“I can’t see ya, but I know you’re here. I can feel it.”
Sad news out of Beverly Hills this morning that Peter Falk, much-beloved TV and film actor, passed away last night. He was 83.
Falk will be most remembered, and rightly so, for playing Columbo, the most quirky, bumbling, endearing detective in TV history. But Falk’s rumpled, idiosyncratic manner remained pretty much the same no matter what the role. He was charming to the end, as Sam Spade-parody Sam Diamond in “Murder by Death,” as the ever-patient grandfather in “The Princess Bride,” even in his more fringe work in John Cassavetes’ “Husbands” and “A Woman Under the Influence.”
My favorite role of his, though, will probably always be as himself (or at least, a version of himself) in Wim Wenders’ beautiful “Wings of Desire.” With his goofy charm and kind demeanor, there was never a more believable angel in film history. Rest in peace, Peter; you’ll always be with us, in our hearts.
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