GOODBYE, PETER FALK...

Never underestimate this man: Peter Falk is Lt. Columbo. Image: UNIVERSAL PLAYBACK.

With the first half of this year having been bad enough already with so many fine men and women from the entertainment industry no longer with us, things got even worse yesterday with the very sad news that Peter Falk-the one and only iconic TV Detective, Columbo-has died peacefully at home in Beverly Hills at the age of 83, after a battle with Alzheimer's and dementia.

Though his on screen persona showed unkempt hair, a crumpled wardrobe of dirty raincoat and baggy brown suit, alongside his first appearances often being seen within a quirky and always breaking down Peugeot car, all adding to Lt. Columbo's general bumbling, sometimes clown-like persona, what we saw visually proved to be the cleverest of smokescreens, the ultimate camouflage tool hiding his true abilities as a superior homicide detective, possessing a keen, razor sharp mind and a fearless determination to unravel the truth of things, as every feature length TV movie case from 1971 to 2003 saw the worst and most heinous villains meet their absolute match (my favourites were always the ones where he sparred with ex-PRISONER/DANGER MAN Patrick McGoohan, where they shared a superb on-screen chemistry together, though there were many other equally fine stars playing baddies of the week, too, including William Shatner, Roddy McDowall, Robert Conrad, Leonard Nimoy, Martin Landau and Robert Culp), their alibis and escape plans, already unveiled to us (the audience) at the start of each thriller, soon totally destroyed by Columbo's most well known and unexpectedly disarming, almost after-thought, four words: "Just one more thing..."

DVD trailer: YouTube - Columbo on DVD Trailer
PBS news item and classic clip: YouTube - 'Just One More Thing': Remembering Peter Falk, TV's 'Columbo'

The ultimate TV detective, both before or since (created by William Link and Richard Levinson -veterans of the murder/thriller genre), whose character and Falk's performance (part of a long award winning/nominated career of memorable roles in Hollywood film and television) had that rare ability to capture, enthuse and delight a world audience that has stayed loyal to the symbiotic pairing ever since, will be greatly missed, though their presence and work in life and visual fiction will live on forever...

Some of the best COLUMBO's are available on DVD from UNIVERSAL PLAYBACK. And check out this great fan site for more on the inimitable character: The Ultimate Lieutenant Columbo Site