Peter Falk

When he was a young character actor, pre-COLUMBO, I thought he was very hot. Well, even in the early days of COLUMBO.

One of my favorite actors. There is something so comforting about him.

He should have won the Academy Award for A Woman Under the Influence.

The house used in the film 1968 film The Astro-Zombies belonged to Peter Falk, a friend of the film's writer and producer. The film had a character named Eric Porter played by Tom Pace.

He is Peter Falk!

[quote] Born to a Jewish family and raised in New York City

Great scene in Wings of Desire, one of my favorite films

R5 He was Protestant

Deserves more credit for his musicality

I just watched all the Columbo seasons with big stars in almost every episode. Very enjoyable.

[quote] He was Protestant

[quote] Born in The Bronx, New York City, Falk was the son of Michael Peter Falk, owner of a clothing and dry goods store, and his wife, Madeline (née Hochhauser), an accountant and buyer.[citation needed] Both his parents were Jewish, coming from Poland and Russia on his father's side and from Hungary and Łabowa, Nowy Sącz County, Poland, on his mother's side.

R10 it was a joke...

I was pleased to see that he wasn’t averse to nude work were it pertinent to the plot as he went full backal in the 1990 Marlo Thomas classic ‘In the Spirit’.

Love him

A great actor. So entertaining to watch.

Always a class act. I remember reading a comment he made after the OJ Simpson trial. He said he had become addicted to Court TV. I thought that was so endearing for some reason. 🙂

His parents’ clothing store was in Ossining, NY, about 45 minutes north of New York City. I grew up nearby.

R16 Did he ever stop in?

I doubt it, R17. He always wore the same crumpled jacket and suits.

[quote] You simply can't say anything bad about him.

Sure I can.

Why was his eye removed?

The first episode of Colombo (S1 E1) was directed by Steven Spielberg. I learned this watching the credits on Saturday night.

[quote]Never shy to appear on television in 1968 he dawned a trench coat

Someone must have missed their shift on the Oh Dear monitoring squad.

Okay, R19, then spill it.

R21. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Bochco. Not a bad way to begin a series…….

I had some bizarre encounter with his daughter at some Hollywood Hills party in the 90s. Can't remember the details.

I'm glad you posted this. Peter Falk was a scene stealer. He made comedy seem easy. I loved everything he was in. And I think he loved his characters. No one really like him since.

The Great Race is my favorite. He and Jack Lemmon pulled it off. Natalie Wood had a nervous breakdown while making it. And I never really got Tony Curtis.

[quote]Why was his eye removed?

He didn't like the color, Rose.

Well, rose is a strange eye color.

Loved him and Alan Arkin in The In-Laws.

There should have been a sequel.

R29 Oooh. I have never seen that film! Looks good.

He's gone, but the car lives on...

Had lunch with him when he was doing an off B’way play in the ‘90s. Wonderful, sweet man. Kind to everyone who approached him. To this day my favorite celebrity experience.

R15 Funny, I watched every minute of that damn trial

When the verdict came in my comment was “We would have had a different verdict if Columbo caught the case”

It’s horrible, but just imagine if they’d removed his WRONG eye!!!

As with Casey Kasem, there was a whole weird thing where his younger second wife isolated him and kept his children away from him in his last days. Very sad.

Sorry to hear that, R25– his adopted daughter is a nasty piece of work; entitled and chronically angry.

I remember reading somewhere that he was really into wine

He enabled Faye to win an Emmy by resurrecting an old script he’d put aside. “It’s All in the Game” (1993)

He loved stupid, naked women just as John Casavetes did.

Like who?

He plays himself in the German movie Wings of Desire (1987). It's revealed that he used to be an angel before retiring and becoming a human actor. It's a weird movie but pretty good.

Ask Shera Danese, r40.

R41 YES! He is great in the film

I watched "Murder By Death" recently and thought he stole the movie/was super hot.

[quote]R39 He loved stupid, naked women

What straight man doesn’t?

Did he and Sandy Duncan ever work together?

I think they did a picture with Sammy Davis Jr.

It was a farce called “Glass Eye Half Empty” - or at least that was the working title.

R44 I always felt Alec Guinness stole Murder by Death, especially in the last 10 minutes of the film!

Is that the awful movie with Truman Capote in it?

I saw him on the street one night. He was crocked, but having a grand old time…with his wife (I suppose) and another couple.

I would have licked the fuck out of his ass.

Classy guy!

His birthday is coming up!

Here he is in his birthday suit.

Columbo was very popular in Germany. It is rare that an actor appeals to more than one generation nearly for the same reasons.

I had the same thought R33

He made Roommates with D.B. Sweeney. A really underrated film.

Such warm, fuzzy memories of Columbo always being watched in our house. He just made Columbo so real...it never felt like he was acting.

Loved Columbo almost as much as Murder, She Wrote!

A Woman Under the Influence is devastating.

Ultimately one of those actors who flog their best character to death.

He was my father's favorite actor. Interestingly, my father also had a glass eye. Us kids never got to see him take it out even though we deserved the torture. We used ask him if he also loved Sammy Davis Jr. and Sandy Duncan, and why doesn't he take up acting or singing.

Had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with him for a magazine I worked for in the 90’s . Couldn’t have been nicer, a real salt of the earth guy.

He is buried at Pierce Brothers Westwood where 1000's of stars are resting. If you have never been, go, it's fascinating!

Shera is his wife.

R63 He was also just a classy guy

He should have gotten an Oscar nomination for Murder by Death.

I would have too R51

R12- He did not go full backal he went full REARAL

Any movie recommendations?

I found him oddly sexy.

[quote]We used ask him if he also loved Sammy Davis Jr. and Sandy Duncan, and why doesn't he take up acting or singing.

Sandy Duncan does not have a glass eye.

Because of this thread, I just rewatched Murder By Death. He was awesome. Loved when he was sort of playing gay—“Bitch!”

I don’t know why he didn’t get any nominations for A Woman Under the Influence. He was brilliant in that. After Gena Rowlands died, I went into a deep dive of watching all her old Cassavetes movies. I kind of wanted to open a vein afterwards, but they were mostly pretty great.

He was sexy, r70, no "oddly" about it. If I remember correctly, there's a scene of him sitting naked at a table in this and you get a shot of side butt cheek.

R69-

Roommates

The In-Laws

Murder by Death

The Princess Bride

Murder Inc

A Pocketful of Miracles

The Cheap Detective

[quote] Why was his eye removed?

His parents did it just for shits 'n' giggles.

They were strange people.

R73 right at the 18:10 mark he stands up completely naked and you get to see his full backside. Very sexy!

The Princess Bride