[pedonbio]

when you drink too much, you fall down hard.

Oooopps!

[pedonbio]

Today it was announced that Peter Falk, who spent 30 years being the detective known as Columbo, died at 83. It appears that he suffered from Altzheimer's Disease.

Whenever anyone observes that acting is a profession for beautiful people, I think of Falk, who had a glass eye (Real one lost to cancer at age 3) and made use of it to establish his own niche.

[DruulEmpire]

If anyone can follow up Abraham's act on the eve of Sodom and Gomorrah getting snuffed, that whole "Excuse me, God, just one more question" ploy, it's Peter Falk, who did that regularly as Columbo.

For that matter, in an intriguing (but seriously overlong) movie "Wings of Desire," one conceit of it was that Falk -- not Falk as a character, but Peter Falk himself -- was an angel who had chosen mortality.  I would have gone with the singer Sade myself, but Falk admittedly made a charming and humorous candidate.

Luckily for post-Columbo generations, he will live on as the storytelling grandfather in "The Princess Bride."  As you wish, Mr. Falk. 

[Zorro]

The first movie I saw Peter Falk in was "Murder Inc." where his portrayal of Abe "Kid Twist" Reles was fantastic.

Here is a picture with the real Abe Reles and Peter Falk as Reles.

[onion_writer]

Luckily for post-Columbo generations, he will live on as the storytelling grandfather in "The Princess Bride."  As you wish, Mr. Falk. 

Kudos for coming up with that perfect sentiment. As you wish, Mr. Falk, indeed!

[TheZookie007]

I have great memories of watching Columbo with my folks...when he would go, "Oh, just one more thing..." my dad would be like "a-HA! Go get 'im, Columbo!"

[3deroticer]

I have great memories of watching Columbo with my folks...when he would go, "Oh, just one more thing..." my dad would be like "a-HA! Go get 'im, Columbo!"

I hope this will prompt a 24 hour Peter Falk marathon on cable.

[solvegas]

Peter Falk was one of my favorite actors. He could do anything. How many remember his role in the Tony Curtis movie " The Great Race " ? Of course, his Columbo character is iconic and that old Volvo the character drove was priceless.NBC mystery night back in the 70's was great. Will be sorely missed. 

[rtpoe]

There are tons of clips of him in action as Lt. (no first name) Columbo out there in the Internet.

And it was a Peugeot, not a Volvo.

He bagged an Oscar nomination for his work in "Murder, Inc."

Steven Spielberg directed the 1971 episode, "Murder by the Book"

"Warren Beatty commented that someone had suggested to him that he remake 1979′s The In-Laws (starring Falk and Alan Arkin), and Beatty told me that notion was “ridiculous” in part because Falk’s performance was “perfect,” never to be improved upon.

It was said that film director Frederico Fellini would leave dinner parties to go watch the latest episode of Columbo. Great artists respect other great artists." - Ken Tucker, http://watching-tv.ew.com/2011/06/24/peter-falk-columbo/

[TheZookie007]

There are tons of clips of him in action as Lt. (no first name) Columbo out there in the Internet.

His first name was Frank, actually, but I can only think of one episode where it was mentioned. Sort of like how it took forever before we learned that Inspector Morse's first name was "Endeavour"

[rtpoe]

First Ladies aren't supposed to say those kind of things. They are supposed to sit quietly in the background (e.g. Bess Truman) or involve themselves in innocuous activities (like Lady Bird Johnson's flower planting projects).

Not Betty Ford.

According to Mrs. Ford, her young adult children probably had smoked marijuana — and if she were their age, she'd try it, too. She told "60 Minutes" she wouldn't be surprised to learn that her youngest, 18-year-old Susan, was in a sexual relationship (an embarrassed Susan issued a denial).

She mused that living together before marriage might be wise, thought women should be drafted into the military if men were, and spoke up unapologetically for abortion rights, taking a position contrary to the president's.

In an era when cancer was discussed in hushed tones and mastectomy was still a taboo subject, the first lady shared the specifics of her breast cancer surgery. The publicity helped bring the disease into the open and inspired countless women to seek breast examinations.

She used the unvarnished story of her own descent and recovery to crusade for better addiction treatment, especially for women. She co-founded the nonprofit Betty Ford Center near the Fords' home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in 1982. Mrs. Ford raised millions of dollars for the center, kept close watch over its operations, and regularly welcomed groups of new patients with a speech that started, "Hello, my name's Betty Ford, and I'm an alcoholic and drug addict."

[rtpoe]

...and she danced barefoot on a table in the White House.

[rtpoe]

I hope I don't have to explain this man's contributions to Late 20th Century American Culture....

But just in case there are some young snot-nosed whippersnappers out there who haven't a clue...

(clears throat and starts singing)

Just sit right back, and you'll here a tale...
Of a lovely lady.
Who was bringing up three very lovely girls.
The mate was a mighty sailin' man;
The skipper brave and sure.
All of them had hair of gold,
Like their mother,
Five passengers set sail that day,
There were four men, living all together.
Yet they were all alone
On this uncharted deserted isle.
And they knew that it was much more than a hunch.
That this group must somehow form a family,
Here on Gilligan's Isle!

Here's the Creator and Producer getting kissed by Florence "Carol Brady" Henderson and Dawn "Mary Ann Summers" Wells when he was honored with a star on Hollywood's 'Walk of Fame'...

[onion_writer]

Thanks, RTPOE, and I'm sad that more of a fuss isn't being made over the death of this brilliant sit-com creator.

[DruulEmpire]

I was just thinking about him!  In my Harem House thread in the Addventure, I named a Hollywood producer "Sherwood Horowitz" more or less in his honor.