Falk, Peter (1927– )

US film and television actor. He began in films in 1958, usually playing gangsters or working-class men, but he is best remembered as the star of the 1970s television detective series Columbo. With his shuffling, dishevelled appearance, he created a memorable character.

He was born in New York and, after serving in the merchant marines, he gained a master's degree in public administration at Syracuse University and worked for the Connecticut budget bureau. Taking up amateur theatre, he made his stage debut off Broadway in 1956. He was nominated for Academy Awards for his supporting roles in the films Murder Inc. (1960) and Pocketful of Miracles (1961) and appeared in a number of other films, including The Inlaws (1979), The Princess Bride (1987), Wings of Desire (1987), The Thing About My Folks (2005), and the television film When Angels Come to Town (2004).