age 12 in a production of "The Pirates of Penzance" at a summer camp in upstate New York, but did not pursue acting until after college. A popular student and star athlete at Ossining High School, he served in the Merchant Marine before returning to New York and earning a degree in political science from the New School for Social Research in 1951. A Masters degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University followed in 1953, as did an unsuccessful bid to join the Central Intelligence Agency. Eventually, he settled into a job as a management analyst for the Connecticut State Budget Bureau. While serving the public sector, Falk was also treading the boards with the Mark Twain Maskers in Hartford and honing his craft with the White Barn Theatre in Westport. At age 29, he decided to pursue acting full time, moving to Greenwich Village. His debut as a professional actor came in 1956 with an off-Broadway production of "Don Juan;" his Broadway debut came soon after in "Saint Joan." The following year, he was part of the successful revival of "The Iceman Cometh" with Jason Robards, and remained active on the New York stage for the better part of the next three years.

Falk's agent at the time advised him about considering film and television, citing his glass eye as a detraction for casting agents, but by 1960, Falk had relocated to Los Angeles and delved wholeheartedly into the mediums. The results were exceptionally positive; he was landing regular work in low-budget features and episodic television almost immediately, picking up an Oscar nomination as real-life killer and mob informant Abe "Kid Twist" Reyes for "Murder, Inc." (1960) and an Emmy nomination as a drug addict on "The Law and Mr. Jones" (ABC, 1960-62). He repeated this astonishing feat a year later with an Oscar nod for the Frank Capra comedy "A Pocketful of Miracles" (1961), starring as the jittery right hand man to gangster Glenn Ford, and an Emmy win for "The Price of Tomatoes," which aired on "The Dick Powell Show" that same year. Falk became a fixture on television and in features for much of the early 1960s, and covered the gamut from drama, like "The Balcony" (1963), to comedies like "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (1963) and "The Great Race" (1965), to even musicals, such as the Rat Pack feature "Robin and the Seven Hoods" (1964). He fielded several offers for his own television series during this period, before settling on a short-lived comedy-drama called "The Trials of O'Brien" (CBS, 1965-66), about an attorney with money problems.

Film work continued to come Falk's way, most notably "Machine Gun McCain" (1968), a violent, Italian-made crime drama co-starring John Cassavetes and his wife Gena Rowlands, and the WWII actioner "Anzio" (1968) with Robert Mitchum. That same year, Falk was tapped to play a shabby but keen-witted police detective named Columbo (no first name was ever given) in "Prescription" Murder" (1968), a TV movie based on a popular stage play. Lee J. Cobb and Bing Crosby had both been offered the project and rejected the role. Writers Richard Levinson and William Link both considered Falk too young for the part, but the actor's portrayal - a subtle mix of distraction and disorganization ("Just one more thing ") that hid a razor-sharp intellect with a gift for noticing even the smallest of details - resulted in a ratings smash. A second "Columbo" mystery, "Ransom for a Dead Man," was ordered in 1971, and a series, titled "Columbo," became one of three rotating shows that aired on "The NBC Sunday Mystery Movie" from 1971-77. The series' trademarks - Falk's wry performance, combined with sharp writing and an exceptional guest cast that included some of the best and most respected performers in Hollywood - made the show a perennial favorite during its network run, netting Falk four Emmys and a Golden Globe. It also made him an exceptionally wealthy man. His salary at the end of its network run was reportedly a quarter of a million dollars per episode, but he wisely refused to shoot more than a few episodes per season in order to keep active in other projects.

