THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 6, 1995 TAG: 9503040028
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 128 lines
WHEN PETER FALK was 27 years old, he told his father he wanted to be an actor.
``The old man looked at me and frowned,'' Falk remembered. ``I backed up a little bit. He said, `You mean you want to paint your face and make an ass of yourself for the rest of the world?' There was a big pause, but then I said `Yeah, I guess that's about it' and, you know, I've been doing that ever since.''
To most of the civilized world, Peter Falk IS Columbo, the rumpled, common sense TV detective who, since 1971, has been outsmarting the smart folks and nabbing the killers.
``Some folks say I turned a raincoat into a career,'' he laughed as he lit a cigarette. ``No, I don't NEVER get tired of Columbo - as long as the script is good. I still think I can bring something new to him.''
The short and squinty Falk doesn't have your average pretty face. If you passed him on the street, he'd be the last one you'd expect to become a star. (The squint, incidentally, is the result of losing an eye during childhood.)
Columbo has made Falk a millionaire. As both producer and sometimes-writer of the detective series, he's become a rich man and, for years at a time, has simply played golf.
When the right part comes along, though, he can't resist it. In May, he'll be seen on TV in a new Columbo TV movie. ``I do from one to three a year,'' he explained, ``depending on if we can get the right scripts.''
Also in May, he'll be seen on television in a new version of ``The Sunshine Boys,'' co-starring Woody Allen.
In the meantime, he has what he calls ``the role of a lifetime'' as Rocky Holeczek in the current movie ``Roommates.'' The character is a Polish immigrant baker in Pittsburgh who ages from 75 to 107 - grunting and complaining all the way. At 75, Rocky adopts his grandson (D.B. Sweeney), who otherwise would have been put in an orphanage. They grow apart and then back together again. Grandpa is the kid's college roommate, and as the grandson becomes a husband, father and successful doctor, Rocky is ever-present, ever-bossy.
``Old folks have priorities,'' Falk said. ``This guy, Rocky, refused to become helpless and ineffective. He had his rights as an old person and he wasn't going to let anyone take them away. He was all impulse. His feelings had a direct line to the outside world. And why not? When you're old, what have ya got to lose? He was opinionated. He was outrageous. You wanted to strangle him, but, at times, he had the wisdom of Buddha.''
The role requires the slow, slow process of going through make-up every morning. Falk, at 67, had to age from 75 to 107; according to him, making up is hard to do.
``To put it frankly, it's a pain,'' he said. ``I'd get up at 4 in the morning and be ready for the make-up guy at 5 a.m. Then, for five hours at a time, I'd sit there. Two guys worked on me. One kind of created it and the other pasted stuff on. I couldn't read. I couldn't look at TV. And this went on five days a week for four months. Eventually, they got fast at it and we cut the time in half. No matter about the trouble. It was necessary for the part.''
``Roommates'' is based on Max Apple's memories of his grandfather, memories that have been turned into a book since the movie was made. In real life, Apple grew up in Texas and his grandfather was Jewish. Apple became a teacher, and has been a professor at Rice University since 1972. In the movie, the grandfather is a baker from Pittsburgh and the grandson becomes a successful surgeon.
``It's essentially the same story,'' Apple said. ``There were moments, on the set that were incredible in that I forgot that it was Peter Falk and thought it actually was my grandfather. The point of the movie, I think, is that the American dream does still exist. For immigrants, like my grandfather, it was very real. He believed in the work ethic. To him, to work is everything. People who don't work are cursed. For my kids, the American dream might not be as real. Once it's been achieved, the next generation doesn't have to dream as much.''
Falk, born in New York City, sees Rocky as a reflection of his own father.
``My father operated a dry goods store,'' he said. ``He was out before everyone else on the block, sweeping the sidewalk. He worked from 4 o'clock in the morning until 9:30 at night - and he did it for 70 years. Now, that's what I consider a real American hero - not all these famous folks.''
Falk didn't originally carry through with his youthful plan to be an actor. With the more practical influence of his father at work, he got a masters at Syracuse University and worked as a management expert for the state of Connecticut. Abruptly, he quit and took off for New York where the famed actress and teacher Eva LaGallienne took him on as a student. He landed a part off-Broadway in a production of ``The Iceman Cometh'' and then jobs in live TV in New York.
His switch to California, and movies, was surprisingly easy. He was nominated for consecutive Oscars in his first two movies - as a gangster in ``Murder, Inc.'' (1960) and a softer kind of gangster in Frank Capra's ``Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961).
``I thought, `Why didn't I come out here and make movies earlier? This is easy,' '' he said.
In 1971, he played Columbo for the first time, but he was not the first choice. The producers wanted Bing Crosby.
He won Broadway's Tony Award for ``Prisoner of Second Avenue'' and has won multiple Emmy Awards for both Columbo and as a truck driver on an episode of ``The Dick Powell Theater.''
He's regarded as something of a perfectionist. Peter Yates, who directed ``Roommates,'' said, ``I had thought of Robert Mitchum for the part, but Peter is well-suited for Rocky. He's part Polish, and looks Polish. The whole attitude is the same - single-minded, tough. Peter was very open to direction. He considers every possibility in approaching a scene.''
D.B. Sweeney, 33, said, ``It was hard for me to keep remembering that I was supposed to be angered at Rocky. At times, I tended to just watch Peter acting and almost forget to act myself. When we were off, Peter and I played golf a lot. He's the world's slowest golfer. He studies every angle.''
``D.B. told you that?'' Falk countered as he growled and lit another cigarette. ``Thank God for that kid. D.B. is a self-starter. I never could have done the role without him. He's not so good at picking horses, though. D.B. handicapped the ponies, and we bet. We went down in flames, together. I'm not sure I made any profit on this picture.''
Falk has no plans for retirement. ``I'm like Rocky in that I believe that you're nothing without work. Sure, I like golf for maybe a year at a time, but I'd like to still be playing Columbo at 90, if the scripts are good. I'd like to get as old as Rocky, so that I can be a pain in the ass to all my relatives.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Peter Falk...
Photo
Falk as Columbo...
BOB MARSHAK photo
The tables turn in ``Roommates'' when Falk must move in with his
grandson, D.B. Sweeney, right.
by CNB