Peter Falk

This article is about the actor. For the American art historian, see Peter H. Falk.
Peter Falk

As Lt. Columbo, 1973
Born Peter Michael Falk
(1927-09-16)September 16, 1927
New York City, United States
Died June 23, 2011(2011-06-23) (aged 83)
Beverly Hills, California, US.
Cause of death Pneumonia
Nationality American
Education Ossining High School
Alma mater Hamilton College
New School for Social Research (B.A., literature and political science, 1951)
Syracuse University, Maxwell School (Master of Public Administration, 1953)
Occupation Actor
Years active 1956–2009 (retirement)
Height 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Spouse(s) Alyce Mayo (1960–76) 2 daughters
Shera Danese (1977–2011; his death)
Children Catherine, Jackie
Website PeterFalk.com
Signature

Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series Columbo, which ran from 1968-2003. He appeared in numerous films such as The Princess Bride (1987), The Great Race (1965), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), and Murder by Death (1976), as well as many television guest roles. He was nominated for an Academy Award twice (for 1960's Murder, Inc. and 1961's Pocketful of Miracles), and he won the Emmy Award on five occasions (four for Columbo) and the Golden Globe Award once. Director William Friedkin said of Falk's role in his film The Brink's Job (1978): "Peter has a great range from comedy to drama. He could break your heart or he could make you laugh."[1]

Falk was the first actor to be nominated for an Academy Award and an Emmy Award in the same year, achieving the feat two years in a row, in 1960 and again in 1961.

In 1968, Falk starred with Gene Barry in a ninety-minute television movie about a highly skilled, laid-back detective. Columbo eventually became part of an anthology series titled The NBC Mystery Movie, along with McCloud, McMillan & Wife and Banacek. The detective series stayed on NBC from 1971 to 1978, took a respite, and returned occasionally on ABC from 1989 to 2003. Falk was "everyone's favorite rumpled television detective", wrote historian David Fantle.[2]

In 1996, TV Guide ranked Falk number 21 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.[3]

Early life

Born in New York City, Falk was the son of Michael Peter Falk (1897–1981), owner of a clothing and dry goods store, and his wife, Madeline (née Hochhauser; 1904–2003),[4] an accountant and buyer.[5] Both of his parents were Jewish,[6] coming from Poland and Russia on his father's side,[7] and from Hungary and the Czech lands on his mother's side.[8][9]

Falk's right eye was surgically removed when he was three because of a retinoblastoma; he wore an artificial eye for most of his life.[10] The artificial eye was the cause of his trademark squint.[11] Despite this limitation, as a boy he participated in team sports, mainly baseball and basketball. In a 1997 interview in Cigar Aficionado magazine with Arthur Marx, Falk said: "I remember once in high school the umpire 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."[12]

Falk as a senior in high school, 1945.

Falk's first stage appearance was at the age of 12 in The Pirates of Penzance at Camp High Point[13] in upstate New York, where one of his camp counselors was Ross Martin (they would later act together in The Great Race and the Columbo episode "Suitable For Framing"). Falk attended Ossining High School in Westchester County, New York, where he was a star athlete and president of his senior class. After graduating from high school in 1945, Falk briefly attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and then tried to join the armed services as World War II was drawing to a close. Rejected because of his missing eye, he joined the United 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 the Titanic, he couldn't see very well, either."[12] Falk recalls this period 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."[14]

After a year and a half in the Merchant Marine, Falk returned to Hamilton College and also attended the University of Wisconsin. He transferred to the New School for Social Research in New York City, which awarded him a bachelor's degree in literature and political science in 1951. He then traveled in Europe and worked on a railroad in Yugoslavia for six months.[15] He returned to New York, enrolling at Syracuse University,[12] 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.[16]

Falk obtained a Master of Public Administration degree at the Maxwell 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".[17] He applied for a job with the CIA, but was rejected because of his membership in the Marine 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).[18] He then became a management analyst with the Connecticut State Budget Bureau in Hartford.[19] 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."[12]

Career

Stage career

While working in Hartford, Falk joined a community theater group called the Mark Twain Masquers, where he performed in plays that included The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, The Crucible, and The Country Girl by Clifford Odets. Falk also studied with Eva Le Gallienne, who was giving an acting class at the White Barn Theatre in Westport, 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.[12] In his 1997 interview with Arthur Marx in Cigar 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 wasn't 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.[12] 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 the William Morris Agency in New York.[12] In 1956, he left his job with the Budget Bureau and moved to Greenwich Village to pursue an acting career.[20]