Falk returned to Broadway in 1971 for Neil Simon's "The Prisoner of Second Avenue," and later gave remarkably funny performances as a faux Humphrey Bogart in two noir parodies written by Simon, 1976's "Murder By Death" and 1978's "The Cheap Detective." He was also the comic highlight of William Friedkin's ill-fated "The Brink's Job" (1978) and was paired brilliantly with Alan Arkin for Arthur Hiller's "The In-Laws" (1979), about a rogue CIA agent (Falk) who enlists his future brother-in-law (Arkin) to help topple a South American dictator prior to their children's wedding. But Falk also kept his dramatic edge sharp, most notably in Cassavetes' unforgiving "Husbands" (1970) and the devastating "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974), in which he held his own as the husband of Gena Rowlands' slowly unraveling housewife. Falk was also solid in the lesser-known "Griffin and Phoenix: A Love Story" (1976), a TV movie about two terminally ill patients who fall for each other, and "Mikey and Nicky" (1976), a mob drama with Cassavetes, directed by Elaine May.

Falk remained inactive on screen for much of the early 1980s, though he was busy on stage with a touring production of David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross" in 1986. That same year, he reunited with Cassavetes and Arkin in "Big Trouble," the long-awaited sequel to "The In-Laws," but the troubled project failed to ignite the same comic sparks. By the late-1980s, Falk was busier than ever; he returned to "Columbo" for a string of successful TV movies, and won another Emmy in 1990 for "Columbo: Agenda for Murder," as well as three Golden Globe nominations for subsequent features. He remained exceptionally popular on film as well; young arthouse audiences were charmed by his appearance as himself, albeit an ex-angel, in Wim Wenders' popular "Wings of Desire" (1987), and children (and adults) everywhere wanted him as their grandfather after seeing him as the narrator of Rob Reiner's lovely fantasy "The Princess Bride" (1987). Falk soon settled into a combination of these roles - a sort of heavenly father figure with a New York attitude - for much of his subsequent projects, including "Cookie" (1987), as a lovable gangster; "Tune in Tomorrow" (1990), as an eccentric radio actor, and "Roommates" (1995), as a charming grandfather, and so on. But there were still standout performances, including a smart but crooked bookie in "Vig" (1998); an angry older man who comes to terms with his own racism in Robert Wise's TV adaptation of Rod Serling's "A Storm in Summer" (2000), which earned Falk a Daytime Emmy nomination; and "Lakeboat" (2000), which marked Joe Mantegna's debut as director.

Falk, who remained busy on stage during this period with a sold-out run of Arthur Miller's "Mr. Peter's Connections" in 1998 and "Defiled," which did similar box office business in Los Angeles in 2000, was a fixture on television and in films in the early 21st century. The "Columbo" movies rolled on with no signs of stopping or slowing, and Falk was seen in Jon Favreau's comedy "Made" (2001), as well as developed a second, smaller franchise as a Christmas angel named Max in three holiday TV movies: "A Town Without Christmas," which was the highest-rated TV movie of 2001; "Finding John Christmas" (2003); and "When Angels Come to Town" (2004). He lent his distinctive voice to a shark mobster in "Shark Tale" (2004), and was paired nicely with Paul Reiser and Olympia Dukakis in the bittersweet comedy "The Thing About My Folks" (2005). In 2004, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the prestigious David Di Donatello Awards in Italy, and earned similar laurels from several state film festivals, as well as the Method Fest in 2003. In 2006, he penned an autobiography, Just One More Thing: Stories from My Life.

Married twice - to Alice May from 1960 to 1976, and then to actress Shera Danese-Falk, who appeared in several "Columbo" movies, from 1977 onward - Falk was the father of two daughters, one of whom was, ironically, a private investigator. He also developed a side career as an artist, which began through pencil sketches in between takes. His charcoal sketches and watercolors received critical acclaim and a gallery showing in Rome in 2004. The actor remained generally low profile as he hit his eighties, appearing in a small role in the Nicholas Cage thriller "Next" in 2007, while the following year, fans were saddened to hear that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Falk's condition was reclassified as full-blown dementia the following spring, when news of a battle over his conservatorship hit newspapers. In the contentious court drama, Falk's years-younger wife, Shera Danese, maintained that Falk and daughter Catherine were estranged and questioned the daughter's financial motives for wanting control of his affairs. Meanwhile, daughter Catherine claimed that her stepmother had willfully been preventing her from seeing her father for several years; that her only motive was wanting to spend time with the ailing father with whom she had shared a close relationship for years. In June 2009, Shera Danese Falk was appointed as her husband's conservator. The actor eventually succumbed to his illness on June 23, 2011 at his Beverly Hills home. He was 83 years old.

