Most notable for his role as television’s preeminent detective,  Lieutenant Columbo, Peter Falk has developed a long and distinguished career in television and film. For his efforts, Falk has received numerous Emmy Awards for a detective role that has taken its place alongside other legendary literary sleuths. Since the late 1970s Falk has continued to appear in feature films as well as reprise his Columbo character on television.

One of Falk’s earliest roles was in The Untouchables, a series that launched a number of stars, including Robert Redford. Falk became a popular dramatic actor appearing in several anthology programs, including Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater and The DuPont Show of the Week. he won his first of several Emmys in 1962, for his portrayal of Dimitri Fresco in The Dick Powell Show’s presentation of the teleplay The Price of Tomatoes.

In 1964, Falk landed the title role in the CBS series The Trials of O’Brien. A precursor to the Columbo character, O'Brien acted diligently in his professional duties yet slovenly in his personal life. The series lasted one season before cancellation. During the 1960s, Falk also appeared in a number of feature films, including Murder, Inc., which garnered him an Oscar nomination.

The Columbo character, brainchild of veteran television producers Richard Levinson and William Link, came to Falk quite by accident.. According to Mark Dawidziak, author of The Columbo Phile, Levinson and Link had experimented with the Columbo Persona when they were writing for NBC’s Chevy Mystery Theater. In that and subsequent versions, Columbo was always portrayed by an elderly gentleman. Thus, in 1968, when Levinson and Link approached Universal television with the idea for a TV movie based on their stage play Prescription: Murder, the writers hoped to enlist Lee J. Cobb or Bing Crosby as Columbo. Falk, a friend of Levinson and Link, had seen the script and was interested; when Cobb and Crosby refused the part, Falk won it.

NBC was interested in turning the film into a series, but neither Falk nor Levinson and Link wanted to do weekly episodic television at that time. Three years later, when NBC promised to package Columbo in rotation with other series in the NBC Mystery Movie, Falk and Levinson and Link agreed. The series enjoyed a successful run from 1971 to 1977; much of that success is due to Falk’s brilliant portrayal of Columbo. According to Dawidziak, “Everything clicked–the disheveled appearance, the voice, the squint caused by his false right eye. It was all used to magnificent advantage in Falk’s characterization.

In 1989, Falk reprised the Columbo role, this time for the ABC Mystery Movie; new Columbo episodes have been produced since. Between 1971 and 1990, Falk won four Emmy Awards for his role as Columbo. Since 1978 Falk has also appeared in both feature films and made-for-television movies focused on Columbo.