Peter Falk, ‘Columbo’ star, dead at 83

(CBS) A family spokesman confirmed to CBS News that actor Peter Falk died in Los Angeles Thursday night. He was 83.

The “Columbo” star won four Emmy Awards for his portrayal of the cigar-chomping detective who always looked as if he’d just rolled out of bed. Falk played Columbo on television regularly from 1971 to 1978 and then sporadically from 1989 until 2003. He won his first Emmy in 1962 for outstanding single performance by an actor in a leading role for an episode of “The Dick Powell Theatre” (1961).

Falk also had starring roles in his friend John Cassavetes’ films “Husbands” and “A Woman Under the Influence” and starred with Cassavetes in Elaine May’s 1976 film “Mikey and Nicky.” He was nominated twice for the best supporting actor Oscar, for “Murder, Inc.” and “Pocketful of Miracles.”

In recent years, Falk suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. In 2009, he was placed in a conservatorship. He is survived by his wife, Shera, of 34 years, and two daughters from a previous marriage.