Peter Falk
American actor famed for his role as Lieutenant Columbo.
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor born September 16, 1927, who died June 23, 2011.[1][2] He is best known for playing Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/ABC series from 1968 to 2003, winning four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for the role.[1] In 2013, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was awarded to Falk after his death.[1][3]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Peter Michael Falk
- Born
- 16 September 1927
- Died
- 23 June 2011
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Place of death
- Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
- Resting place
- Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
- Known for
- Columbo
- The In-Laws
- Murder
- Inc.
- Pocketful of Miracles
- The Price of Tomatoes
- Occupation
- Actor, author
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
His right eye was surgically removed at age three due to retinoblastoma, and he wore an artificial eye that caused his trademark squint.[4] After briefly attending Hamilton College, Falk joined the United States Merchant Marine as a cook and mess boy after being rejected from military service due to his missing eye.[5] While working as a management analyst in Hartford, Falk joined the Mark Twain Masquers community theater and studied with Eva Le Gallienne.[5] He left his job in 1956 to pursue acting, making his New York stage debut in an off-Broadway production of Don Juan.[6][7]
Falk's breakout film role came in 1960's Murder, Inc., for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award.[8][7] Falk completed his secondary education at Ossining High School in Westchester County, serving as senior class president and excelling in sports, with his graduation occurring in 1945.[9] Falk's initial portrayal of Columbo occurred in the 1968 television film Prescription: Murder; the series then aired on NBC between 1971 and 1978, and later on ABC from 1989 until 2003.[10][11]
What the cited sources add
The same source states that Falk arrived a little too late for the heyday of live anthology television.[12] Falk's own clothes, including the shabby raincoat and high-topped shoes, provided Columbo's wardrobe, according to his memoir Just One More Thing.[13][14] The memoir also reveals that Falk would ad lib character idiosyncrasies to keep fellow actors off-balance.[13]
References
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "TV Guide: Guide to TV", Barnes & Noble, 2004, p. 596; "Peter Falk posthumously honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame", ABC7, July 26, 2013; "Peter Falk", Hollywood Star Walk, July 25, 2013 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Krystal, "Peter Falk of 'Columbo' dies at 83", Washington Post, June 24, 2011; Marikar, "Peter Falk, 'Columbo' Actor, Dies at 83", ABC News, June 24, 2011; "Peter Falk", Turner Classic Movies (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Peter Falk posthumously honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame", ABC7, July 26, 2013. facts only, no text reused. abc7.com
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Peter Falk", thebiographychannel.co.uk; "Peter Falk Biography", Biography (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Marx, "Talk with Falk", Cigar Aficionado, November–December 1997 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Marx, "Talk with Falk", Cigar Aficionado, November–December 1997; Marx, "Talk with Falk", Cigar Aficionado, November–December 1997; "Peter Falk Biography", Official website of Peter Falk (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Falk 2006, p. 20 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Crowther, "Screen: 'Murder, Inc.': Story of Brooklyn Mob Retold at the Victoria", The New York Times, June 29, 1960; Crowther, "Screen: 'Murder, Inc.': Story of Brooklyn Mob Retold at the Victoria", The New York Times, June 29, 1960 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Peter Falk – aka, Lieutenant Columbo", Ossining History on the Run, July 24, 2023; "Ossining High School Hall of Fame and Museum seeks oldest living OHS graduate.", Ossining-Croton-On-Hudson, NY Patch, October 18, 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Actor Peter Falk dies at 83", Xinhua, June 25, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fantle, "Twenty-Five Years of Celebrity Interviews", Badger Books, 2004, p. 216–17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "The Gus Morgan Story", The A.V. Club, August 12, 2010. facts only, no text reused. avclub.com
- Wikipedia, "Peter Falk" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Falk, "Just One More Thing", Da Capo Press, August 24, 2007 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9780786719396 ("Just One More Thing"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Peter Falk (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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