Credits

Peter Falk versus Columbo

Self
Show
2019

Arthur Miller: Writer

Self
Movie
2017

American Cowslip

Actor
Father Randolph
Movie
2009

Char-ac-ter

Actor
Movie
2009

Next

Actor
Irv
Movie
2007

Three Days to Vegas

Actor
Gus Fitzgerald
Movie
2007

Checking Out

Actor
Morris Applebaum
Movie
2005

The Thing About My Folks

Actor
Sam Kleinman
Movie
2005

Shark Tale

Voice
Don Brizzi
Movie
2004

When Angels Come to Town

Actor
Max
Movie
2004

Columbo Likes the Nightlife

Actor
Columbo
Movie
2003

Columbo Likes the Nightlife

Executive Producer
Movie
2003

Wilder Days

Actor
James "Pop Up" Morse
Movie
2003

Finding John Christmas

Actor
Max
Movie
2003

The Lost World

Actor
Theo
Movie
2002

Undisputed

Actor
Mendy Ripstein
Movie
2002

Three Days of Rain

Actor
Waldo
Movie
2002

The Lost World

Actor
Show
2001

Columbo: Murder With Too Many Notes

Actor
Columbo
Movie
2001

Corky Romano

Actor
Pops
Movie
2001

Made

Actor
Max
Movie
2001

A Town Without Christmas

Actor
Max
Movie
2001

A Storm in Summer

Actor
Abel Shaddick
Movie
2000

Lakeboat

Actor
The Pierman
Movie
2000

Enemies of Laughter

Actor
Paul's Father
Movie
2000

Columbo: Ashes to Ashes

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1998

Columbo: Ashes to Ashes

Executive Producer
Movie
1998

Vig

Actor
Vinnie
Movie
1998

Columbo: A Trace of Murder

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1997

Columbo: A Trace of Murder

Executive Producer
Movie
1997

Pronto

Actor
Harry Arno
Movie
1997

The Sunshine Boys

Actor
Willie Clark
Movie
1997

Roommates

Actor
Rocky Holzcek
Movie
1995

Columbo: Strange Bedfellows

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1995

Inside the Actors Studio

Guest
Talk
1994

Columbo: En Mariposas en Tonos Grises

Actor
Movie
1994

Shades of Grey

Actor
Movie
1994

Columbo: Butterfly in Shades of Grey

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1994

Columbo: Undercover

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1994

It's All in the Game

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1993

Columbo: It's All in the Game

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1993

Columbo: It's All in the Game

Executive Producer
Movie
1993

Faraway, So Close!

