2020-02-12. When fans hear Lieutenant Columbo's trademark phrase “just one more thing…” we know he's about to crack the case wide open. The unconventional detective, played brilliantly by Peter Falk, first appeared on our screens in 1968.
After this, the character was portrayed almost entirely by Peter Falk, who appeared in the role from 1968 through 2003. Columbo's first name was never used in dialogue, although the name "Frank Columbo" is visible on pieces of identification in various episodes.
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.
Falk's own favorite Columbo episodes were "Any Old Port in a Storm", "Forgotten Lady", "Now You See Him" and "Identity Crisis". Falk was rumored to be earning a record $300,000 per episode when he returned for Season 6 of Columbo in 1976.
Also NBC/Universal Pictures sold the Columbo Peugeot after its last episode, and it turned up in Ohio. During Columbo's second run, Falk and ABC collected three 403 convertibles for series use, one of them a 1960. Peter Falk was blind in his right eye, losing it to cancer at age three.
Actor Peter Falk's daughter filed suit against her famous father Tuesday in Los Angeles. Catherine Falk contends the "Columbo" star has cut off money for her Syracuse University education. Get all the news that's happening in the Beehive State in one place, as well as major national and world news that you value.
How long did Peter Falk have Alzheimer's before he died?
Peter Falk (1927–2011)
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.
Danese had major supporting roles in six episodes of the TV series Columbo, appearing alongside her husband Peter Falk (who starred as Detective Columbo), in "Fade in to Murder" (1976), "Murder Under Glass" (1978), "Murder, a Self Portrait" (1989), "Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star" (1991), "Undercover" (1994), ...
Visitation rights for Catherine were limited, and Catherine's sister, Jackie, was unable to visit at all. Shera eventually inherited most of Peter Falk's estate, valued at approximately $5 million.
I've collected almost everything the lieutenant says about his unseen wife in the first ten seasons of Columbo. 1 As it is written in John 1:18, “No one has ever seen Mrs. Columbo, but the one and only Lieutenant Columbo, who is himself a Columbo and is in closest relationship with her, has made her known.”
According to the series creators, Columbo's first name was never written into any script, and was never intended to be anything other than “Lieutenant”. But fans noticed that a shot of the detective's badge in the episode “Dead Weight” listed his first name as Frank.
This episode is notable for being the only time that Columbo didn't actually apprehend the killer, choosing to let her live out the rest of her brief time in freedom.
After poor ratings and reception from both audiences and the original producers of Columbo, both the series and the eponymous character herself were renamed in an attempt to change direction, but this did not help ratings and the series was ultimately canceled in March 1980 after 13 episodes had aired.
This and a couple of other duds led to a lull in Falk's career, until he heard that Bing Crosby had turned down the part of a detective in a scheduled television show. At the age of 40, Falk landed the part, making his debut as Columbo in the pilot episode, Prescription Murder.
For the last four years of his life, TV actor Peter Falk, who died in June aged 83, suffered from severe Alzheimer's disease. Tragically, his family revealed that he was even unable to recall his most famous role as Lieutenant Columbo, the shabby detective whose apparent absentmindedness hid a razor-sharp brain.
What was the age difference between Peter Falk and his wife?
In 1960 he wed his fellow Syracuse University student Alyce Mayo. They adopted two daughters but divorced in 1976. A year later Falk married Shera Danese, who regularly appeared on Columbo, the actress, who survives him was 21 years his junior and in typical fashion he joked about the age difference.
Today Peter Falk's Law in many states provides protection for adults in guardianship/conservatorship who are wrongfully isolated from family and friends and denied visitation, information and contact.
Columbo's first name is never explicitly revealed in the series. However, when Columbo flashes his badge in the episodes "Dead Weight" (Season 1 Episode 3), and "Death Hits The Jackpot" (Season 10, Episode 4, during the gotcha scene at the end), the name 'Frank Columbo' can clearly be seen on his ID card.
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?"
A 1959 Peugeot 403 Cabriolet. The legend has it that star Peter Falk was offered a tour of the Universal back lot to find a car for Columbo to drive. He saw the 403. “I just saw the nose of a car sticking out,” he told the definitive Columbo freak site.