Falk's first New York stage role was in an Off-Broadway production of Molière's Don Juan at the Fourth Street Theatre that closed after its only performance on January 3, 1956. Falk played the second lead, Sganarelle.[21] His next theater role proved far better for his career. In May, he appeared at Circle in the Square in a revival of The Iceman Cometh with Jason Robards playing the bartender.[19][22]

Later in 1956, Falk made his Broadway debut, appearing in Alexander Ostrovsky's Diary of a Scoundrel. As the year came to an end, he appeared again on Broadway as an English soldier in Shaw's Saint Joan with Siobhán McKenna.[23]

In 1972, Falk appeared in Broadway's The Prisoner of Second Avenue. According to film historian Ephraim Katz: "His characters derive added authenticity from his squinty gaze, the result of the loss of an eye ..."[24]

Early films

In Pocketful of Miracles (1961).

Despite his stage success, a theatrical agent advised Falk not to expect much film acting work because of his artificial eye.[19] He failed a screen test at Columbia Pictures and was told by studio boss Harry Cohn: "For the same price I can get an actor with two eyes." He also failed to get a role in the film Marjorie Morningstar, despite a promising interview for the second lead.[25] His first film performances were in small roles in Wind Across the Everglades (1958), The Bloody Brood (1959) and Pretty Boy Floyd (1960).[26] Falk's performance in Murder, Inc. (1960) was a turning point in his career. He was cast in the supporting role of killer Abe Reles in a film based on the real-life murder gang of that name that terrorized New York in the 1930s. The New York Times film critic Bosley 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 other Off-Broadway actors was a "miracle" that "made my career" and that without it, he would not have gotten the other significant movie roles that he later played.[28] Falk, who played Reles again in the 1960 TV series The Witness,[26] was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance in the film.

with Natalie Wood in Penelope (1966)

In 1961, multiple Academy Award-winning director Frank Capra cast Falk in the comedy Pocketful 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".[2] 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 murder Glenn 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 recalled one time 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!"[2]

For the remainder of the 1960s, Falk had mainly supporting movie roles and TV guest-starring appearances. Falk turned in a gem of a performance as one of two cabbies who falls victim to greed in the epic 1963 star-studded comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, although he only appears in the last fifth of the movie.[30] His other roles included the character of Guy Gisborne in the Rat Pack musical comedy Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964),[31] in which he sings one of the film's numbers, and the spoof The Great Race (1965) with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.[32]

Early television roles

in Decoy (1959)

Falk first appeared on television in 1957, in the dramatic anthology programs that later became known as the "Golden Age of Television." In 1957, he appeared in one episode of Robert Montgomery Presents. He was also cast in Studio One, Kraft Television Theater, New York Confidential, Naked City, The Untouchables, Have Gun–Will Travel, The Islanders, and Decoy with Beverly Garland cast as the first female police officer in a series lead.[26] On The Twilight Zone he portrayed a Castro-type revolutionary complete with beard who, intoxicated with power, kept seeing his would-be assassins in a newly acquired magic mirror. He starred in two of Alfred Hitchcock's television series, as a gangster terrified of death in a 1961 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and as a homicidal evangelist in 1962's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

In 1961, Falk was nominated for an Emmy Award[33] for his performance in the episode "Cold Turkey" of James Whitmore's short-lived series The Law and Mr. Jones on ABC. On September 29, 1961, Falk and Walter Matthau guest-starred in the premiere episode, "The Million Dollar Dump", of ABC's crime drama Target: The Corruptors, with Stephen McNally and Robert Harland. He won an Emmy for The Price of Tomatoes, a drama carried in 1962 on The Dick Powell Show.[26]

In 1963, Falk and Tommy Sands appeared as brothers who disagreed on the route for a railroad in "The Gus Morgan Story" on ABC's Wagon Train. Falk played the title role of "Gus", and Sands was his younger brother, Ethan Morgan. Ethan accidentally shoots wagonmaster Chris Hale, played by John McIntire, while the brothers are in the mountains looking at possible route options. Gus makes the decision to leave Hale behind even choking him, believing he is dead. Ethan has been overcome with oxygen deprivation and needs Gus' assistance to reach safety down the mountain. Unknown to the Morgans, Hale crawls down the mountain through snow, determined to obtain revenge against Gus. In time, though, Hale comes to understand the difficult choice Morgan had to make, and the brothers reconcile their own differences. 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.[34]

