A biography for Peter Falkhasn’t been written yet.
“If you were brought up in the '40s, a kid in Ossining, New York, hanging out at the poolroom and stealing, how can you think, 'Here I am in Ossining. I, too, can be a movie star!'”
“I did do my own stunts.”
“I once did a film in Russia because I wanted to see what the hell was going on there.”
“I don't like getting up in the morning, getting in a car, driving on a freeway, and stopping at a gate where two guards are standing there, then walk into a studio that looks like a bunch of airplane hangars.”
“My wife loves to get all dressed up and go out, and I'm this gloomy Virgo. It works because of the mutual recognition that we are two democratic narcissists. She does what she has to do, and I do what I have to do. We respect that.”
“Sometimes I was in school plays, but only when the kid they'd originally picked got sick and they asked me to substitute.”
“I've worked with some terrific actors. The list of guys that came on the 'Columbo' show, I mean they were world-class actors from all over the world - Oskar Werner, Laurence Harvey, Donald Pleasence, you know... foreigners.”
“Your instincts for what's dramatic are the same whether you're working on a drawing or on a script.”
“Most people think glamor is happiness.”
“Good actors are always looking for props. They're looking for behavior. It makes it a lot easier. You're not solely dependent of what's coming out of your mouth. You're also less self-conscious, less aware of the camera.”
“I used to take girls out on a date to Night Court. And I'll tell you, most girls, they got a kick out of going to Night Court. 'Cause you get a lot of laughs... and it's cheap.”
“I hate to talk about typecasting, because being typecast as Columbo ain't cancer.”
“The first time I ever spoke to John Cassavetes was at a Lakers game. I got up to go for a hot dog, and he was coming in the opposite direction. I don't know who said hello first, but we started talking, and it turned out that he went to high school with my first wife, Alice.”
“There isn't an Eskimo who doesn't love 'Columbo.'”