Us actor whose success as the scruffy TV detective Columbo was complemented by a wide range of stage and screen roles
Show-business history records that the American actor Peter Falk, who has died aged 83, made his stage debut the year before he left high school, presciently cast as a detective. Despite the 17-year-old's fleeting success, he had no thoughts of pursuing acting as a career – if only because tough kids from the Bronx considered it an unsuitable job for a man. Just 24 years later, Falk made his first television appearance as the scruffy detective, Columbo, not only becoming the highest paid actor on television – commanding $500,000 an episode during the 1970s – but also the most famous.
Inevitably the lieutenant dedicated to unravelling the villainy of the wealthy and glamorous dominated his career, although – unlike some actors – he escaped the straitjacket, or in his case shabby raincoat, of typecasting. In addition to stage work,...
Show-business history records that the American actor Peter Falk, who has died aged 83, made his stage debut the year before he left high school, presciently cast as a detective. Despite the 17-year-old's fleeting success, he had no thoughts of pursuing acting as a career – if only because tough kids from the Bronx considered it an unsuitable job for a man. Just 24 years later, Falk made his first television appearance as the scruffy detective, Columbo, not only becoming the highest paid actor on television – commanding $500,000 an episode during the 1970s – but also the most famous.
Inevitably the lieutenant dedicated to unravelling the villainy of the wealthy and glamorous dominated his career, although – unlike some actors – he escaped the straitjacket, or in his case shabby raincoat, of typecasting. In addition to stage work,...
- 6/26/2011
- by Brian Baxter
- The Guardian - Film News
Peter Falk, the Emmy-winning star of "Columbo" TV show, has died on Thursday night at the age of 83. The actor suffered from Alzheimer's disease and reportedly could not even recall his most famous character, Columbo. Besides the hit drama, Falk was nominated for two Academy Awards, for 1960's "Murder, Inc" and 1961's "Pocketful of Miracles." He is also known for playing the grandfather and narrator in 1987's "The Princess Bride," as well as several John Cassavetes films. Falk is survived by wife Shera Danese Falk and daughters Jackie and Catherine.
- 6/25/2011
- WorstPreviews.com
Actor, who had been suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease, died at his Beverly Hills home
Peter Falk, the American actor famous for his role in the TV detective series Columbo, has died at the age of 83.
Falk died peacefully at his Beverly Hills home on Thursday evening, said a family friend, Larry Larson. Falk had reportedly been suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Perhaps one of Us television's most popular detectives, Falk won four Emmys for his starring role in Columbo, which ran from 1971 until 2003, and one for his role in the TV drama The Price of Tomatoes. He received Oscar nominations for Murder, Inc, his breakthrough film role, in 1960, and the comedy-drama Pocketful of Miracles, a year later. Falk also starred in the films The Princess Bride, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; Robin and the Seven Hoods, The Great Race, and The Cheap Detective.
Born in...
Peter Falk, the American actor famous for his role in the TV detective series Columbo, has died at the age of 83.
Falk died peacefully at his Beverly Hills home on Thursday evening, said a family friend, Larry Larson. Falk had reportedly been suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Perhaps one of Us television's most popular detectives, Falk won four Emmys for his starring role in Columbo, which ran from 1971 until 2003, and one for his role in the TV drama The Price of Tomatoes. He received Oscar nominations for Murder, Inc, his breakthrough film role, in 1960, and the comedy-drama Pocketful of Miracles, a year later. Falk also starred in the films The Princess Bride, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; Robin and the Seven Hoods, The Great Race, and The Cheap Detective.
Born in...
- 6/25/2011
- by Amy Fallon
- The Guardian - Film News
Los Angeles – Peter Falk, the stage and movie actor who became identified as the squinty, rumpled detective in "Columbo," which spanned 30 years in prime-time television and established one of the most iconic characters in movie police work, has died. He was 83.
Falk died Thursday in his Beverly Hills home, according to a statement released Friday by family friend Larry Larson.
In a court document filed in December 2008, Falk's daughter Catherine Falk said her father was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
"Columbo" began its history in 1971 as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie series, appearing every third week. The show became by far the most popular of the three mysteries, the others being "McCloud" and "McMillan and Wife."
Falk was reportedly paid $250,000 a movie and could have made much more if he had accepted an offer to convert "Columbo" into a weekly series. He declined, reasoning that carrying a weekly detective...
Falk died Thursday in his Beverly Hills home, according to a statement released Friday by family friend Larry Larson.
In a court document filed in December 2008, Falk's daughter Catherine Falk said her father was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
"Columbo" began its history in 1971 as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie series, appearing every third week. The show became by far the most popular of the three mysteries, the others being "McCloud" and "McMillan and Wife."
Falk was reportedly paid $250,000 a movie and could have made much more if he had accepted an offer to convert "Columbo" into a weekly series. He declined, reasoning that carrying a weekly detective...
- 6/24/2011
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Columbo star Peter Falk has died at the age of 83.
The beloved actor passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home on Thursday.
Falk was born in New York in 1927 and enjoyed a career spanning 50 years.
He broke into the acting industry in 1956 when he landed a role in an off-Broadway production of Moliere's play Don Juan. That same year, he made his Broadway debut in Diary of a Scoundrel.