Falk's first television series was in the title role of the drama The Trials of O'Brien, in which he played a lawyer. The show ran in 1965 and 1966 and was cancelled after 22 episodes.[26]

In 1971, Pierre Cossette produced the first Grammy 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."[35]

Columbo

As Lt. Columbo, 1973
Main article: Columbo

Although Falk appeared in numerous other television roles in the 1960s and 1970s, he is best known as the star of the TV series Columbo, "everyone's favorite rumpled television detective."[2] His character was a shabby and ostensibly absent-minded police detective lieutenant, who had first appeared in the 1968 film Prescription: Murder. Rather than a whodunit, the show typically revealed the murderer from the beginning, then showed how the Los Angeles police detective Columbo went about solving the crime. Falk would describe his role to 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-backwards Sherlock Holmes. Holmes had a long neck, Columbo has no neck; Holmes smoked a pipe, Columbo chews up six cigars a day.[2]

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 novel Crime and Punishment.[36]

Falk tries to analyze the character and notes the correlation between his own personality and Columbo's:

I'm a Virgo 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. When Lew 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.[2]

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!'"[2] Singer Johnny Cash recalled acting in one episode, 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."[37]

The first episode of Columbo as a series was directed in 1971 by a 24-year-old Steven Spielberg in one of his earliest directing jobs. Falk recalled the episode to Spielberg biographer Joseph 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 for Columbo"... 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 its great look artistically—well, it told you that this wasn't any ordinary director."[38]

The character of Columbo had previously been played by Bert Freed in a single television episode of The Chevy Mystery Show in 1960, and by Thomas Mitchell on Broadway. Falk first played Columbo in Prescription: 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 the umbrella series NBC 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.[26] Falk won four Emmys for his role as Columbo.[39]

Columbo was so popular, co-creator William Link wrote a series of short stories published as The Columbo Collection (Crippen & Landru, 2010) which includes a drawing by Falk of himself as Columbo, and the cover features a caricature of Falk/Columbo by Al Hirschfeld.[40]

Later career

Falk was a close friend of independent film director John Cassavetes and appeared in his films Husbands, A Woman Under the Influence, and, in a cameo, at the end of Opening Night. He also co-starred with Cassavetes in Mikey and Nicky. Cassavetes, in turn, guest-starred in the Columbo episode "Étude in Black" in 1972. 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."[41]

In 1978, Falk appeared on the comedy TV show The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast, portraying his Columbo character, with Frank Sinatra the evening's victim.[42]

Falk at a book signing for his 2006 autobiography Just One More Thing

Falk continued to work in films, including his performance as a questionable ex-CIA agent of dubious sanity in the comedy The In-Laws. Director Arthur Hiller said during an interview that the "film started out because Alan Arkin and Peter Falk wanted to work together. They went to Warner Brother's and said, 'We'd like to do a picture', and Warner said fine ... and out came The In-laws ... of all the films I've done, The In-laws is the one I get the most comments on."[1]:290 Movie critic Roger 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."[43]

Falk appeared in The Great Muppet Caper, The Princess Bride, Murder By Death, The Cheap Detective, Vibes, Made, and (as himself) in Wim Wenders' 1987 film Wings of Desire and its 1993 sequel, Faraway, So Close!. In 1998, Falk returned to the New York stage to star in an Off-Broadway production of Arthur Miller's Mr. Peters' Connections. His previous stage work included shady real estate salesman Shelley "the Machine" Levine in the 1986 Boston/Los Angeles production of David Mamet's prizewinning Glengarry Glen Ross.[44]

Falk starred in a trilogy of holiday television movies – A Town Without Christmas (2001), Finding John Christmas (2003), and When Angels Come to Town (2004) – in which he portrayed Max, a quirky guardian angel who uses disguises and subterfuge to steer his charges onto the right path. In 2005, he starred in The Thing About My Folks. Although movie critic Roger 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."[45] In 2007, Falk appeared with Nicolas Cage in the thriller Next.[46]

Personal life

Falk married Alyce Mayo whom he met when the two were students at Syracuse University,[47] on April 17, 1960. The couple adopted two daughters, Catherine (who was to become a private investigator) and Jackie. His grandson, Luke Falk, played quarterback for Washington State University. Falk and his wife divorced in 1976. On December 7, 1977, Falk married actress Shera Danese,[48] who guest-starred on the Columbo series on numerous occasions.[49]

