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RIP.........

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.

Wonderful actor. R.I.P.

He's an angel, after all. At least he played one in Wenders' "Wings of Desire". Also, he was a (fictional) scary father and a loving husband, if you believe what you see, in "A Woman Under The Influence".

I like Peter Falk's acting, and I never watched a single episode of "Columbo".

May he rest in peace.

R.I.P. Peter, loved "Columbo" always remember him & Alice Cooper on Mike Douglas show, talking about & playing golf.

Never really liked Columbo...BUT...Loved him in MURDER BY DEATH!and The In-Laws, and of course ]The Princess Bride[]!!!!!

RIP Peter...you entertained me in my formative years!!!

Colombo always reminds me of being sick and being absent from school as a child. It always seemed to be on daytime television here in the UK. The sad thing is; it usually made me feel worse.

Rest In Peace, Peter Falk :(

One of The Best.
RIP Columbo.

Honky Tonk Man wrote on Jun 25^th, 2011 at 1:09am:

In the US...it was on Sunday nights ( I think) as part of the Sunday ( ?) night mysteries...along with McCloud...the Cowboy detedtive and McMillain & wife...with Susan Saint James anf Rock Hudson playing the original husband/wife sleuth team!!

Paranoid Android wrote on Jun 25^th, 2011 at 5:59pm:

Honky Tonk Man wrote on Jun 25^th, 2011 at 1:09am:

I remember that. I used to watch both of those as a kid. God I'm old. :scary

Lol, OLD is remembering Milton Berle, I Love Lucy, and Your Show of Shows! :o

But....really sad to hear of Falk's death. :( They say that, by the time he neared the end of his life, he didn't remember his character of Colombo at all....:(

RIP Peter Falk. I'm glad his suffering is over. I don't think I ever missed an episode of Columbo. Who can resist a man in a rumpled rain coat who smokes and owns a basset hound? He was also excellent in A Woman Under the Influence.

If you liked PF as Columbo...you have got to watch the film MURDER BY DEATH...he parodies himself playing Sam Spade as Columbo...and a brilliant cast as well!!

Requesquat in pacem Leutnant

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http://rocksoff.org/cgi-bin/messageboard/YaBB.pl GENERAL >> MAIN BOARD >> RIP Columbo Peter Falk http://rocksoff.org/cgi-bin/messageboard/YaBB.pl?num=1308943275 Message started by gimmekeef on Jun 24^th, 2011 at 2:21pm