tonight my thoughts are with peter falk

It’s being reported today that Peter Falk, a man whose work I greatly admire, has fallen victim to Alzheimer’s disease. Falk’s daughter, Catherine, has filed papers in Los Angeles asking that a conservator be appointed for her 81 year old father, who can no longer recognize friends and loved ones. (A hearing has been scheduled for late January.) I hope it’s not the case, but as I believe there have been financial issues between Falk, his wife Shera, and his adopted daughter in the past, I fear that control over the Emmy award winning actor’s estate may be at the heart of this. Regardless of the legal motivations behind the move, my sympathies go out to Falk and his family. I don’t know him well, but I love the guy, and it breaks my heart that he’s having to go through this terrible ordeal alone. And maybe it’s selfish of me to say so, but it bothers me that he didn’t get one more opportunity to put on the rumpled trench coat, and give Columbo a proper sendoff… And here, for old time’s sake, is a clip from the Columbo archive. This one is particularly nice as it’s of Falk and his old friend, the brilliant, Patrick McGoohan.

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11 Comments

  1. Ol' E Cross
    Posted December 18, 2008 at 12:40 am | Permalink

    Coincidence that Peter Falk called you “a fantastic journalist” and slips from us at the same time print is dying … or destiny?

    (Cue goosebumps.)

  2. Paw
    Posted December 18, 2008 at 5:26 pm | Permalink

    I’ve missed you, OEC. Welcome home.

  3. Brackache
    Posted December 18, 2008 at 6:23 pm | Permalink

    “I’m back, motherfucker,” he says.

  4. Robert
    Posted December 18, 2008 at 7:45 pm | Permalink

    OEC, you are all rehabilitated then, I take it?

  5. Ol' E Cross
    Posted December 18, 2008 at 10:19 pm | Permalink

    Robert,

    While I think your assumption that I’ve been incarcerated the last four months is completely reasonable, reality is far less glamorous.

    Truth is, I was kidnapped by Drew Barrymore.

    That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

  6. mark
    Posted December 18, 2008 at 11:56 pm | Permalink

    If memory serves, OEC stopped posting here just about the same time that David Kircher was sent to prison….. Hmmmmm…..

  7. Chelsea
    Posted December 22, 2008 at 9:01 pm | Permalink

    Fast Falk/6-Degrees fact:

    As you may know, Peter Falk debuted in the movie “Murder,Inc.” Which was based largely on the criminal activity of a distant relative of *mine!*

    I believe the father of MM fave author Daniel Pinkwater was also in what was called “Murder,Inc” (by news writers; it wasn’t known as such internally).

  8. mark
    Posted December 22, 2008 at 9:20 pm | Permalink

    What’s all this, Chelsea?

  9. Chelsea
    Posted December 24, 2008 at 6:36 am | Permalink

    Uh, it’s true. What did you want to know, specifically?

    I’d known since I was a kid that my family, on my father’s side, was related to a gangster of some repute,* but, having little natural curiosity, didn’t think much about it until a few months ago when I couldn’t sleep at about 5:30 one Sunday morning. I flipped on the TV and there on Bravo, the movie “Murder, Inc” was starting. The credits “introduced” Peter Falk. I watched spellbound as it detailed (mostly correctly, as I found out) the exploits of Lepke (Louis Buchalter) and his pals.

    BTW, I was also surprised to learn that Falk bore a true resemblance to the character he played: Abe “Kid Twist” Reles. If you haven’t seen the movie, you may be pleased to know that he was awesome as a hit man!

    So I was thinking about this yesterday morning and remembered that you had mentioned PF in a recent post and, well, here we are.

    Merry Christmas to you all,

    C

    *And I mean “distant.” Lepke’s mother, Anna Buchalter, was the cousin of my great-grandmother. My own grandmother was pissed off when they made a movie about him in ’75 and didn’t ask her a thing.

  10. mark
    Posted December 24, 2008 at 8:51 pm | Permalink

    Wow. This definitely deserves a post all its own. I may get back to you with a question or two, Chelsea… Fantastic story.

  11. Chelsea
    Posted December 26, 2008 at 3:24 pm | Permalink

    Thanks.

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