"JUST ONE MORE THING..."

Peter Falk (1927 - 2011)

Legendary actor PETER FALK, famous for playing rumpled raincoat-wearing Los Angeles Police Detective Lieutenant COLUMBO, has died at the age of 83.  BERT FREED was the first actor to play the part in a 1960 episode of The Chevy Mystery Show, entitled "Enough Rope" with THOMAS MITCHELL in the role when the plot was used as the basis of a stage play called "Prescription: Murder" in 1962.

LEE J. COBB and BING CROSBY were originally considered for the part when it was decided to turn the play into a one-off TV movie, but Cobb was unavailable and Crosby turned it down. The rest is history - Falk made the role his own, first in the 1968 TV movie, and then in a semi-regular series from 1971 until 1978. Falk reprised the role in 1989 and continued playing the part for several more years, his last portrayal being screened in 2003.

The actor developed Alzheimer's disease a few years ago, and died peacefully at his Beverly Hills home on June 23rd.