Peter Falk (Peter Falk): the filmography and biography of the actor (photo)

"He can break your heart and make you laugh," - so defined the dramatic range of this actor famous director William Friedkin. The star of world cinema Peter Falk is more known to the Russian viewer on the television series about the meticulous and charming Lieutenant Colombo. However, the actor starred for his long life in art in more than one hundred and ninety projects, has solid rewards and millions of fans.

Peter Falk. Biography, the beginning

He was born on September 16, 1927 in America, but his great-grandfather emigrated here from Russia in the late 19th century. The father of the future actor was a haberdasher, mother - an accountant. Peter did not think seriously about the stage career, in spite of the fact that he took part in children's plays during the school days. The boy's interests were versatile: he was fond of not only art, but also sports. After college, Peter Falk tried to join the US armed forces, but because of the artificial eye he was not accepted.

Life before the scene

The right eye actor lost at the age of three. The teacher in the kindergarten paid attention to the fact that the boy strangely turns his head, looking at anything, the child was examined from the oculist, and it turned out that the baby suffers from retinoblastoma, a malignant retina tumor. The eye was removed and first covered with a black bandage, and later the glass organ was "mounted". Even later it was replaced by a plastic one. The prosthesis did not prevent the leadership of the navy from taking the young Falk to the ship as a cocoon. On this occasion, the actor somehow joked: "No one bothered, blind or not." The only one who should see excellently is the captain, although in the case of the Titanic he did not see well either. "

After serving one and a half years in the fleet, Peter Falk returned to New York and entered the university to study literature and politics. In 1951, after graduating from the Institute of Social Studies, the young man became the holder of a bachelor's degree in political science. In 1953 he received a master's degree in public administration. Falk tries to get a job at the CIA, but, failing, goes to work for the State Budget Bureau as an analyst. At the same time Falk comprehended the basics of acting at special courses.

Success

The first professional work of Peter Falk became the role of the servant of Don Juan in the play of Moliere, then the actor was already about thirty years old. At the same time, he began to play on Broadway, and in 1957 he saw a television audience.

In 1960, the actor decided to leave the stage for the sake of cinema and moved to Los Angeles, closer to Hollywood. The first full-length feature film starring Peter Falk, was the tape "Murder Incorporated", for the role in it, the actor was nominated for an Oscar. He was declared and for the Emmy Award for the image created in the film "The Law and Mr. Jones." And again the actor became a contender for the Oscar, starring in the movie "A handful of miracles", and the owner of "Emmy" after the tape "The price of tomato juice." Such a rapid success in such a short time is not surprising: the actor and charm did not take the actor.

TV career

The actor chose roles in television projects very deliberately. Refusing a number of proposals that were not interesting to him, Falk agreed to participate in a comedy detective series called The Case of O'Brien. Despite the fact that the plot and the production were at a high level, and the series was positively evaluated by critics, the film did not score a large rating. The genius of the comedy was manifested in him Peter Falk, whose filmography soon began to shine with another television role, glorified the actor around the world.

My name is Colombo

This is the name of the series in the Russian version. The character was so accurately and subtly played by the actor that he began to associate with many viewers firmly with the perceptive detective in the eternally minty light raincoat. Colombo lived on the screen for over 35 years and during this time he collected 4 Emmy figurines for the best male role. Repeatedly the film was nominated for the "Golden Globe" award. The first series aired in 1968, it was called "Prescription: Murder," and then, in 1971, the second series of the project "Etude in Black Tones" appeared.The series was not slow to enter the top five on the NBC Mystery Wheel channel. To 1988 in the production of the series was a break, then the show resumed and continued until 2003. Despite the fact that for thirty-five years the public did not recognize the name of Lieutenant Kolobmo, this figure became truly cult. Peter Falk-Colombo was different from other cine-shows Detective stories and appearance, and behavior. It was simplicity and naivety that hid an acute deductive mind, and behind apparent distraction was the maximum concentration and the strictest logic.The stories about Colombo also differed from all others in that the viewer's attention was not the mystery of the solution - her audience saw from the very first shots of the film - but the intriguing The work of the mind of a favorite detective with a characteristic squint and an unchanged cigar.Today, loyal fans around the world are joining the fan clubs of Colombo and painstakingly gather information about their idol.

