Peter Falk's Real Name: Peter Falk

Quick answer: The actor is known professionally as Peter Falk. Britannica gives the fuller form Peter Michael Falk and dates his birth to September 16, 1927, in New York, New York, and his death to June 23, 2011, in Beverly Hills, California. The Los Angeles Times independently says he was born in New York City on Sept. 16, 1927, and, in a June 24, 2011, obituary, that he died Thursday at his home in Beverly Hills, which matches that June 23 date (Britannica; Los Angeles Times).

Real name and early life

He is known professionally as Peter Falk. Because only Britannica uses the fuller form Peter Michael Falk, this page titles the public name. Both sources place the birth in New York City on September 16, 1927, and say he grew up in Ossining, New York. Britannica says he was rejected from the armed services during World War II because he had a prosthetic eye, later became a cook in the Merchant Marine, earned a political science degree from the New School in 1951 and a master's from Syracuse University in 1953, and worked for Connecticut's state budget bureau before moving to New York to act. The Times independently records the Syracuse master's and work for the Connecticut State Budget Bureau in Hartford.

Career highlights

Britannica says he began Off-Broadway work in 1956 and received Academy Award nominations for best supporting actor for Murder, Inc. (1960) and Pocketful of Miracles (1961). It dates Columbo's first appearance to the 1968 television movie Prescription: Murder, then 69 episodes and movies from 1968 to 2003, with four Emmys for the role, and lists an earlier Emmy for a 1962 Dick Powell Show performance. The Times independently calls him an enduring television icon as Lt. Columbo and says he won five Emmys in all, the first in 1962 for The Price of Tomatoes on The Dick Powell Show. Britannica also lists The Trials of O'Brien (1965-66), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), and The Princess Bride (1987).

Death

He died on June 23, 2011, in Beverly Hills, according to Britannica. The Los Angeles Times, published June 24, 2011, said he died Thursday at his home in Beverly Hills at age 83, and that he had reportedly suffered from dementia.

Name notes for searchers

Peter Falk is the professional name used by both sources; Britannica also records Peter Michael Falk. Searchers looking for Lieutenant Columbo are usually aiming at the same person.