Peter Falk
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Peter Michael Falk (born September 16, 1927 in New York City) is an American actor. He is a descendent of Miksa Falk, who was the editor of the liberal Hungarian newspaper, the Pester Lloyd.
He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award twice, for Murder, Inc., and Pocketful of Miracles.
He is best known for the title role in the long-running TV series Columbo, a shabby and ostensibly absent-minded police detective. Columbo invariably solved his cases by paying close attention to tiny inconsistencies in a suspect's story, hounding them until they confessed. He put on a good show of being dim-witted. Columbo's signature technique was to exit the scene of an interview, only to stop in the doorway to ask "just one more thing" of a suspect, which always brought to light the key inconsistency. The role won him 5 Emmys and a Golden Globe.
Falk is also loved for his roles in several films, including a brilliant performance in the high-brow comedy, The In-Laws. Falk played a crazed (ex?)-CIA agent who dupes his in-law, a New York City dentist, into joining a scheme to rob the U.S. Treasury. He also gave memorable performances in his friend, director John Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence, (opposite Gena Rowlands) and Husbands (with Cassavetes and Ben Gazzara) and in Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire.
Falk wears an ocular prosthetic ("glass eye"). His right eye was surgically removed at the age of three because of cancer.
Falk is also an artist and has had several gallery shows and exhibits. He started to draw as a way to pass time while filming on location.
Filmography
- Wind Across the Everglades (1958)
- The Bloody Brood (1959)
- Pretty Boy Floyd (1960)
- Murder, Inc. (1960)
- The Secret of the Purple Reef (1960)
- Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
- Pressure Point (1962)
- The Balcony (1963)
- It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
- Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
- Attack and Retreat (1965)
- The Great Race (1965)
- Too Many Thieves (1966)
- Penelope (1966)
- Luv (1967)
- Anzio (1968)
- Machine Gun McCain (1968)
- Castle Keep (1969)
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- Husbands (1970)
- A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
- Murder by Death (1976)
- Mikey and Nicky (1976)
- Opening Night (1977) (Cameo)
- Scared Straight! (1978) (documentary) (narrator)
- The Cheap Detective (1978)
- The Brink's Job (1978)
- The In-Laws (1979)
- The Great Muppet Caper (1981) (Cameo)
- All the Marbles (1981, aka California Dolls)
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- Big Trouble (1986)
- Wings of Desire (1987)
- Happy New Year (1987)
- The Princess Bride (1987)
- Vibes (1988)
- Cookie (1989)
- In the Spirit (1990)
- Motion & Emotion (1990) (documentary)
- Tune in Tomorrow... (1990)
- The Player (1992) (Cameo)
- Faraway, So Close! (1993)
- Anything for John (1993) (documentary)
- Cops n Roberts (1995)
- Roommates (1995)
- A Constant Forge (2000) (documentary)
- Lakeboat (2000)
- Enemies of Laughter (2001)
- Hubert's Brain (2001) (short subject) (voice)
- Made (2001)
- Corky Romano (2001)
- 3 Days of Rain (2002)
- Undisputed (2002)
- Checking Out (2004)
- Shark Tale (2004) (voice)
- The Thing About My Folks (2005)
- Retirement (2006) (currently in post-production)
- The Book of Joe (2006) (currently filming)
- Next (film) (2007)
Television Work
- The Power and the Glory (1959)
- The Twilight Zone (1961)
- Cry Vengeance! (1961)
- The Million Dollar Incident (1961)
- Ambassador at Large (1964)
- The Trials of O'Brien (1965-1966)
- Brigadoon (1966)
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- A Hatful of Rain (1968)
- A Step Out of Line (1971)
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- The Sunshine Boys (1995)
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- From Where I Sit (2000)
- A Storm in Summer (2000)
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- A Town Without Christmas (2001)
- The Lost World (2001)
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- Wilder Days (2003)
- Finding John Christmas (2003)
- When Angels Come to Town (2004)
External links
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