Biography for
Peter Falk (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

16 September 1927, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

Peter Michael Falk

Height

5' 6" (1.68 m)

Spouse

Shera Danese	(7 December 1977 - present)
Alice Mayo	(17 April 1960 - 1976) (divorced) 2 children

Trade Mark

As Columbo: The raincoat, the cigar, the slouch, the false exit followed by the catchphrase, "One more thing..."

Trivia

One of his greatest passions is drawing and sketching; has studio on grounds of Beverly Hills estate.

His right eye was surgically removed at the age of three, because of cancer.

Graduated from Ossining High School.

President of his class.

Worked as an efficiency expert for the Budget Bureau of the state of Connecticut before becoming an actor. Studied acting with Eva Le Gallienne and Sanford Meisner.

Was a certified public accountant.

Falk puts damper on rumor that his trademark Columbo raincoat has been placed in the Smithsonian Institution: says it's in his upstairs closet.

In his first foray into acting, he took the role of detective in a high school play when original student-actor fell sick. He left college to serve as a cook in the Merchant Marines. He later received political science degree from NY's New School, then graduated from Syracuse University. He applied at the CIA, but was turned down. He took state budget department job in Hartford, CT. Five years after he started taking acting lessons, he earned first Oscar nomination.

Harry Cohn, head of Columbia Pictures and renowned for his boorishness and vulgarity, rejected Falk, declaring, "For the same money, I can get an actor with two eyes!".

His father was of Russian Jewish ancestry and his mother was of Polish Jewish, with a mix of Hungarian and Czech Jewish ancestry further back. So, contrary to Falk's public image, he is not an Italian but a mixture of very hardy Jewish Eastern European stock.

Once when he was playing in a Little League game, the umpire called him out. Falk thought that he was safe. He pulled his glass eye out of its socket and handed it to the umpire, telling him, "Here, I think you might need this."

His daughter, Catherine Falk, is a private detective in real life.

Columbo's first name is never mentioned in the series. Though it was reported to be Philip Columbo by Fred Worth in his book 'Super Trivia' (1977) and later copied by the makers of Trivial Pursuit in 1984, Worth admitted to having fabricated the name as a means of proof of copyright in case someone were to have pirated his book (which someone did). The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, but was thrown out in the end.

Columbo's wife, who he speaks of often, is never seen in the series. Interestingly, most of the facts that are supposedly known about Lt. Columbo's private life are up in the air and sometimes contradictory. This may be due to his character being somewhat forgetful or may be due to him leading a suspect with a 'likely story' hoping they will trip up and reveal a clue. His car, a 1959 Peugeot 403 Cabriolet, is in most every episode and is treated almost as a character.

Children: Catherine, Jackie

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 153-154. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

He earned an MPA, Master of Public Administration degree, from Syracuse University in 1953.

Began acting when he was 26, but did not officially declare himself an actor and move to New York until he was 28.

During the June 5, 2000, episode of "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" (1999), Craig Kilborn's third question to Falk during "Five Questions" was this: "Use the words 'Falk' and 'you' in a sentence". Falk chuckled a bit, touched his nose, and replied simply: "Falk . . . you!".

Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de l'info" (1988).

He and his good friend John Cassavetes made 6 movies together: Husbands (1970), Gli intoccabili (1969), Mikey and Nicky (1976), Opening Night (1977), Big Trouble (1986), A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and one movie made for TV: "Columbo: Étude in Black (#2.1)" (1972)

Had a street renamed after him in his hometown of Ossining, New York. To unveil the Peter Falk Place street sign, he pulled off a trademark raincoat covering the sign. [2005]

Is a close friend of Patrick McGoohan.

Avatar's voice in the animated movie Wizards (1977) (voiced by Bob Holt) was modelled after Falk.

He has inspired at least two Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters. Dick Dastardly in "Wacky Races" (1968) was based on Falk's Max Meen from The Great Race (1965), and Mumbly, the detective dog on "The New Tom & Jerry Show" (1975) was loosely based on Columbo.

In 1961, he became the first actor nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy in the same year, receiving best supporting nominations for the movie Murder, Inc. (1960) and the TV show "The Law and Mr. Jones" (1960). He followed up in 1962 by being doubly nominated again for supporting actor for the movie Pocketful of Miracles (1961) and best actor (he won) for "The Price of Tomatoes," an episode of "The Dick Powell Show" (1961).

Peter Falk's great-grandfather was Miksa Falk, a well-known Hungarian writer and politician. He was the editor of the liberal Hungarian newspaper, the Pester Lloyd.

Tested for the role of Ted Henderson in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969).

He was involved in a car accident in June 2008 when he lost control while driving, sustaining a head injury.

Had a hip replacement in June 2008.

Diagnosed with dementia, probably brought on by Alzheimer's disease, in 2008.

Had been a heavy cigarette smoker since his mid-teens, but after he started playing Columbo he mainly switched to cigars in real life.

Wanted to join the Marines when he was seventeen, but was rejected because of his blind eye.

Salary

"Columbo: Murder by the Book (#1.1)" (1971)	$350,000 per 2 hour episode
Wind Across the Everglades (1958)	$300/week

Where Are They Now

(2006) Release of his book, "Just One More Thing".

(December 2008) Adopted daughter, Catherine Falk, files for conservatorship, explaining that Falk has been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and, at 81, he no longer recognizes anyone. Later sworn statements from the Falk family, family friends and associates report Catherine has been long-estranged from her father and would not handle his affairs in his best interest.

(January 2009) Shera Danese, Falk's wife of 32 years, files paperwork with the court, including sworn statements from longtime CPA, attorney, friends & family members, stating she is already attending to Falk's affairs, Falk named her as his guardian when first diagnosed with the disease, and long-estranged adopted daughter's attempt to gain conservatorship and control of his affairs is NOT in Falk's best interests.

(May 2009) Shera Danese, his wife, is awarded conservatorship of his affairs.

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