Theatrical career

In 1971, the actor was again invited to Broadway, in the production of Neil Simon's "The Prisoner of Second Avenue." For this work, he received the Tony Award. The next theatrical triumph was the role in the production of Arthur Miller's "Connection of Mr. Peter." In 2000, the actor played in the Los Angeles Theater Geffen Playhouse in the play Defiled. But still the movie was for Peter more a fertile place than the theater scene.

Film career

A friendly relationship with the director Neil Simon led to the fact that Falke starred in several of his films - "Murder by Death," "Sunny Boys", where he starred with Woody Allen, and "Cheap Detective." The comic gift of Falk was especially evident in the film "The Wedding Party" by Arthur Hiller, which tells about the robbery of a banking machine. Here, too, is involved a favorite detective story, which is played with great humor.

Together with actor Joe Mantenoy Peter starred in the tape "Americans", which received in 1986 a prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Unforgettable was the actor's play in the 1999 movie "The Summer Thunderstorm" by Robert Wise in the script of Rod Serling. Working together with Joe Mantenay in "The Americans" resulted in the fact that Joe invited Peter Falk to his directorial debut - "The Boat", where Falk shot together with John Tarturo and Andy Garcia.

The closest friend of the actor was a talented actor, screenwriter and director John Cassavetes. He and Falk were much alike. With a friend Peter Falk starred in three films: "Husbands", "Woman under the influence" and "Mickey and Nikki."

In the romantic film "The Princess Bride" by Bob Reiner, Peter Falk created a funny and touching image of the grandfather who came to visit his sick grandson and read him a book about the princess.

In "The Sky over Berlin," Falk excellently played a cameo, appearing in the image of an angel. This work brought the actor high marks of critics. With the same enthusiasm, they were greeted with the roles of Peter Falk in the films "Good luck", "Listen to tomorrow", "So far, so close", "Roommates", "Money kings".

At the beginning of the new millennium

On his travels to New Zealand, Falke starred in a two-part adaptation of Conan Doyle's novel The Lost World (2001). In the same year, the actor starred in the fairy tale "City without Christmas," which took the highest place in the CBS rating. 2002 in the career of the actor was marked by a role in the film "No discussion". In early 2003, Falk appears in the movie "Colombo likes the night life", and in April this year he received the award "For his personal contribution to the cinema." From 2003 to 2004, the actor voiced the character of Don Bizi in the film "Underwater Brotherhood". In the 2004 film, created on the theatrical play "Clearing the Place," the role of the head of the family, who declared himself dying to raise his family, was again played with talent and passion by Peter Falk. Films with his participation delighted the audience until 2009, when the actor starred in the role of Randolph's father in the film "American primrose".

Personal life and favorite pursuits

Actor all his life was fond of chess and drawing. Love for painting arose when, during breaks on the set, he made talented sketches. In America, several exhibitions of his works were held. Peter Falk (a photo of his paintings is on his site) painted with charcoal and watercolor. In addition, the artist was not alien to literature and wrote an autobiographical book, in the title of which he used the phrase that Colombo often said: "Something else: Stories from my life."

The actor was married twice. The first time - on classmate Alice Mayo, with whom they adopted two girls. One of them became a private detective, and the other became a psychologist. The second time Falk married actress Chere Deniz, who played along with him in the television series "Colombo". The couple lived in agreement for more than 25 years in a house in Beverly Hills.

Peter Falk died on June 23, 2011 at the age of 83 years and is buried at Westwood Cemetery in the west of Los Angeles.