Just One More Thing

Peter Falk was born in New York City on September 16, 1927.  He was raised in Ossining, where his father owned a dry goods store and his mother was an accountant.  He excelled academically as both a star athlete and as president of his senior class.

When he graduated from high school in 1945, he had dreams of serving his country in World War 2.  He attempted to enlist in the army but was rejected due to his missing eye (more on this later).  He was however able to join the U.S. Merchant Marine, where he served as a cook and as a mess boy.  Of the experience, he'd later write "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."  When he was released from the service, Falk went to college, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in literature and political science.

After graduation, Falk had a few "normal" jobs before setting his sights...err sight...on acting.  He took a job as an efficiency expert with the Connecticut State Budget Bureau in Hartford.  Ironically he'd lose this job due to his constant tardiness.  It was in Hartford that he joined his first local theatre group.  He proved such a success that he quit his job in 1956 and moved to Greenwich Village, intent on becoming a professional actor.

He found success on the Broadway stage, appearing in such plays as Diary of a Scoundrel and Saint Joan.  But the turning point in his career wouldn't come until 1960, when he was cast in the film Murder, Inc., the story of a 1930s New York gang of the same name.  He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.  Watch the trailer here.

More roles would follow throughout the 60s, including It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), and The Great Race (1965).  Click on each title for their respective theatrical trailers.

This was all leading up to the role for which he is most famously identified, that of Lieutenant Frank Columbo.  Falk played the part for seven seasons on the hit series Columbo.  It would return as a series of specials that ran from 1989 to 2003.

Explaining the success of the character to a TV critic, Falk once stated "It's not enough to get most of the details, it's necessary to get them all.  I've been accused of perfectionism. When (the head of Universal) 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."

After the series, Falk would continue to work with roles in such films as Murder By Death (1976), The Great Muppet Caper (1981) and of course, The Princess Bride (1987).  Click on each for its respective trailer.  His final film was 2007's Next starring Nicolas Cage.

The following year, Falk was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  It resulted in a trial for conservatorship between his second wife and the children from his first marriage, which she ultimately won.  Interestingly, the dementia was attributed to a series of dental operations Falk endured in 2007.  His personal physician testified that the anesthesia may have worsened his mental state.  The more you know.

Falk ultimately passed from pneumonia on June 23, 2011.  He was 83 years old.  He was interred at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village in its famed Celebrity Row.

Inscription: I'm not here.  I'm home with Shera.

Rest in peace, Columbo.

Trivia

• Shera Danese was Falk's second wife and conservator of his estate. She had guest starred on more episodes of Columbo than any other actress.  Leading up to his death, she did not allow his adult children to visit their dying father and she did not provide them with updates on his rapidly changing condition.  A few years after his death, New York introduced legislation to allow family members the access that Falk's family had been denied.  The Peter Falk Law has now been adopted in ten states.
  
  
• Falk was born with a hereditary genetic defect known as retinoblastoma, which causes cancer in the eye.  When he was three years old, doctor's removed his right eye to prevent any further spread.  Falk wore an artificial eye most of his life, giving him that signature squint that Columbo was famous for.
  
  

• Falk graduated from Syracuse University with a Masters in Public Administration. The program was designed to train civil servants for a career in the federal government.  Falk would later quip that he had "no interest in and no aptitude for" that line of work.  Dude, that doesn't stop anyone.
  
  

• Although Columbo premiered as a series in 1971, Falk first played the character in the 1968 made-for-TV movie Prescription: Murder. When it finally went to series, the pilot episode was directed by a 24-year-old newbie named Steven Spielberg.
  
  
• Like Gilligan, Columbo's first name is a subject of great debate.  While it was never spoken on screen, the name "Frank" does appear on his identification, which he'd show from time to time.
  
  

• Falk appeared in character for an episode of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast.  The evening's victim was none other than Frank Sinatra.  Watch the segment in its entirety here.
  
  

• Falk's daughter Catherine decided to follow in her father's footsteps.  Not as an actor, but as a detective.
  
  

• In 2007, Falk released his autobiography, appropriately titled Just One More Thing.  Pick up a copy from Amazon.