RIP Peter Falk

Well Peter Falk died today.....there are not many of the old style detectives of legend left. Falk as Columbo with his rumpled trench coat , his notebook and old odd car. All disguise his razor sharp observation skills that would eventually topple the arrogant murderer. That is what I think made this character so popular. He brought down the arrogant and always politely. "There is just this one thing that is bothering me" as he would say in that all most apologetic way of his character. He of course did other things in his career , movies such as The Great Race or Murder by Death. But like a Sean Connery as Bond or Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther movies you usually make your first mental stop at a favored character. Falk will be Detective Colombo and he enriched this character as few could. Like Leo McKern as Rumpole it is hard to see anyone else as that character. RIP , Det. Colombo and RIP Peter Falk.

Peter Sellers : Still In My Brain After All These Years

Next month will be the 31st anniversary of the death of Peter Sellers. British comedian , actor and from what I have read and heard about him , a pain in the ass. Still made me laugh though. I remember this date because he died on my honeymoon. The news was on in my hotel lobby as I walked by when this story was on the news. The only TV I payed attention to that week. Peter Sellers , Monty Python , Spike Mulligan etc. We sometimes have been trained to believe that major events shape us , form our minds , direct us towards our destiny. Sometimes. At other times it really is people that make us laugh that shape our slant on the world. How we react , sometimes is best done by comedy. I remember a number of yrs ago my director was sitting at the conference table on a rant. After five goddamn minutes of his verbal bombast a Peter moment entered my brain. I wrote a note to the person next to : reminds me of Dr. Strangelove ! He understood. So I write this in way of caution......beware of what comedy you follow.....it may be the next biochemical trigger you create in that brain of yours.