Falk was an accomplished artist, and in October 2006 he had an exhibition of his artwork at the Butler Institute of American Art.[50] He took classes at the Art Students League of New York for many years.[51][52] Examples of his sketches can be seen on his official web site.[53]

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.[54]

Falk appeared in the video for Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" in 1984.[55]

Falk's memoir Just One More Thing (ISBN 978-0-78671795-8) was published by Carroll & Graf on August 23, 2006.[56]

Health

Peter Falk statue as Columbo with his dog in Budapest, Hungary

Rumors of Falk's dementia plagued the actor in the final years of his life and were exacerbated when in late April 2008 he was photographed by paparazzi looking disheveled and acting animated in the streets of Beverly Hills. Although the actor said his behavior resulted from his frustration over being unable to remember where he had parked his car, the images of his erratic appearance and behavior were published by the media; Falk was seldom seen in public after the incident.[57] Falk's decline was not immediate. He appeared fine signing autographs and intermingling with the general public in his last official public appearance at the 2008 Winter Hollywood Collector's Show in February 2008.[58]

In December 2008 it was reported that Falk had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.[59] In June 2009, at a two-day conservatorship 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.[60] Dr. 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.[61]

Death

On the evening of June 23, 2011, Falk died at his longtime home on Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills at the age of 83.[62][63] His death was triggered by cardiorespiratory arrest, with pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease being the underlying causes.[64] Falk was survived by his wife and two daughters.[65] His daughters said they would remember his "wisdom and humor".[66] Falk is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.[67]

Falk's death was marked by tributes from many film celebrities.[68][69] Steven Spielberg said, "I learned more about acting from him at that early stage of my career than I had from anyone else."[70] Rob Reiner said: "He was a completely unique actor", and went on to say that Falk's work with Alan Arkin in The In-Laws was "one of the most brilliant comedy pairings we've seen on screen."[71]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1958 Wind Across the Everglades Writer film debut
1959 The Bloody Brood Nico
1960 Pretty Boy Floyd Shorty Walters
1960 Murder Inc. Abe Reles Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor
1960 The Secret of the Purple Reef Tom Weber
1961 Pocketful of Miracles Joy Boy Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1962 Pressure Point Young Psychiatrist
1963 The Balcony Police Chief
1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Third Cab Driver
1964 Robin and the 7 Hoods Guy Gisborne
1964 Attack and Retreat Medic Captain
1965 The Great Race Maximilian Meen
1966 Penelope Lieutenant Horatio Bixbee
1967 Luv Milt Manville
1967 Too Many Thieves Danny
1968 A Hatful of Rain Polo Pope Television movie
1968 Anzio Corporal Jack Rabinoff
1969 Machine Gun McCain Charlie Adamo
1969 Castle Keep Sergeant Rossi
1970 Operation Snafu Peter Pawney
1970 Husbands Archie Black
1974 A Woman Under the Influence Nick Longhetti
1976 Griffin and Phoenix Geoffrey Griffin
1976 Murder by Death Sam Diamond
1976 Mikey and Nicky Mikey
