Peter Falk

Biography

Peter Michael Falk was born on September 16, 1927, in New York City, New York.

At the age of 3, his right eye was surgically removed due to cancer.

He graduated from Ossining High School, where he was president of his class.

His early career choices involved becoming a certified public accountant, and he worked as an efficiency expert for the Budget Bureau of the state of Connecticut before becoming an actor.

On choosing to change careers, he studied the acting art with Eva Le Gallienne and Sanford Meisner.

His most famous role is that of the detective Columbo; however, this was not his first foray into acting the role of a detective.

During a high school play, he stood in for such a role when the original student actor fell sick.

He has been married twice, and is the father of two children:Catherine, a private detective in real life, and Jackie.

He was diagnosed with dementia in 2008, which was most likely brought on by Alzheimer's disease, from which he died on June 23, 2011.

No detailed information about his background, personal life, education, professional experience, or accomplishments has been provided or confirmed. This section serves as a general placeholder until more accurate and verified details can be collected and published.

There are many reasons why a biography might be missing or incomplete. In some cases, individuals are listed or mentioned before a profile has been written. In others, a person may wish to maintain privacy, or their contributions may not yet be fully documented. The absence of a biography does not imply a lack of importance or relevance. Every individual has a unique story, and this section acknowledges that Peter Falk is part of a broader context—even if the details are not yet available.

As more information becomes accessible through official records, publications, or direct input, this biography will be updated to reflect who Peter Falk is and what he brings to his field or role. The intention is to provide an accurate, respectful, and informative profile when the time is right.

Until then, this entry will remain simple and general. It avoids speculation and assumptions, and instead leaves space open for a future version that can properly represent Peter Falk's journey, achievements, and contributions. We look forward to adding more when the opportunity allows.

For now, Peter Falk is acknowledged here without further detail, with the understanding that every person’s story is valuable—even if it hasn’t yet been told.

Country: United States
Gender: Male
Education: Syracuse University·Hamilton College·Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Place of birth: New York City
Birth date: 16 September 1927
Nationality: American

One of his greatest passions was drawing and sketching; has studio on grounds of Beverly Hills estate.
His right eye was surgically removed at the age of three, because of cancer.
Attended and graduated from Ossining High School on Ossining, New York.
President of his high school class.
Worked as an efficiency expert for the Budget Bureau of the state of Connecticut before becoming an actor. Studied acting with Eva Le Gallienne and Sanford Meisner.
Was a certified public accountant.
Falk put the damper on a rumor that his trademark Columbo raincoat had been placed in the Smithsonian Institution: said that it was in his upstairs closet.
In his first foray into acting, he took the role of detective in a high school play when original student-actor fell sick. He left college to serve as a cook in the Merchant Marines.
Harry Cohn , head of Columbia Pictures and renowned for his boorishness and vulgarity, rejected Falk, declaring, "For the same money, I can get an actor with two eyes!".
Peters paternal grandparents, Louis and Ida Falk, were Russian Jewish immigrants. Peters maternal grandfather, Peter Hochhauser, was a Hungarian Jew, and Peters maternal grandmother, Rosa Heller, was a Czech Jewish immigrant (from what was then Bohemia).

You want to know how he gets caught.
Being chased by Columbo is like being nibbled to death by a duck.
My idea of Heaven is to wake up, have a good breakfast, and spend the rest of the day drawing.
I like stories that grow, that have unpredictable layers. As opposed to Hollywood movies that start out with a lot of shock and noise and peter out into an unconvincing cliche.

