Peter Falk was born on September 16, 1927, in New York City, New York. He had a malignant tumor at the age of three and had to have his right eye removed. At the age of 12, Falk appeared in a camp production of The Pirates of Penzance and tried to join the armed forces after high school. Unfortunately, he was turned down because of his eye. Falk went on to join the United States Merchant Marine which he left after one year and returned to college. He attended many colleges including the University of Wisconsin, Hamilton College and Syracuse University.

After college, Falk worked in Hartford where he joined the community theater. He appeared in three of the theater’s productions, including The Crucible and eventually signed with the William Morris Agency, in 1956, and moved to Greenwich Village.

He appeared in a couple of off-Broadway flops before Falk was cast in the revival of The Iceman Cometh.

In 1972, Peter Falk won a Tony for his role in The Prisoner of Second Avenue. Even though Falk was receiving acclaim on Broadway, his agent advised him to explore the world of film. His first film performances were not ground breakers as he did a took small roles in less than memorable movies.

Eventually, Falk took the role of killer Abe Reles in the film Murder, inc., in 1960. This would prove to be a turning point his career. He continued the role of Abe Reles onto the small screen, in the TV series The Witness. Peter Falk was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Reles in the film.

Frank Capra cast Falk in his comedy Pocket Full of Miracles and, once again, was nominated for an Oscar. Falk appeared in many more movie roles too such as Rat Pack, The Great Race, and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

We first saw Falk on television in 1957. He did a variety of guest spots on Studio One, Kraft Television Theater, Have Gun Will Travel and many more. His first lead role was in The Trails of O’Brien which had 22 episodes. Falk appeared in many series in the 1960s and 1970s, although, his most famous will always be Columbo. The character of Columbo was from the film Prescription; Murder. Falk’s portrayal of the police lieutenant was so fascinating an entire TV series was created from this role in the film. Columbo ran for eight years and inspired several feature films.

Falk continues to appear in movies, on stage and on TV.  He has two adopted daughters with his first wife Alyce Mayo.