'Columbo' dies at 83, an intellect claimed by Alzheimer's disease

Peter Falk, the stage and movie actor who became identified as the squinty, rumpled detective in Columbo, has died at the age of 83.

The star of the TV show, which spanned 30 years, died on Thursday night at his Beverly Hills home in California, according to a statement released by family friend Larry Larson.

Graduate Falk had a mind that might have matched his famous character, but had suffered from Alzheimer's disease since 2008.

Columbo began in 1971 as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie series in the United States, appearing every third week.

The series Columbo became by far the most popular of the three mysteries, accompanying McCloud, and McMillan and Wife.

Falk was reportedly paid $250,000 a movie and could have made much more if he had accepted an offer to convert Columbo into a weekly series.

He declined, reasoning that carrying a weekly detective series would be too great a burden.

Columbo - he never had a first name - presented a contrast to other TV detectives.

"He looks like a flood victim," Falk once said. "You feel sorry for him. He appears to be seeing nothing, but he's seeing everything.

"Underneath his dishevelment, a good mind is at work."

US network NBC cancelled the three series in 1977. In 1989, ABC offered Columbo in a two-hour format, usually appearing once or twice a season.

The movies continued into the 21st century, with Columbo being shown in 26 countries and was a particular favourite in France and Iran.

Columbo's trademark was an ancient raincoat Falk had once bought for himself. After 25 years on television, the coat became so tattered it had to be replaced.

Peter Michael Falk was born in 1927 in New York City and grew up in Ossining, New York state, where his parents ran a clothing store.

At three he had one eye removed because of cancer.

"When something like that happens early," he said in a 1963 interview, "you learn to live with it. It became the joke of the neighbourhood. If the umpire ruled me out on a bad call, I'd take the fake eye out and hand it to him."

When Falk was starting as an actor in New York, an agent told him, "Of course, you won't be able to work in movies or TV because of your eye."

Falk won two Oscar nominations, for Murder, Inc in 1960 and Pocketful of Miracles in 1961. He also collected five Emmys, four of them for Columbo.

After serving as a cook in the merchant marine and receiving a master's degree in public administration from Syracuse University, he worked as an efficiency expert for the budget bureau of the state of Connecticut. He also acted in amateur theatre and was encouraged to become a professional by actress-teacher Eva La Gallienne.

An appearance in The Iceman Cometh off-Broadway led to other classical parts, notably as Joseph Stalin in The Passion of Joseph D. In 1971 Falk scored a hit in Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue.

Falk made his film debut in 1958 with Wind Across the Everglades and established himself as a talented character actor with his performance as the vicious killer Abe Reles in Murder, Inc.

His other movies included It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Robin and the Seven Hoods, The Great Race, Luv, Castle Keep, The Cheap Detective, The Brinks Job, The In-Laws and The Princess Bride.

Falk also appeared in Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, in which he played himself.

He married pianist Alyce Mayo in 1960 with whom he had two daughters, Jackie and Catherine, and divorced in 1976. The following year he married actress Shera Danese. They filed for divorce twice and reconciled each time.