American actor, best known for his role as the detective in the television series Columbo. Peter Michael Falk was born in New York into a Jewish family. His father, Michael Peter Falk, was the owner of a haberdashery, and his mother, Madeline Falk, worked as an accountant. The Falks had Polish, Hungarian, Czech and Russian roots. When Peter was three years old, his right eye had to be removed: a malignant tumor, a retinoblastoma, was found in it. Throughout his life Falk wore a glass eye, but this did not prevent him from living a full life. In his youth he was active in sports: he played baseball and basketball. Peter Falk first appeared on stage at the age of 12 in the operetta The Pirates of Penzance at the private Jewish summer camp Camp High Point. In 1945 Falk graduated from Ossining High School in New York County, where he was class president. He then enrolled at Hamilton College, and afterwards tried to join the United States Armed Forces, but was rejected because of his glass eye. He then enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served for a year and a half as a cook. After his discharge, Falk transferred from college to The New School university, from which he graduated in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in literature and political science. For six months Peter Falk worked on the railway in Yugoslavia, and then studied economics at Syracuse University.

In parallel, he worked as an administrator, took acting courses in Westport and New York, and took part in amateur productions. In 1965 Peter Falk made his stage debut, and in 1957 his television debut. In 1961 he received the Golden Globe Award in the category Most Promising Newcomer among Men, and over the following two years he was twice nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor, for the films Murder, Inc. and Pocketful of Miracles. From 1968 to 2003 Peter Falk played the lead role in the detective series Columbo. This work brought him worldwide fame; for it he was nominated ten times for the Emmy Award (winning four times) and eight times for the Golden Globe (receiving one award). The actor appeared in films until 2009 and over the years of his career played more than a hundred roles. In 2006 Peter Falk's autobiography was published, which he titled with Lieutenant Columbo's famous phrase: Just One More Thing: Stories from My Life. The actor was married twice; with his first wife, Alice Mayo, they adopted two children, Catherine and Jackie. Falk was fond of chess and drawing; in 2006 an exhibition of his works was held at the Butler Institute of American Art. In the last years of his life the actor suffered from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Peter Falk died on the evening of 23 June 2011 in his 84th year.