Peter Falk Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Peter Falk received the 2,503rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame posthumously today, honoring a career best remembered for his portrayal of the disheveled Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective, Lt. Columbo.

Falk's longtime friend, Joe Mantegna, accepted the star on his behalf and noted that Falk never enjoyed personal accolades and probably wouldn't have enjoyed the ceremony.

"The only way we could have gotten him here would have been to tell him it was to do extensive rehearsals for it," Mantegna said, adding that the star will really be more for the late actor's fans.

"They can walk down this boulevard and glance down and be able to say, 'Hey, I know that actor. He's the one that made me laugh, made me cry. Made me think.' The star is not for you, Peter. It's for them, your fans."

Falk's star is one away from the one honoring Mantegna, who appeared on stage with Falk in "Glengarry Glen Ross" and directed him in the 2000 movie adaptation of another David Mamet play, "Lakeboat." The star is also near that of Errol Flynn.

"I hope you'll forgive my selfishness, Peter, but when I was asked where we'd like your (star) to be placed, I felt this was the one chance I'd have to be between two of my idols," Mantegna said, choking back tears.

Paul Reiser, who co-starred with Falk in the 2005 film "The Thing About My Folks," and Ed Begley, Jr., who appeared with Falk in the 1994 episode of "Columbo" titled "Undercover," were among the other dignitaries who attended the ceremony at 6654 Hollywood Blvd.

Falk was selected to receive a star in 1991 but never scheduled a ceremony, according to Ana Martinez, the Hollywood Walk of Fame's producer. He died on June 23, 2011, at the age of 83.

Falk was born in New York City on Sept. 16, 1927, and raised in Ossining, N.Y. He made his first stage appearance when he was 12 in a production of "The Pirates of Penzance" at Camp High Point in upstate New York.

After graduating from Ossining High School, Falk served as a cook in the merchant marine, then studied at Hamilton College, completing his work for a bachelor's degree in political science at the New School for Social Research in 1951. He received a master's degree in public administration from Syracuse University in 1953.

Falk unsuccessfully applied for a job with the CIA, then became a management analyst with the Connecticut State Budget Bureau in Hartford, where he acted with the Mark Twain Maskers and studied at the White Barn Theatre in Westport.

Falk made his professional debut in an off-Broadway production of Moliere's "Don Juan" at the Fourth Street Theatre on Jan. 3, 1956. The following season, he was in the Circle in the Square's revival of "The Iceman Cometh" with Jason Robards.

Falk received a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his role as thug Abe "Kid Twist" Reles in the 1960 gangster film "Murder, Inc." He received a second best supporting actor nomination for his comic turn as a mobster in the 1961 film "Pocketful of Miracles."

Falk first played Columbo in the 1968 made-for-television movie "Prescription: Murder" after Bing Crosby turned down the role. He reprised the role three years later in a second made-for-television movie "Ransom For A Dead Man."

"Columbo" became part of the rotating elements of the "NBC Mystery Movie" in 1971, remaining part of it through 1977. "Columbo"continued through 2003 as a series of made-for-television movies, first airing on NBC, then ABC.

Falk received 10 Emmy nominations for the role, winning four times. He also received an Emmy in 1962 for an appearance on the NBC dramatic anthology "The Dick Powell Show."

Falk's other film credits included "The In-Laws," which he called his personal favorite; "The Princess Bride"; "A Woman Under the Influence"; "Husbands"; "Mikey and Nicky"; "Wings of Desire" and "Murder by Death."    

-City News Service