And he had a question! Most people know immediately about whom we’re talking: Detective Columbo. And Peter Falk is the man who personified Columbo like no one else could. The crime series, which ran through the 1970s and 80s, was one of the most popular TV shows worldwide. So popular that Peter Falk was often addressed in public as Columbo.
But many people might not be aware that Peter Falk was a Jew. Born in New York on September 16, 1927, Falk’s parents had immigrated from Poland and Russia. The family had a clothing store in New York, and did not live a particularly religious lifestyle. Falk himself is said to have largely abandoned religion following his bar mitzva at the age of 13.
When Falk was just three-years-old, a tumor was discovered in his right eye, which had to be removed and replaced with a glass eye. That glass eye later became one of his hallmarks as Columbo. Initially, the young Falk didn’t know what he wanted to do after school. He applied to the Navy, but was rejected because...
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