An Ode to the Late
Lieutenant Columbo &
The Actor, the Late
Peter Falk
Last year, the famed and
venerable actor, Peter Falk died after an extended period of illness. He is best known for his television portrayal
of Lieutenant “Frank” Columbo although Falk’s career included an extensive body
of work including stage theatre, multiple movies and directing. A victim of his incredible success in this
role, Falk and Lt. Lieutenant Columbo became virtually inseparable. Despite the complexity and diversity of other
roles, Falk was type-casted as the curmudgeon detective with a tattered trench
coat, worn suit, cracked shoes and green, cheap cigar. In a recent children’s movie, he played a
grandfather who read stories at bedtime.
Glancing at the screen, I remarked silently “Lt. Columbo is reading
bedtime stories.” My comment did not
denigrate the versatile talents of an accomplished master of the craft of
acting. Instead, my silent utterance is
a fan’s statement of praise for Falk’s inimitable depiction of a brilliant,
confident, wise, discerning, pragmatic, principled and humble but beguiling
fictional detective who appeared real.
I am proud and loyal
member of the Lt. Columbo fan club. As a
child who came of age in the seventies, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the NBC
Mystery Movie which aired each Sunday night following a sporting event, Mutual of
Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and a family show.
In addition to Dennis Weaver’s depiction of McCloud, a cowboy detective
who moves to New York City, Rock Hudson and Susan St. James’ portrayal of
McMillan and Wife and Heck Ramsey’s steadfast pursuit of Western frontier
justice, Columbo aired once a month. My
childhood admiration of Lt. Columbo led me to keep my rain jacket on while I
watched the show. As I matured, I
realize I particularly respected his unconditional self-acceptance and
willingness to be true to himself regardless of his extensive number of
eccentricities and the opinions of other people. My purchase of the entire collection of
Columbo movies demonstrates my lifelong devotion.
As I reflect on the life
of Peter Falk and the completion of the corpus of Lt. Columbo movies, I
consider the many spiritual lessons embedded in the character and work of this
fictional detective. He personified Jesus’
admonishment to be as wise as serpent but as gentle as a dove. Many guilty criminals grossly underestimate
his brilliance and perception. They
judge him solely on the basis of his torn and tattered clothing. They presume their intellectual
superiority. Accordingly, they expect
to deceive him into believing someone else committed the crime. They are certain they will succeed in
escaping justice because they presume Lt. Columbo cannot possibly prove their
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Epitomizing
the wisdom of experience, he leaves them in their folly. He ironically twists their arrogance to his
advantage and fascinatingly manipulates them into leading him to the clues and
evidence to prove his suspicions and their guilt. When the criminal discovers Lt. Columbo has
outwitted him or her, it is too late.
The only realistic choice is a plea of guilty as a precursor to
negotiating a more lenient sentence. Still,
after watching many of these movies several times each, I revere Lt. Columbo’s
self-restraint and internal fortitude.
He knows his abilities, talents, intelligence and strengths. It does not matter whether other people
appreciate them. He relies genuinely
upon his inner fortitude.
