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Wait, why is there a Columbo statue in Budapest?
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The famous Columbo statue in Budapest causes a great deal of head-scratching to tourists, according to szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu. They cannot figure out the reason behind it ever being made or why exactly it stands where it stands.
Background of the statue
It was revealed in 2013, two years after his death, that there would be a statue commemorating Peter Falk, the actor who took on the role of Columbo for many years. The plan was to immortalise the actor in one of his most famous roles, as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective of the LAPD, in district V. in Budapest. There was a call for applicants to make the statue.
The plan was to portray Peter Falk, who died aged 83, in his signature tanned raincoat and together with his loyal sidekick, a basset hound. The statue of the world-famous detective role was to be set up at the end of Falk Miksa Street, since Peter Falk himself mentioned in his autobiography that he had Hungarian ancestry thanks to one of his grandparents.
Perhaps this is what sparked the rumour that many people claim to have known: that Peter Falk is the descendant (great-grandchild or great-great-grandchild) of the famous Hungarian writer and journalist, Miksa Falk.
The competition was a success and the statue was unveiled in 2014 at the junction of Falk Miksa Street and Saint Stephen Boulevard, sparkling wonder and confusion ever since.
Although the statue is a popular tourist destination and featured many times on various social media photos, certain foreign sites do like to make fun of it.
These sites like to point out the three curiosities of the statue.
- It features not Peter Falk the actor, a private person and regular human being, but one of his roles.
- It is not certain at all that he was, in fact, a descendant of Miksa Falk.
- The unveiling of the statue is connected neither to the birth date nor to the death of the actor, it is absolutely arbitrary.
Peter Falk’s acting career
Peter Falk was born in 1927 in New York, as a child of Jewish immigrant parents. His parents were both born in New York, while his paternal grandparents were from Russia, his maternal grandmother was from Czechoslovakia and his maternal grandfather was from Hungary.
Falk played sports as a child and was interested in acting, too. Although he was preparing to become a federal agent, he took acting classes and turned towards acting in the ‘50s, aged 28. His first roles were for the stage but he later managed to get into movies and TV shows.
He was nominated for two Oscars (Murder Inc., Pocketful of Miracles) and several Golden Globe and Emmy Awards, a lot of which he won.
Photo: facebook.com/lieutenant.columbo
Although he has played in a plethora of movies, most Hungarians got to know him from Columbo. It is therefore interesting that, after the first episode (Prescription: Murder) in 1968, the second only came out three years later due to Falk’s hesitation and doubt regarding the role. Nevertheless, this second episode (Ransom for a Dead Man), shown in Hungarian cinemas, really launched the Columbo series, conquering the whole world.
While running a limousine service I had the chance to meet Peter Falk and his mother. His mother spoke hungarian and was good friend of my mother (Maria Fenyes). Those were the days.
Peter Falk’s COLUMBO is a “forever” brilliant classic.
( PP in Palm Springs, CA
There is a statue of the movie character “Rocky” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Buuuut… Peter Falk made Columbo his own and Columbo WAS 100% Peter Falk.. Let me explain:
Peter Falk had a glass eye, since the age of 3, so that squinted look he knew would work perfectly as a confused look. He would also look down a lot, as being blind in one eye he would ‘miss his mark’, literally missing the taped X (of where to stand for certain camera shots) and that also worked as though it were Columbo ‘thinking’.
His famous raincoat was Peter’s, he bought it for $15 when caught in the rain in NY. His brown suit and indeed his tatty, worn-out shoes, they were all Peter Faulk’s, not any dressing/props department’s.!
The infamous ‘rag top’ convertible, a Peugeot 403, was Peter’s idea.. He wanted to extend the ragged yet elegant and trusty reliable nature of Columbo through to the car. The never actually broke down even once, though he would use it as an excuse on many occasions.
Finally, who wouldn’t want a bronze of the greatest detective, the coolest cop, in their city..? Budapest should be thankful to have such a legend stood there.