Peter Falk

The show, which turned the formulaic detective story inside out by taking the killer's viewpoint, earned Falk five Emmy awards and one Golden Globe. Outside of Columbo, Falk has starred on Broadway, several films, including the 1963 hit, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and has been up for an Academy Award twice, for roles in Murder, Inc. and Pocketful of Miracles. Here, he talks about his new memoir, Just One More Thing, and also about his unique insight into the inner workings of Columbo's mind.


DM: Well, what got you started or interested in writing it all down, your whole life story there? Let's tell the basic story.

PF: Let me start off by saying that I say in the foreword that when I was a kid, an autobiography was the life of Abe Lincoln.

DM: (laughs)

PF: This, what you're reading now, is not an autobiography. You might not know it, but I was never president of the United States.

DM: (laughs) Okay.

PF: What I'm saying is that today every fifth person is an icon. I go into a delicatessen in Beverly Hills, and sitting in the next booth are four icons eating pastrami sandwiches. So this is not an autobiography.

DM: What do you consider it?

PF: And that's the next question: so what is this?

DM: Exactly!

PF: And I don't know. I know one thing though