Falk, who won four Emmys for playing the coffee-stained crime-solver, was himself an example of the don't-judge-a-book adage. Short in stature with an unruly mop of brown hair, he had a speech impediment and a glass eye, a result of cancer when he was a child.
On the evening of June 23, 2011, Falk died at his longtime home on Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills at the age of 83. His death was caused primarily by pneumonia, with complications of Alzheimer's being a secondary and underlying cause. His daughters said they would remember his "wisdom and humor".
As a child, the actor's right eye had been surgically removed due to a malignant tumour and was replaced with a glass eye. That handicap became, perhaps, one of Falk's major assets in his “Columbo” role, as the physical trademark enhanced the detective's image as a dishevelled and eccentric crime sleuth.
-- Born in New York City, Falk lost his right eye to cancer at age 3, and wore a glass eye for most of his life. His missing eye kept him out of the armed services during World War II, so he joined the Merchant Marine.
Best known for his starring role as Number 6 in the surreal science fiction allegory series, The Prisoner (1967). He was considered for Hardy Krüger's role in Hatari! (1962). Became close friends with Peter Falk after working with him on "Columbo".
Peter Falk’s Hilarious Acceptance Speech for COLUMBO | Emmys Archive (1972)
Did Peter Falk speak fluent Italian?
It was established in two episodes that Columbo speaks fluent Italian. With his New York accent and olive complexion he played a convincing Italian-American. In reality, Peter Falk was of Polish-Jewish, Czech-Jewish, and Hungarian-Jewish ancestry and was not an Italian speaker.
Danese met Peter Falk on the set of the movie Mikey and Nicky and became his second wife on December 7, 1977. They were married for 33 years until Falk's death on June 23, 2011, at age 83 from complications of Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia. She is mentioned on his headstone: "I'm not here. I'm home with Shera".
What was the age difference between Peter Falk and his wife?
When Catherine was just 5, Falk divorced his first wife and remarried a year later to his second wife, Shera, who was 22 years his junior. As often happens in blended families, Catherine did not get along with her step-mother, and eventually, Peter Falk and his daughter Catherine also became estranged.
In December 2008, it was reported that Falk had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. On the evening of June 23, 2011, Falk died at his longtime home on Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills at the age of 83. His death was primarily caused by pneumonia, with complications of Alzheimer's disease.
Columbo has explained that he smokes cigars although his wife wishes he would smoke a pipe, which Columbo refuses to try "because there's too much stuff to carry around." In "Any Old Port in a Storm", he refuses a light, saying his wife made him quit smoking; and, when asked why he then buys such expensive cigars, ...
Every Columbo fan is aware that Peter Falk had only one eye after having his right eye surgically removed when he was just three years old due to a rare form of cancer, retinoblastoma.
Peter Falk had a glass eye that led to Columbo's signature squint. Columbo's famous one-eyed squint wasn't an acting choice, but rather a condition of Falk's glass eye he had from childhood cancer.
Kate Columbo (later renamed Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce) is the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the television series Columbo.
So, "Columbo" fans are welcome to enjoy the Kate Mulgrew show on its own merits, or as an amusing footnote in "Columbo" history. But do not be fooled -- the real Mrs Columbo has never been seen, and probably never will be. "Where Is Your Wife, Lieutenant?"
The serendipity of it is that the Peugeot 403 was already well off car lots by the time it became known as Columbo's car. Only manufactured from 1955-1966, it was removed from assembly lines five years before Columbo came on air.
Peter Michael Falk (born September 16, 1927, height 5' 6" (1,68 m)) is a retired American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo.
Of course, once he started his golf swing, things got a little ugly. "Peter Falk might have been pretty loose as a detective on the TV series 'Columbo,' but he was as tight as a board when he was swinging a golf club," wrote famed golf instructor Kathy Whitworth.
Falk died at his longtime Roxbury Drive Beverly Hills home. The cause of death was later revealed as cardiorespiratory arrest, with pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease as underlying causes. Falk is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
