Peter Falk best known for his portrayal of the rumpled, seemingly slow-witted television detective Columbo, a role that earned him four Emmy awards died Thursday June 23, 2011. He was 83.

Mr. Falk treated audiences to more 40 years of films, but it was on the small screen, as a simple cop trying to catch the bad guys that won over viewers. He was best known for his role as the iconic cop Lt. Columbo in his long-running TV series. He'd show up on a case -- raincoat rumpled, old car rumbling, hang about, and then just as it seemed as if the bad guy might get away with the crime, he'd show up again, polite as ever, scratch his head and say there was just one nagging detail he couldn't quite figure out.

Falk also found success on the big screen. He was nominated for Oscars for his roles in "Murder, Inc."(1960) and "Pocketful of Miracles" (1961). He began his career in theater and returned to the stage late in his career. In 1972, Falk won a Tony for Neil Simon's "The Prisoner of Second Avenue." In later years Mr. Falk starred in several notable films — among them “Murder by Death” (1976), “The In-Laws” (1979), “Tune In Tomorrow” (1990) and “Wings of Desire” (1987), in which he played himself, contemplating his acting career. And in 1998 he opened Off Broadway in the title role of Arthur Miller’s play “Mr. Peters’ Connections,” a portrait of an older man trying to make sense out his life as it comes to an end. One of Falk's late signature roles was as the old man reading to his grandson the boy that is the movie “The Princess Bride” (1987). Who better than Falk could sell a kid the idea of the greatest kiss the world has ever seen? Who wouldn't want a grandpa, a friend, even an enemy like the ones Falk played?