"Ham on Wry" Award

Ham on Wry's weekly award goes posthumously to Peter Falk, who died Thursday evening in his home.  For those of you who don't recognize the character in the picture, it is Falk as his most famous character, Columbo.  The disheveled appearance affected by Lieutenant Columbo was designed to lull his suspects into thinking him an absent-minded buffoon.  When questioning them, he often appeared distracted, rambling on about his wife's wisdom or his dog's indiscretions.  Just when the murderer thought s/he had stumped Columbo, he would turn and say, "Just one more thing."  Those words signaled the viewer that Columbo would reveal exactly how the murder was committed.  Columbo ran from 1971-1978 on TV.  After that, it aired about twice a year as TV movies.  That rumpled trench coat Columbo wore actually belonged to Peter Falk, but was replaced after 25 years on television when no longer wearable.  Mr. Falk had been treated for Alzheimer's for a few years, which is believed to be the cause of death.

Peter Falk was an unlikely star, having lost an eye to cancer at the age of 3.   He told the Associated Press in a 1963 interview, "When something like that happens early, you learn to live with it. It became the joke of the neighborhood. If the umpire ruled me out on a bad call, I'd take the fake eye out and hand it to him." At the time he started his acting career in New York, an agent told him he'd never make it in TV or the movies because of his glass eye.  Bad call!  That agent probably rued the day he turned Falk away.

Bet you didn't know that Peter Falk had a master's degree in public administration and worked as an efficiency expert for the state of Connecticut before entering show biz, or that he enjoyed doing charcoal drawings as an avocation.  His acting talent transcended TV, and he appeared on Broadway and in several movies, garnering two Oscar nominations.  He won four Emmys for his portrayal of Columbo.  Audiences loved him because he was an everyman who always solved the case in a bumbling, unassuming manner.

For those who never saw Columbo, I urge you to rent some of the episodes to watch his clever depiction of the main character.  His raspy voice and sloppy appearance made his canny abilities to solve murders ironic.  "Just one more thing."  Good-bye, Peter Falk.  You entertained millions and made them laugh.  Priceless!