Actor
Cameo appearance
Movie
1993

Columbo: un seul suffira

Actor
Movie
1992

Columbo: No Time to Die

Actor
Movie
1992

Columbo: A Bird in the Hand

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1992

Columbo: A Bird in the Hand

Executive Producer
Movie
1992

Columbo y el Homicidio de la Estrella

Actor
Movie
1991

Columbo: Caution, Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1991

Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1991

Columbo: Death Hits the Jackpot

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1991

Tout finit par se savoir

Actor
Movie
1990

Couronne mortuaire

Actor
Movie
1990

In the Spirit

Actor
Roger Flan
Movie
1990

Columbo: Murder in Malibu

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1990

Destinos Cruzados

Actor
Movie
1990

Columbo: Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1990

Columbo Cries Wolf

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1990

Columbo Goes to College

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1990

Columbo: Uneasy Lies the Crown

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1990

Columbo: Agenda for Murder

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1990

Colombo: Agenda per omicidi

Actor
Movie
1990

Colombo: Dente per dente

Actor
Movie
1990

Colombo: Omicidio a Malibù

Actor
Colombo
Movie
1990

Colombo: Qualcuno ha ingannato il tenente Colombo

Actor
Movie
1990

Consonancia en Mañana

Actor
Pedro Carmichael
Movie
1990

Columbo Goes to the Guillotine

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1989

Columbo: Ombres et lumières

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1989

Columbo: Sex and the Married Detective

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1989

Columbo: Grand Deceptions

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1989

Cookie

Actor
Dominick Capisco
Movie
1989

Columbo: Murder, A Self-Portrait

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1989

Grand Deceptions

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1989

Vibes

Actor
Harry Buscafusco
Movie
1988

Happy New Year

Actor
Nick
Movie
1987

The Princess BrideStream

Actor
Grandpa
Movie
1987
98%

Wings of DesireStream

Self
Movie
1987
95%

Las Alas del Deseo

Actor
Movie
1987

Big Trouble

Actor
Steve Rickey
Movie
1986

The Great Muppet CaperStream

Actor
Tramp
Movie
1981
78%

...All the Marbles

Actor
Harry Sears
Movie
1981

The In-LawsStream

Actor
Vince Ricardo
Movie
1979
90%

Ne tirez pas sur le dentiste

Actor
Movie
1979

Colombo: I cospiratori

Actor
Movie
1978

Colombo: Vino d'annata

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1978

Colombo: Un delitto pilotato

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1978

Scared Straight!

Actor
Movie
1978

The Brink's Job

Actor
Tony Pino
Movie
1978
70%

Columbo: Make Me a Perfect Murder

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1978

The Cheap DetectiveStream

Actor
Lou Peckinpaugh
Movie
1978
53%

Colombo: Prova a prendermi

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1977

Colombo: Prova d'intelligenza

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1977

Colombo: L'illusionista

Actor
Tenente Colombo
Movie
1976

Colombo: Ciak si uccide

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1976

Colombo: Delitto d'altri tempi

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1976

Griffin and Phoenix: A Love Story

Actor
Geoffrey Griffin
Movie
1976

Murder by Death

Actor
Sam Diamond
Movie
1976

Mikey and Nicky

Actor
Mikey
Movie
1976

Columbo : Tout n'est qu'illusion

Actor
Movie
1976

La Montre témoin

Actor
Movie
1976

Colombo: Doppio gioco

Actor
Movie
1975

Colombo: Testimone di se stesso

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1975

Colombo: Assassinio a bordo

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1975

Colombo: Un caso d'immunità

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1975

Colombo: Playback

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1975

Jeu d'identité

Actor
Movie
1975

La femme oubliée

Actor
Movie
1975

Eaux troublés

Actor
Movie
1975

A Woman Under the InfluenceStream

Actor
Nick Longhetti
Movie
1974
89%

Colombo: L'omicidio del professore

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1974

Colombo: Un amico da salvare

Actor
Tenente Colombo
Movie
1974

Colombo: Un killer venuto dal Vietnam

Actor
Tenente Colombo
Movie
1974

Columbo: Negative Reaction

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1974

Subsonscient

Actor
Movie
1974

Entre le crépuscule et l'aube

Actor
Movie
1974

Colombo: Il segreto di Nora Chandler

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1973

Colombo: Doppio shock

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1973

Colombo: Bella ma letale

Actor
Colombo
Movie
1973

Colombo: Il filo del delitto

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1973

Colombo: L' ultimo scaccomatto

Actor
Movie
1973

Colombo: Alibi calibro 22

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1973

Columbo: Any Old Port in a Storm

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1973

Édition tragique

Actor
Movie
1973

Columbo: Double choc

Actor
Movie
1973

Columbo: Match dangereux

Actor
Movie
1973

Quand le vin est tiré

Actor
Movie
1973

Colombo: Gioco mortale

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1972

Colombo: Concerto con delitto

Actor
Tenente Columbo
Movie
1972

Colombo: Scacco matto a Scotland Yard

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1972

Colombo: Mio caro nipote

Actor
Tenente Colombo
Movie
1972

Columbo: Symphonie en noir

Actor
Movie
1972

Situation: Normal A.F.U.