1977 Opening Night Cameo appearance Uncredited
1978 The Cheap Detective Lou Peckinpaugh
1978 The Brink's Job Tony Pino
1978 The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast Columbo Television movie
1978 Scared Straight! Himself – Host
1979 The In-Laws Vincent J. Ricardo
1981 The Great Muppet Caper Tramp Uncredited
1981 ...All the Marbles Harry Sears
1986 Big Trouble Steve Rickey
1987 Wings of Desire Himself
1987 Happy New Year Nick
1987 The Princess Bride Grandfather / Narrator
1988 Vibes Harry Buscafusco
1989 Cookie Dominick "Dino" Capisco
1990 In the Spirit Roger Flan
1990 Tune in Tomorrow Pedro Carmichael
1992 Faraway, So Close! Himself
1995 Roommates Rocky Holzcek
1995 Cops n Roberts Salvatore Santini
1995 The Sunshine Boys Willie Clark Television movie
1998 Money Kings Vinnie Glynn
2000 Lakeboat The Pierman
2000 Enemies of Laughter Paul's Father
2000 A Storm in Summer Abel Shaddick Television movie
Nominated—Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special
2001 Hubert's Brain Thompson Voice
2001 Made Max
2001 Corky Romano Francis A. "Pops" Romano
2001 A Town Without Christmas Max Television movie
2001 The Lost World Reverend Theo Kerr Television movie
2002 Three Days of Rain Waldo
2002 Undisputed Mendy Ripstein
2003 Finding John Christmas Max Television movie
2004 Shark Tale Don Ira Feinberg Voice
2004 When Angels Come to Town Max Television movie
2005 Checking Out Morris Applebaum
2005 The Thing About My Folks Sam Kleinman
2007 Three Days to Vegas Gus 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald
2007 Next Irv
2009 American Cowslip Father Randolph (Last appearance)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1958 Kraft Suspense Theatre Izzy Episode: "Night Cry"
1959 Decoy Fred Dana Episode: "The Come Back"
1960 Naked City Gimpy, a gangster shot in the opening scene Episode: "A Death of Princes". Played opposite Eli Wallach. No credit given in cast.
1960 Have Gun–Will Travel Waller Episode: "The Poker Fiend"
1960 The Untouchables Duke Mullen Episode: "The Underworld Bank"
1961 The Twilight Zone Ramos Clemente Episode: "The Mirror"
1961 The Barbara Stanwyck Show Joe Episode: "The Assassin"
1961 The Law and Mr. Jones Sydney Jarmon Episode: "Cold Turkey"
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
1961 The Untouchables Nate Selko Episode: "The Troubleshooter"
1961 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Meyer Fine Episode: "Gratitude"
1962 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Robert Evans Episode: "Bonfire"
1962 The New Breed Lopez Episode: "Cross the Little Line"
1962–1963 The Dick Powell Show Various 3 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the episode entitled "The Price of Tomatoes"
1963 Dr. Kildare Matt Gunderson Episode: "The Balance and the Crucible"
1963 Wagon Train Gus Morgan Episode: "The Gus Morgan Story"
1964 Ben Casey Dr. Jimmy Reynolds 2 episodes
1965–1966 The Trials of O'Brien Daniel O'Brien 22 episodes
1968–2003 Columbo Lt. Columbo 69 episodes
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1972, 1976, 1990)
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1972, 1974–76, 1978, 1991)
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film (1992, 1994)
Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Performer (1990–91)
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1973–74, 1977–78, 1991, 1994)
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1971 The Name of the Game Lewis Corbett Episode: "A Sister from Napoli"
1992 The Larry Sanders Show Peter Falk Episode: "Out of the Loop"