He later shifted his focus onto TV and film work, but he was warned early on not to expect too much success due to a glass eye he had implanted at the age of three - after doctors found a malignant tumour in his right eye.
However, he defied Hollywood agents and scored his film debut with a small role in Wind Across the Everglades in 1958. Two years later, Falk appeared as gangster Abe Reles in Murder, Inc - the same year he married first wife Alyce Mayo, with whom he has adopted daughters Catherine and Jackie. The movie was a hit with critics and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1961.
Murder, Inc. proved to be Falk's break-out role, and he would go on to reprise the role again in 1960s TV series The Witness.
Meanwhile, his film career continued to rise with a part in Frank Capra's 1961 comedy Pocketful of Miracles - another Oscar-nominated role - and parts in director pal John Cassavetes' movies Husbands (1970) and A Woman Under the Influence (1974).
But it was Falk's turn as Lieutenant Columbo in the hit TV crime series Columbo that he is best known for. The programme aired on U.S. network NBC between 1971 and 1978, and later moved to ABC, where it was shown from 1989 to 2003. The role won Falk four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe.
Falk suffered from deteriorating health towards the end of his life, suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
His personal life hit the headlines in January 2009 when his daughter Catherine, a real life private detective, battled Falk's second wife, actress Shera Danese, to be named conservator of his estate. Catherine claimed her father also had dementia and could no longer care for himself.
Falk is survived by Danese, whom he married in 1977, and his two children.
The beloved actor passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home on Thursday.
Falk was born in New York in 1927 and enjoyed a career spanning 50 years.
He broke into the acting industry in 1956 when he landed a role in an off-Broadway production of Moliere's play Don Juan. That same year, he made his Broadway debut in Diary of a Scoundrel.
He later shifted his focus onto TV and film work, but he was warned early on not to expect too much success due to a glass eye he had implanted at the age of three - after doctors found a malignant tumour in his right eye.
However, he defied Hollywood agents and scored his film debut with a small role in Wind Across the Everglades in 1958. Two years later, Falk appeared as gangster Abe Reles in Murder, Inc - the same year he married first wife Alyce Mayo, with whom he has adopted daughters Catherine and Jackie. The movie was a hit with critics and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1961.
Murder, Inc. proved to be Falk's break-out role, and he would go on to reprise the role again in 1960s TV series The Witness.
Meanwhile, his film career continued to rise with a part in Frank Capra's 1961 comedy Pocketful of Miracles - another Oscar-nominated role - and parts in director pal John Cassavetes' movies Husbands (1970) and A Woman Under the Influence (1974).
But it was Falk's turn as Lieutenant Columbo in the hit TV crime series Columbo that he is best known for. The programme aired on U.S. network NBC between 1971 and 1978, and later moved to ABC, where it was shown from 1989 to 2003. The role won Falk four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe.
Falk suffered from deteriorating health towards the end of his life, suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
His personal life hit the headlines in January 2009 when his daughter Catherine, a real life private detective, battled Falk's second wife, actress Shera Danese, to be named conservator of his estate. Catherine claimed her father also had dementia and could no longer care for himself.
Falk is survived by Danese, whom he married in 1977, and his two children.
- 6/24/2011
- WENN
Peter Falk, the legendary actor who graced both big screen and small over a 50-year career but will perhaps best be remembered for his Emmy-winning role as the shabby-dressed, wisecracking homicide detective on TV's Columbo, has died. He was 83. Falk's family confirmed to CBS News the two-time Academy Award nominee passed away last night, though no cause of death has been announced. Falk had been suffering from dementia and apparent Alzheimer's disease since 2007, with his condition worsening after a series of dental surgeries. His daughter, Catherine Falk, sought to be appointed his guardian in 2009, but in a conservatorship trial, a judge appointed that duty to his wife, Shera Danese...
- 6/24/2011
- E! Online
Sad news for fans of Peter Falk, the award winning stage, screen and TV actor best known as the eccentric police detective in the long-running 1970s series "Columbo." Later generations loved him as the grandfather in the film "The Princess Bride." Mr. Falk died Thursday evening at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 83. He wed actress Shera Danese in 1977. She guest-starred on the Columbo series on numerous occasions. Mr. Falk first appeared on television in 1957. In 1961, Falk was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance in the episode "Cold Turkey" of James Whitmore's short-lived series The Law and Mr. Jones on ABC. Mr. Falk and Walter Matthau guest-starred in the premiere...
- 6/24/2011
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Dominique Swain, Ben Foster, Vincent Kartheiser, Shawn Hatosy, Vincent Laresca, Shera Danese and David Thornton are in negotiations to join Nick Cassavetes' upcoming feature Alpha Dog. Foster, who most recently co-starred with Bruce Willis in Hostage, is set to star as a skinhead who seeks revenge on his drug dealer after the dealer murders his brother. They join Justin Timberlake, Emile Hirsch and Sharon Stone in the film, which is based on the real life story of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever to be wanted by the FBI. Filming begins later this month in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. New Line Cinema will distribute the film domestically. Sidney Kimmel Entertainment is producing in association with A-Mark Entertainment. Kartheiser is represented by ICM and Untitled Entertainment. Foster is repped by Endeavor and manager Ken Jacobsen. Swain, Hatosy, Laresca, Denise and Thornton are all repped by Paradigm.
- 10/10/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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