Movies

Stig Wennerström - Spion i kallt krig
2017
Unmute
2015
We Are Free
2015
Rum 301
2013
In the anonymous setting of a hotel room in London, different people are forced to meet.
The Dotted Line
2011
The Dotted Line is an in-depth look at what it takes to be a big-time agent in the fiercely competitive world of major league sports..
The Dotted Line
2011
The Dotted Line is an in-depth look at what it takes to be a big-time agent in the fiercely competitive world of major league sports..
Char·ac·ter
2009
A raw and candid dialogue about the life and craft of acting between longtime colleagues and friends Dabney Coleman, Peter Falk, Charles Grodin, Mark Rydell, Harry Dean Stanton and Sydney Pollack.
Three Days to Vegas
2007
Four grumpy old men go on a road trip from their retired life in Florida to the excitement of Las Vegas in order to stop one of their daughters from marrying the wrong guy..
America's Top Sleuths
2006
Checking Out
2005
Checking Out is a 2005 feature film directed by Jeff Hare and written by Richard Marcus and Allen Swift..
The Thing About My Folks
2005
Ben's dad Sam shows up one night with a note from Ben's mother (Sam's wife of 46 years), that she has left.
Wilder Days
2003
After Chris's grandfather took a nasty fall down some stairs he was sent to an old folks home.
Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us
2003
Documentary about the making of Wim Wenders 1987 German film Wings of Desire.
Undisputed
2002
George "Ice Man" Chambers (Rhames) is a top ranked heavyweight boxer.
The Silver Screen: Ray Milland
2002
A biography of the life and times of the Wlesh actor Ray Milland, winner of an Academy Award for The Lost Weekend..
Corky Romano
2001
A naive, bumbling veterinarian named Corky Romano the outcast son if a Mafia boss, is recruited by his family to infiltrate the FBI and steal any and all evidence that will put his cranky father named Francis A.
Skuggpojkarna
2001
About seven men who have committed terrible crimes and are imprisoned indefinitely..
Hubert's Brain
2001
It tells the story of a science geek who befriends a talking brain-in-a-jar..
Enemies of Laughter
2000
Enemies tells the story of a playwright and sitcom writer Paul Halpern (Academy Award Nominee David Paymer) who can't buy a break!.
Lakeboat
2000
Coming-of-age tale set aboard a shipping freighter traveling America's Great Lakes.
A Storm in Summer
2000
An old Jewish shop owner Mr.
Födelsedagar och andra katastrofer
2000
Alice and her sister Moa live in a dysfunctional family.
Vig
1998
Vinnie's a bookie, happily married, running his operation for 30 years out of his bar in Brooklyn.
Personkrets 3:1
1998
A lot of hell and very little heaven heaven among homeless and damaged characters in Stockholm.
Religions of the World: Judaism
1998
Pronto
1997
Harry Arno is a Miami Beach bookie who finds himself in trouble with his mob bosses for reasons he can't quite figure out.
The Sunshine Boys
1996
Neil Simon wrote this updated version of his 1972 Broadway play about a film agent's efforts to recombine the once famous comedy pair Lewis and Clark, played by Woody Allen and Peter Falk..
John Cassavetes: To Risk Everything to Express It All
1996
It’s tempting, when praising Cassavetes’s films, to resort to generalizations about the director’s admirable intentions; descriptions like “original,” “raw,” and “human,” while certainly true, need to be expanded upon in order to get at what makes Cassavetes’s work special, and the film’s interview subjects sometimes fall into the trap of leaving things at the level of simplification.
Roommates
1995
Roommates is a 1995 American comedy-drama film, starring Peter Falk, D.
Cops n Roberts
1995
Faraway, So Close!
1993
A group of angels in the German capital look longingly upon the life of humans..
Anything for John
1993
An intimate portrait of actor-writer-director John Cassavetes and a loving tribute to his genius for studying and depicting the human character.
För brinnande livet
1993
In the Spirit
1990
A woman moves back to New York and hires a ditzy New Age woman to redecorate her apartment in this Odd Couple styled comedy.
Motion and Emotion: The Films of Wim Wenders
1990
Though very polite and British, this feature-length documentary about German filmmaker Wim Wenders offers the most penetrating insights and the best overall critique of his work that I have encountered anywhere.
Tune in Tomorrow...
1990
Martin works at the local radio station, which just hired a new scriptwriter with a reputation for great drama, Pedro Carmichael.
Cookie
1989
Paroled labor racketeer "Dapper" Dino is sought after by a "politically ambitious" prosecutor schemes to put him back in jail and a deceitful partner sizes him up for concrete shoes..
Happy New Year
1987
Small time crooksters Nick and Charlie have an elaborate plan to rob an exclusive jewelers store.
Big Trouble
1986
Big Trouble is a 1986 American comedy film.
Den frusna leoparden
1986
Two brothers meet again after a few years away from each other.
...All the Marbles
1981
Harry is the manager of a tag team of gorgeous lady wrestlers.
The American Movie Awards
1980
The In-Laws
1979
In preparation for his daughter's wedding, dentist Sheldon Kornpett meets Vince Ricardo, the groom's father.
The Brink's Job
1978
After a long spate of bad luck, the little criminal Tony and his gang successfully rob one of Brink's security transports, taking $30,000.
The Cheap Detective
1978
Lou Peckinpaugh (Peter Falk), a bumbling San Francisco private detective, tries to prove himself innocent of his partner's murder while helping a bizarre array of characters recover a lost treasure.
Scared Straight!
1978
This film shows the Scared Straight program that has hardened convicts from maximum security prisons tell their stories about the truth about prison life in order to convince kids that no crime is worth the risk of being incarcerated.
NBC: The First Fifty Years - A Closer Look, Part Two
1978
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Bette Davis
1977
On March 1, 1977, Bette Davis became the first woman recipient of the prestigious Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.
Griffin and Phoenix
1976
Geoffrey Griffin who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer in his chest, meets Sarah Phoenix as they both attend a university lecture on the psychology of dying.
Mikey and Nicky
1976
Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mobster wants him killed.
Murder by Death
1976
Despite not knowing him, the world's most famous detectives can't pass up the offer of a "dinner and murder" invitation from wealthy Lionel Twain.
Winner Take All
1975
The chronicle of an average American housewife who just happens to be addicted to gambling..
A Woman Under the Influence
1974
Peter Falk is a blue collar man trying to deal with his wife's mental instability.
NFL Players Association Awards Dinner
1973
A Step Out of Line
1971
Three financially down-and-out buddies plot to pull a bank robbery to cure their financial woes..
Husbands
1970
A common friend's sudden death brings three men, married with children, to reconsider their lives and ultimately leave together.
Rosolino Paternò, soldato...
1970
In WWII, a commando was sent in a secret mission in Sicily.
Castle Keep
1969
Toward the end of World War II, a small company of American GI's occupy an ancient castle.
Machine Gun McCain
1969
Tough criminal Hank McCain gets released from prison after serving twelve years for armed robbery.
Prescription: Murder
1968
A psychiatrist who is married, is having an affair.

TV

Columbo
1971
When you first saw him, Lt.
The Trials of O'Brien
1965
A flamboyant Shakespeare quoting New York Defense Attorney always seems to get into trouble..