Posted on 06/15/2021 11:08:16 AM PDT by mylife
Over the past year of hibernation, many viewers have rediscovered the joy of watching Columbo. The landmark 1970s TV mystery series starred Peter Falk in his multiple-Emmy-winning role as a raincoat-wearing, cigar-smoking detective who always had just one more question. The show was also popular in the time of its original airing, where it rotated on the NBC Mystery Movie schedule and featured an array of dazzling murderous guest stars like Janet Leigh, Leonard Nimoy, and John Cassavetes.
Columbo’s reach even stretched to other countries: The people of Romania, for example, were huge fans. So much so that in 1974, when the Columbo episodes for that season ran out, the populace protested, and the Romanian government reached out to Falk himself to try to stem the uprising. This week, Twitter user John Frankensteiner dug up a 1989 Chicago Tribune article relaying the incident. Many on Reddit have called bullshit—but Falk told the story himself in his memoir Just One More Thing, and also during a 1995 David Letterman appearance.
The confusion, as Falk explains, came from the fact that the Romanian government had a quota on how much American television could be viewed in the country. With Columbo averaging less than 10 shows per season, the people of Romania were convinced that the government was keeping more episodes from them, stoking fears of a massive protest. So the U.S. State Department invited Falk to a meeting in a New York hotel room with a representative from Romania.
(Excerpt) Read more at avclub.com ...
I couldn’t say one way or another until Chuck Norris weighs in...
Communism Sucks So Hard That the Absence of a Mediocre 70s TV Show Can Throw a Country into Civil Unrest
Yes...beat me in a Fight Club fight!
When he was 3 years old, his preschool teacher noticed he cocked his head in an unusual way whenever he looked at something, so she recommended he see a doctor. Young Peter received a diagnosis of retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer that must be treated quickly because it develops rapidly. Within two days, his tumor was removed along with his right eye. He used a prosthetic eye for the rest of his life--always to his advantage.
In his autobiography, Falk recounted how, as a teenager, he used his glass eye to get laughs. Once while playing baseball in high school, Falk was called out at third base. "It was a bad call," Falk said. "I was clearly safe. I knew it and everybody in the stands knew it. They sat so close to the field, they could see and hear everything. In front of everyone, I whipped out my eye and handed it to the umpire: 'You'll do better with this one.' Talk about getting a laugh. I got a roar. Even the guys on the other team were rolling in the grass."
Later, Falk used his signature squint as part of nearly every eccentric character he played, including Columbo, the quirky detective who was always seen wearing a rumpled raincoat and smoking stumpy cigars.
Serpentine! LOL
Is that a screen shot from Seinfeld? And is that Jan Hooks on the left? If it is, I can’t readily find any references that say that she was!
I know a woman who grew up during China's cultural revolution. They would show East German and Polish propaganda films, showing peasants pelting evil capitalist politicians with eggs and rotten fruit.
She said - it made us jealous. We hadn't seen an egg or a tomato in 6 months, and here they are throwing them at people.
excellent
Arkin and Colombo at their best.......superbly underplaying each catastrophic scene as if “hey, it could happen.”
The duo’s uniquely original styles were put to good use......I loved the way Colombo called Arkin, “Shelly,” using a distinctive speech defect.
Awesome story!
There are 8 seasons on IMDB and the other 10 on Tubi.
Binged on about 10 so far.
I like the ones where Falk’s real life wife plays in an episode. I think there are a out 8 or 9.
Columbo trivia... what was his first name?
Love Colombo. Watched every one, more than once.
Yes, and no.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gymnast
The actess is Elina Löwensohn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elina_L%C3%B6wensohn
Good try, though.
The few western tv shows they had included the A-team and Little House on the prairie.
VERY popular
"Have you thought about joining the CIA? The benefits are terrific.
"The trick is not to get killed.
That's really the key to the benefits program."
Every woman wanted to have sex with him and every man wanted to be him.
Lot of people in sunny Los Angeles went around wearing beige raincoats because that was the thing to do.
My mother used to let me stay up late to watch Columbo. It was a phenomenon not likely to be repeated.
The one episode that was good was where his real life wife plays a sex therapist. Towards the end of Columbo questioning her at her office, she asks him: “Detective, hows your sex life at home?”, and you can see both of them trying very hard to stay in role and not start cracking up.
Loved that show when I was a kid. Hardly remember it now. I should look it up sometime.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.