Actor
Peter Pawney
Movie
1972

S.O.S. Scotland Yard

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1972

Columbo: Une ville fatale

Actor
Movie
1972

Columbo: Poids mort

Actor
Movie
1972

Blueprint for Murder

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1972

Le Grain de sable

Actor
Movie
1972

ColumboStream

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Series
1971

ColumboStream

Director
Series
1971

ColumboStream

Executive Producer
Series
1971

ColumboStream

Writer
Series
1971

Columbo: le livre témoin

Actor
Movie
1971

Colombo: Una trappola di Colombo

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1971

Colombo: L'arte del delitto

Actor
Movie
1971

Colombo: La pistola di madreperla

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1971

Colombo: Un giallo da manuale

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1971

Colombo: Incidente premeditato

Actor
Colombo
Movie
1971

Ransom for a Dead Man

Actor
Columbo
Movie
1971

A Sister From Napoli

Actor
Lewis Corbett
Movie
1971

Plein cadre

Actor
Movie
1971

Columbo: Ransom for a Dead Man

Actor
Movie
1971

Columbo: Attente

Actor
Movie
1971

Husbands: Extended Edition

Actor
Archie
Movie
1970

Operation Snafu

Actor
Peter Pawney
Movie
1970

A Step Out of Line

Actor
Harry Connors
Movie
1970

Machine Gun McCain

Actor
Charlie Adamo
Movie
1969

Castle Keep

Actor
Sgt. Rossi
Movie
1969

The Name of the Game

Guest Star
Series
1968

The Dick Cavett ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1968

Columbo: Prescription: MurderStream

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1968

Anzio

Actor
Cpl. Jack Rabinoff
Movie
1968

Prescription: murder

Actor
Lt. Columbo
Movie
1967

Luv

Actor
Milt Manville
Movie
1967

Dear Deductible

Actor
Mike Galway
Movie
1967

Demasiados Pillos

Actor
Movie
1966

Penelope

Actor
Lieutenant Horatio Bixbee
Movie
1966

Too Many Thieves

Actor
Danny
Movie
1966

The Trials of O'Brien

Actor
Daniel O'Brien
Show
1965

Attack and Retreat

Actor
Medic Captain
Movie
1965

The Great RaceStream

Actor
Maximilian Meen
Movie
1965
69%

Perilous Times

Actor
Bara
Movie
1965

Robin and the Seven HoodsStream

Actor
Guy Gisborne
Movie
1964
40%

The Danny Kaye ShowStream

Guest
Variety Show
1963

The Balcony

Actor
Police Chief
Movie
1963

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonStream

Guest
Talk
1962

Alfred Hitchcock HourStream

Actor
Series
1962

Pressure Point

Actor
Young Psychiatrist
Movie
1962

Ben Casey

Guest Star
Series
1961

Target: The Corruptors

Guest Star
Show
1961

Dr. Kildare

Guest Star
Series
1961

Dick Powell Theatre

Actor
Show
1961

The Million Dollar Incident

Actor
Sammy
Movie
1961

Pocketful of MiraclesStream

Actor
Joy Boy
Movie
1961
50%

The Law and Mr. Jones

Guest Star
Show
1960

Murder, Inc.

Actor
Abe Reles
Movie
1960

The Secret of the Purple Reef

Actor
Tom Weber
Movie
1960

The Untouchables

Guest Star
Series
1959

The Twilight ZoneStream

Actor
Ramos Clemente
Series
1959
92%

The Bloody Brood

Actor
Nico
Movie
1959

Naked CityStream

Guest Star
Series
1958

Wind Across the Everglades

Actor
Writer
Movie
1958

Wagon TrainStream

Guest Star
Series
1957

Have Gun -- Will TravelStream

Guest Star
Series
1957

Alfred Hitchcock PresentsStream

Actor
Meyer Fine
Series
1955

I've Got a SecretStream

Guest
Game Show
1952

The Red Skelton ShowStream

Guest Star
Variety Show
1951

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
Game Show
1950

News aboutPeter Falk