In Memoriam

[Moose]

I meet a friend every morning at 6:30 a.m. at the gym in my office complex to work out. This morning he was 15 minutes late, said there was a bad accident on Rt. 322, which is one traffic light away from our office park.

Turns out the bad accident involved Ryan Dunn, of "Jackass", resulting in his death.

Local ‘Jackass’ star Ryan Dunn dies in Pa. wreck
By Peter Mucha

Inquirer Staff Writer

Jackass star Ryan Dunn was killed in a crash in West Goshen Township early this morning, according to TMZ.
Dunn, 34, moved to West Chester as a teen, and was part of the crazy-stunt crew on MTV's Jackass series from 2000 to 2002, then in various Jackass films.

In the first one - Jackass: The Movie, what else? - Dunn performed an apparently memorable stunt involving a toy car, a condom, his rectum, and a trip to a doctor's office involving x-rays.

TMZ reports that another person died in the fiery crash on Route 322, and whether Dunn was driving was unknown. High speeds may have been involved.

"Just hours before his death, Dunn posted a photo on Twitter showing himself drinking with friends," TMZ also writes.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/124187719.html

[ptmcmahon]

One of the articles I read says they were going 180 km/hr.

[Moose]

One of the articles I read says they were going 180 km/hr.

There are some photos of the charred remains of the vehicle going around. Quite scary.

Bam owns a bar here called "The Note". I wonder if that's where they might have been drinking last night.

[ptmcmahon]

Some deaths make me feel sad...but a guy from Jackass getting drunk and going 180 km/hr and dieing in a car crash only makes me think a lot of other people are lucky he (or the person he was with - doesn't say who was driving) didn't kill them too.

[Martini4me]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Peter Falk, the stage and movie actor who became identified as the squinty, rumpled detective in "Columbo," which spanned 30 years in prime-time television and established one of the most iconic characters in movie police work, has died. He was 83.

Falk died Thursday in his Beverly Hills home, according to a statement released Friday by family friend Larry Larson.

In a court document filed in December 2008, Falk's daughter Catherine Falk said her father was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

"Columbo" began its history in 1971 as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie series, appearing every third week. The show became by far the most popular of the three mysteries, the others being "McCloud" and "McMillan and Wife."

Falk was reportedly paid $250,000 a movie and could have made much more if he had accepted an offer to convert "Columbo" into a weekly series. He declined, reasoning that carrying a weekly detective series would be too great a burden.

Columbo — he never had a first name — presented a contrast to other TV detectives. "He looks like a flood victim," Falk once said. "You feel sorry for him. He appears to be seeing nothing, but he's seeing everything. Underneath his dishevelment, a good mind is at work."

NBC cancelled the three series in 1977. In 1989 ABC offered "Columbo" in a two-hour format usually appearing once or twice a season. The movies continued into the 21st century. "Columbo" appeared in 26 foreign countries and was a particular favourite in France and Iran.

Columbo's trademark was an ancient raincoat Falk had once bought for himself. After 25 years on television, the coat became so tattered it had to be replaced.

Peter Michael Falk was born Sept. 16, 1927, in New York City and grew up in Ossining, N.Y., where his parents ran a clothing store. At 3 he had one eye removed because of cancer. "When something like that happens early," he said in a 1963 Associated Press interview, "you learn to live with it. It became the joke of the neighbourhood. If the umpire ruled me out on a bad call, I'd take the fake eye out and hand it to him."

When Falk was starting as an actor in New York, an agent told him, "Of course, you won't be able to work in movies or TV because of your eye." Falk would later win two Oscar nominations ("Murder, Inc.," 1960; "Pocketful of Miracles," 1961) and collect five Emmys.

After serving as a cook in the merchant marine and receiving a master's degree in public administration from Syracuse University, he worked as an efficiency expert for the budget bureau of the state of Connecticut. He also acted in amateur theatre and was encouraged to become a professional by actress-teacher Eva La Gallienne.

An appearance in "The Iceman Cometh" off-Broadway led to other classical parts, notably as Joseph Stalin in "The Passion of Joseph D." In 1971 Falk scored a hit in Neil Simon's "The Prisoner of Second Avenue."