References

  1. 1 2 Emery, Robert J (2002). The Directors: Take Two. Allworth Press. p. 263.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fantle, David, and Johnson, Tom. Twenty-five Years of Celebrity Interviews, Badger Books (2004) pp. 216–17
  3. ↑ TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes & Noble. 2004. p. 596. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.
  4. ↑ "Jerry Tallmer: Just 79 more things". NYC plus. September 16, 1927. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Peter Falk Biography (1927–)". Film reference. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  6. ↑ Peter Falk, TV's Rumpled "Columbo" for More Than Three Decades, Dies at 83, Bloomberg, Jun 24, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Michael Falk 1910 census record". Family search. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  8. ↑ "United States Census, 1920 for Madeline Hochhauser". Family search. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Peter Falk", IMDb.
  10. ↑ "Peter Falk". Bio. (UK). Retrieved January 30, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Peter Falk Biography". Biography.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Marx, Arthur (November–December 1997). "Talk with Falk". Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  13. ↑ "Famous Alumni". Camp High Point. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  14. ↑ Falk 2006, p. 20.
  15. ↑ Falk 2006, p. 26.
  16. ↑ Falk 2006, p. 17.
  17. ↑ Falk 2006, p. 29.
  18. ↑ Falk 2006, p. 32.
  19. 1 2 3 "Peter Falk Biography". Peter Falk official website. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Peter Falk Biography". Official website of Peter Falk. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  21. ↑ Just One More Thing, p. 42
  22. ↑ "Peter Falk". Lortel Archives, Lucille Lortel Foundation, Internet Off Broadway Database. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  23. ↑ Peter Falk at the Internet Broadway Database
  24. ↑ Katz, Ephraim. The Film Encyclopedia, HarperCollins (1998) p. 436
  25. ↑ Just One More Thing, pp. 51–55, Free preview at Amazon.com
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Peter Falk at the Internet Movie Database
  27. 1 2 Crowther, Bosley (June 29, 1960). "Screen: 'Murder, Inc.': Story of Brooklyn Mob Retold at the Victoria". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  28. ↑ Just One More Thing. p. 76. (Free preview available at Amazon.com)
  29. ↑ Capra, Frank. The Name Above the Title: an Autobiography, Macmillan (1971)
  30. ↑ Third Cab Driver at the Internet Movie Database
  31. ↑ Robin and the 7 Hoods at the Internet Movie Database
  32. ↑ The Great Race at the Internet Movie Database
  33. ↑ "PETER FALK". Television Academy.
  34. ↑ "The Gus Morgan Story". avclub.com. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  35. ↑ Cossette, Pierre. Another Day in Showbiz, ECW Press (2002) p. 182
  36. ↑ Falk, Ben. Television's Strangest Moments, Chrysalis Books (2005) p. 103
  37. ↑ Cash, Johnny. Cash: the Autobiography, Harper Collins (1997) p. 197
  38. ↑ McBride, Joseph. Steven Spielberg: A Biography, Simon and Schuster (1997) p. 191
  39. ↑ "Actor Peter Falk dies at 83". Xinhua. June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  40. ↑ "The Columbo Collection by William Link". Crippen & Landru Publishers. May 2010. ISBN 978-1-932009-94-1. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  41. ↑ Carney, Raymond. The Films of John Cassavetes, Cambridge Univ. Press (1994) p. 296
  42. ↑ "Columbo meets Sinatra", video clip
  43. ↑ Ebert, Roger. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2006, Andrews McMeel Publ. (2006) p. 325
  44. ↑ Coakley, Michael (March 2, 1986). "Peter Falk: TV's Rumpled Columbo Goes Legit In Mamet's "Glengarry"". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  45. ↑ Ebert, Roger. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2009, Andrews McMeel Publ. (2009) p. 676
  46. ↑ Irv at the Internet Movie Database
  47. ↑ Just One More Thing, p. 30
  48. ↑ Kim, Victoria (May 28, 2009). "Relatives Fight For Control of 'Columbo' Star Peter Falk". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  49. ↑ Shera Danese at the Internet Movie Database
  50. ↑ Pinchot, Joe (October 2006). "It's all about the pose: actor Peter Falk keeps his drawings simple". The Sharon Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  51. ↑ Litt, Steven (June 24, 2011) [October 10, 2006]. "My Interview with Peter Falk". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  52. ↑ "Former Prominent Students, The Art Students League of New York". Theartstudentsleague.org. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  53. ↑ "The Art of Peter Falk". Official Website of Peter Falk. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  54. ↑ "Peter Falk, American Open, Santa Monica, November 1972, and United States Open, Pasadena, California, August 1983". Chess history.
  55. ↑ "30 Ghostbusters Facts". Shortlist Magazine. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  56. ↑ "Other Works by Peter Falk". IMDb. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  57. ↑ Joanna Walters. "Daughter in fight over Columbo star's Alzheimer's". the Guardian.
  58. ↑ Video on YouTube
  59. ↑ Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor (December 16, 2008). "Columbo star Peter Falk has Alzheimer's". Telegraph.co.uk.
  60. ↑ Anthony McCartney (June 1, 2009). ""Columbo" Actor Peter Falk Placed In Conservatorship". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  61. ↑ ""'Columbo' Star Peter Falk Dead at 83"". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014.
  62. ↑ Bruce Weber (June 24, 2011). "Peter Falk, Rumpled and Crafty Actor In Television's "Columbo", Dies at 83". The New York Times.
  63. ↑ "Peter Falk" The Daily Telegraph.
  64. ↑ "Peter Falk's Official Cause Of Death Revealed". PerezHilton.com. November 7, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  65. ↑ "Columbo star Peter Falk dies aged 83". BBC. June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  66. ↑ ""Columbo" actor Peter Falk dead at 83". Reuters. June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  67. ↑ Falk, Peter. "Peter Falk's Final Resting Place". Peter Falk. Find-A-Grave. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  68. ↑ "Tweets of the Week: Peter Falk Edition". Wall Street Journal. June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  69. ↑ "Celebrities mourn Peter Falk on Twitter". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  70. ↑ "Peter Falk's friends and co-stars pay tribute to the late actor". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  71. ↑ "Remembering TV's rumpled Columbo". The Daily News Egypt. Retrieved June 27, 2011.

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