Columbo actor Peter Falk “could
1. Iconic Detective
Peter Falk’s “Columbo” made him a household name. The scruffy, cigar-smoking detective solved crimes with “one nagging detail” that no criminal could escape.
The show ran from the 1970s to 2003, earning Falk four Emmy awards and making him one of the highest-paid TV actors of his era.
2. Early Life and Career
Born in New York, Falk lost his right eye to retinoblastoma at age three and wore a prosthetic for life, contributing to his signature squint.
Recalling a high school prank, he said, “I got so mad I took out my glass eye, handed it to him and said, ‘Try this.’”
He earned Academy Award nominations for Murder, Inc. and Pocketful of Miracles.
3. Personal Life
Falk married college sweetheart Alyce Mayo in 1960 and adopted two daughters.
Catherine Falk described their relationship as rocky, saying, “We weren’t allowed to go to his house” after he remarried Shera Danese.
4. Death and Legacy
Peter Falk died in June 2011 at 83 from pneumonia complications related to Alzheimer’s.
Steven Spielberg honored him: “I learned more about acting from him at that early stage of my career than I had from anyone else.”