Falk made his film debut in 1958 with "Wind Across the Everglades" and established himself as a talented character actor with his performance as the vicious killer Abe Reles in "Murder, Inc." Among his other movies: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," ''Robin and the Seven Hoods," ''The Great Race," ''Luv," ''Castle Keep," ''The Cheap Detective," ''The Brinks Job," ''The In-Laws," ''The Princess Bride."

Falk also appeared in a number of art house favourites, including the semi-improvisational films "Husbands" and "A Woman Under the Influence," directed by his friend John Cassavetes, and Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire," in which he played himself. Falk became prominent in television movies, beginning with his first Emmy for "The Price of Tomatoes" in 1961. His four other Emmys were for "Columbo."

He was married to pianist Alyce Mayo in 1960; they had two daughters, Jackie and Catherine, and divorced in 1976. The following year he married actress Shera Danese. They filed for divorce twice and reconciled each time.

When not working, Falk spent time in the garage of his Beverly Hills home. He had converted it into a studio where he created charcoal drawings. He took up art in New York when he was in the Simon play and one day happened into the Art Students League.

He recalled: "I opened a door and there she was, a nude model, shoulders back, a light from above, buck-ass naked. The female body is awesome. Believe me, I signed up right away."

Falk is survived by his wife Shera and his two daughters.


http://www.news1130.com/entertainmen...lumbo-has-died

[Moose]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Peter Falk, the stage and movie actor who became identified as the squinty, rumpled detective in "Columbo," which spanned 30 years in prime-time television and established one of the most iconic characters in movie police work, has died. He was 83.

http://www.news1130.com/entertainmen...lumbo-has-died

Talk about an actor being perfectly suited to a role - I can't imagine anyone else having played "Columbo". And what a fine job he did with the role.

May he RIP.

[Kirkus]

Awww. This is sad.

Was it the "Sunday Mystery Movie" that "Columbo" was part of? I remember watching those with my mom as I was growing up.

May he rest in peace.

[Moose]

Was it the "Sunday Mystery Movie" that "Columbo" was part of? I remember watching those with my mom as I was growing up.

Columbo. McCloud. McMillan and Wife. What was the other one(s)?

[Ti-Amie]

Peter Falk. May he RIP.

[jjnow]

OMG. How strange. I've been watching Columbo on Netflix for the past week. I watched Johnny Cash's episode just yesterday. I just started on an impulse. Such a classic show/character. RIP.

[Martini4me]

Columbo. McCloud. McMillan and Wife. What was the other one(s)?

According to wikipedia, those were the original three, and it was originally the Wednesday Mystery Movie (1971-72 season). Colombo was nomiated for eight Emmy awards, and won four.

The next season, they moved these shows to Sunday, and added Hec Ramsay (don't remember that one). In following seasons, that was replaced by Amy Prentiss, McCoy, Quincy, M.E. and Lanigan's Rabbi, for one season each. Three new series (Banacek, Coolm Milliona and Madigan) were introduced to take over the Wednesday time slot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Mystery_Movie

[Moose]

OMG. How strange. I've been watching Columbo on Netflix for the past week. I watched Johnny Cash's episode just yesterday. I just started on an impulse. Such a classic show/character. RIP.

Ida Lupino played JC's wife. That was a fun episode.

According to wikipedia, those were the original three, and it was originally the Wednesday Mystery Movie (1971-72 season). Colombo was nomiated for eight Emmy awards, and won four.

The next season, they moved these shows to Sunday, and added Hec Ramsay (don't remember that one). In following seasons, that was replaced by Amy Prentiss, McCoy, Quincy, M.E. and Lanigan's Rabbi, for one season each. Three new series (Banacek, Coolm Milliona and Madigan) were introduced to take over the Wednesday time slot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Mystery_Movie

Hec Ramsay was the one I was trying to remember, Martini. Knew it was a Western. For some reason, I thought David Jansen also had a show that was part of the Mystery movie series, but I must be wrong.

I did not realize that Quincy got its start on the Mystery Movie wheel. I know it went on to be a weekly series.

[omess]

Talk about an actor being perfectly suited to a role - I can't imagine anyone else having played "Columbo". And what a fine job he did with the role.

May he RIP.

Yup he was just perfect in that role. RIP

[winston]

One of my favorite actors. May he RIP.

[ponchi101]

Columbo. McCloud. McMillan and Wife. What was the other one(s)?

I would say Kojak and Banacek.