Peter Falk
Created | Updated Oct 26, 2002
My favourite TV detective is Columbo play by Peter Falk.
Peter Falk was born September 16, 1927,in New York, NY
Educated at Hamilton College, One of his first jobs was as a cook in the merchant marines, but after acquiring a B.A. from the New School for Social Research and an M.B.A. from Syracuse University in public administration,he became an efficiency expert for the Budget Bureau of the state of Connecticut .and became a Certified Public Accountant, Bored with adding figures, he became interested in amateur dramatics and in 1955 turned professional. He first gained attention in the off-Broadway production of `The Iceman Cometh,' which led to a busy career on Broadway and TV and in films. Adept at portraying lightharted hoodlums and big-city blue-collar characters, he won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a truck driver in the TV play `Price of Tomatoes' and three others for his title role as an eccentric detective in the popular `Columbo' series
Allthough never getting a Oscar He received Oscar nominations as best supporting actor for his work in the films Murder Inc. (1960) and Pocketful of Miracles (1961). In 1972 he won a Tony for his performance in Broadway's `The Prisoner of Second Avenue.' His characters derive added authenticity from his squinty gaze, the result of the loss of an eye at the age of three.being surgically removed because of cancer. Once when he was playing in a Little League game, the umpire called him out. Falk thought that he was safe. He pulled his glass eye out of its socket and handed it to the umpire, telling him, "Here, I think you might need this."
Columbia Studios chief, the boorish Harry Cohn, rejected Falk declaring, "For the same money, I can get an actor with two eyes!" Which he later regreted on a number of acations
One of his greatest passions is drawing and sketching and he has studios on the grounds of his Beverly Hills estate.
Although born in New York, Falk's mother is Russian and his father was Polish, with a mix of Hungarian and Czech further back in their ancestry. So, contrary to Falk's public image, he is not an Italian but a mixture of very hardy Eastern European stock.
Peter Falk was born September 16, 1927,in New York, NY
Educated at Hamilton College, One of his first jobs was as a cook in the merchant marines, but after acquiring a B.A. from the New School for Social Research and an M.B.A. from Syracuse University in public administration,he became an efficiency expert for the Budget Bureau of the state of Connecticut .and became a Certified Public Accountant, Bored with adding figures, he became interested in amateur dramatics and in 1955 turned professional. He first gained attention in the off-Broadway production of `The Iceman Cometh,' which led to a busy career on Broadway and TV and in films. Adept at portraying lightharted hoodlums and big-city blue-collar characters, he won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a truck driver in the TV play `Price of Tomatoes' and three others for his title role as an eccentric detective in the popular `Columbo' series
Allthough never getting a Oscar He received Oscar nominations as best supporting actor for his work in the films Murder Inc. (1960) and Pocketful of Miracles (1961). In 1972 he won a Tony for his performance in Broadway's `The Prisoner of Second Avenue.' His characters derive added authenticity from his squinty gaze, the result of the loss of an eye at the age of three.being surgically removed because of cancer. Once when he was playing in a Little League game, the umpire called him out. Falk thought that he was safe. He pulled his glass eye out of its socket and handed it to the umpire, telling him, "Here, I think you might need this."
Columbia Studios chief, the boorish Harry Cohn, rejected Falk declaring, "For the same money, I can get an actor with two eyes!" Which he later regreted on a number of acations
One of his greatest passions is drawing and sketching and he has studios on the grounds of his Beverly Hills estate.
Although born in New York, Falk's mother is Russian and his father was Polish, with a mix of Hungarian and Czech further back in their ancestry. So, contrary to Falk's public image, he is not an Italian but a mixture of very hardy Eastern European stock.
