Obituaries

Actor Peter Falk, 83, best known for starring in the television series Columbo, died yesterday. He had suffered from dementia and had been the subject of recent tabloid reports of odd behavior.

Sad way to go, unfortunately.

Falk lost his right eye thanks to a malignant tumor at age three. He had a glass one put in ala Sammy Davis, Jr.

In the wake of his two Oscar-nominated film performances and Emmy Award in the early '60s, Falk was offered — and turned down — a number of potential TV series.

But he accepted "The Trials of O'Brien," a legal drama in which he played a talented New York attorney with a less-successful personal life. Although a critical success, the show fared poorly in the ratings and was canceled in 1966 after one season.

For Falk, who had played his share of heavies over the years, "Columbo" was a welcome change of pace.

"I'd done too many shows where I'd walk into a hospital room where a man was in bed and I'd go over and turn off the oxygen," he told TV Guide in 1972. "I've shot, knifed and beat people in too many bloody scenes. There's no fun in doing that. I like to do something optimistic, where the people try to live, not die."

During his long run as Columbo, Falk received a lot of fan mail from police officers.