Quotes

[upon losing to Peter Ustinov for the 1961 Oscars] When I hit the seat, I turned to the press agent and said "You're fired!" I didn't want him charging me for another day.

[on Columbo's appeal] What are you hanging around for? Just one thing. You want to know how he gets caught.

Being chased by Columbo is like being nibbled to death by a duck.

[on Patrick McGoohan] The most underrated, under-appreciated talent on the face of the globe. I have never played a scene with another actor who commanded my attention the way Pat did.

I signed up to go to Israel to fight in the war with Egypt. I wasn't passionate about Israel. I wasn't passionate about Egypt. I just wanted more excitement. Joining the Israeli Army was illegal for American citizens, but I found out you could sign up at the Hotel Roosevelt in Manhattan. I did get assigned a ship and a departure date. However, the war was over in the blink of an eye - eight days to be exact. The ship never sailed.

You can't use an umbrella as a prop when the sun is out, but you can use a cigar under almost any circumstances.

I never considered my voice part of my acting arsenal.

I'm a Virgo Jew, and that means I have an obsessive thoroughness. It's not enough to get most of the details, it's necessary to get them all. I've been accused of perfectionism. When Lew Wasserman said that I am a perfectionist, I don't know whether it was out of affection or because he felt I was a monumental pain in the ass.

I've been chain-smoking cigarettes for 55 years. My mother is 91 years old and still lights up. I'm trusting to luck that I'm blessed with her constitution.

Colombo has a genuine mistiness about him. It seems to hang in the air. He's capable of being distracted. I remember one case where it was 20 minutes into the teleplay before he realized he hadn't taken off his pajamas. Colombo is an ass-backward Sherlock Holmes. Holmes had a long neck, Colombo has no neck; Holmes smoked a meerschaum pipe, Colombo chews up six cigars a day at a quarter apiece.

Me Peter Falk, the character Lt. Columbo, and Universal Studios, and the NBC network all owe Patrick McGoohan a deep debt. He as much as anyone else that I can name is responsible for the success of 'Columbo'.

[1995, on what his career might be like if he never played Columbo]: I think arguably I probably would be a better actor if I hadn't spent so much time playing that one role. I think that kind of diversity and that kind of challenge - I might be a better actor. I don't know. I'm not sure. I think probably I would be. But so what?

[on first reading for the 'Columbo' character]: It was very good. It was somebody that I immediately wanted to play. The basic thrust of a guy appearing less than he actually is, that was always there. And the - that disarming quality of not ever appearing formidable was always there.