"of singing became an enduring part of country music. Bing Crosby achieved a million seller with his 1940 rendition of the song ""San Antonio Rose"", originally recorded by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. In 1942 Perry Como had a smash hit with ""Deep in the Heart of Texas""; Bing Crosby, who had an enormous influence on Perry Como, covered this song and took it to the #3 position in the US chart that same year. Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves and Ray Price are especially well known for their country crooner standards. Dean Martin is rather famous for the country"
"Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American actor, known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ""Columbo"" (1968–2003), for which he won four Primetime Emmy Awards (1972, 1975, 1976, 1990) and a Golden Globe Award (1973). He first starred as Columbo in two 90-minute TV pilots; the first with Gene Barry in 1968 and the second with Lee Grant in 1971. The show then aired as part of ""The NBC Mystery Movie"" series from 1971 to 1978, and again on ABC from 1989 to 2003. Falk was twice"
"learned more about acting from him at that early stage of my career than I had from anyone else."" Rob Reiner said: ""He was a completely unique actor"", and went on to say that Falk's work with Alan Arkin in ""The In-Laws"" was ""one of the most brilliant comedy pairings we've seen on screen"". Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American actor, known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ""Columbo"" (1968–2003), for which he won four Primetime Emmy Awards (1972, 1975, 1976, 1990) and a Golden Globe"
"as the official Italian dubbing voice of Peter Falk in ""Columbo"". He died at 63 in Monte Mario, in Rome, of a heart attack. Giampiero Albertini Giampiero Albertini (20 December 1927 – 14 May 1991) was an Italian actor, voice actor and TV personality. Born in Muggiò, Albertini started his career as stage actor at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, under the guidance of Giorgio Strehler. In 1962, he made his film debut with Dino Risi's ""La marcia su Roma"", and later worked with, among others, Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Carlo Lizzani, Francesco Rosi, Gillo Pontecorvo, Nanni Loy. Albertini also"
"star Peter Falk, wanting his advice on how to approach playing a sleuth character. While discussing the role, Falk told Dunaway about a ""Columbo"" script that he had written himself. ""It's All in the Game"" featured a seductive woman who plays a game of cat-and-mouse with Lt. Columbo in the midst of a murder. Falk had written the script some years prior, saying that he could not find the right actress to take on the role. He offered her the role, and Dunaway accepted immediately. The 1993 TV movie proved a success, nominated for several Golden Globe and Emmy Awards."
"the fact that Peter Falk saved my ass. I love show business, and I love Peter Falk."" Although Falk appeared in numerous other television roles in the 1960s and 1970s, he is best known as the star of the TV series ""Columbo"", ""everyone's favorite rumpled television detective"". His character was a shabby and ostensibly absent-minded police detective lieutenant driving a Peugeot 403, who had first appeared in the 1968 film ""Prescription: Murder"". Rather than a whodunit, the show typically revealed the murderer from the beginning, then showed how the Los Angeles police detective Columbo went about solving the crime. Falk"
"1959, he starred in thirty-nine episodes of the syndicated television series, ""Glencannon"", which had aired two years earlier in the United Kingdom. In the early 1960s, Mitchell originated the stage role ""Columbo"", later made famous on NBC and ABC television by Peter Falk (Bert Freed played the part on live television before Mitchell portrayed Columbo on stage); Columbo was Mitchell's last role. Mitchell died at age 70 from peritoneal mesothelioma in Beverly Hills, California. In 1953, Mitchell became the first man to win the ""triple crown"" of acting awards (Oscar, Emmy, Tony). He remains one of only a handful of"
"a first name in the original ""Columbo"" series but was named Kate in this series. After poor ratings and reception from both audiences and the original producers of ""Columbo"", both the series and the eponymous character herself were renamed in an attempt to change direction, but this did not help ratings and the series was ultimately canceled in March 1980 after 13 episodes had aired. Neither Peter Falk nor the character of Lieutenant Columbo ever appeared on or endorsed the show. Kate Columbo (later renamed Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce) is the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character"
"Columbo (character) Columbo or Lieutenant Columbo is the eponymous main character in the successful detective crime drama series ""Columbo"". The character is a shrewd but inelegant blue-collar homicide detective whose trademarks include his shambling manner, rumpled beige raincoat and off-putting, relentless investigative approach. Columbo is portrayed primarily by Peter Falk, who appeared in the role from 1968 through 2003. Columbo's first name has never officially been identified, although the name ""Frank Columbo"" has been visible on pieces of identification throughout the show's history. The character of Columbo was created by William Link, who said that Columbo was partially inspired by"
"offers to do so. Todd allowed Cantinflas to appear in the film as a Latin, ""so,"" the actor said himself, ""...to my audience in Latin America, I'll still be Cantinflas."" More than 40 famous performers make cameo appearances, including Marlene Dietrich, Ronald Colman, George Raft, and Frank Sinatra. The film was significant as the first of the so-called Hollywood ""make work"" films, employing dozens of film personalities. John Wayne turned down Todd's offer for the role of the Colonel leading the Cavalry charge, a role filled by Colonel Tim McCoy. Promotional material released at the time quoted a Screen Actors"
"an album in tribute to Columbo, titled ""Prisoner of Love (A Tribute to Russ Columbo)"", which he recorded with the group Clang. Columbo is one of the historical figures named in the Neil Diamond composition ""Done Too Soon"". Columbo is one of the three famous crooners named in the 1932 Looney Tunes cartoon ""Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee"". Russ Columbo Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908 – September 2, 1934), known as Russ Columbo, was an American baritone, songwriter, violinist and actor. He is famous for romantic ballads such as his signature tune ""You Call It Madness, But I"
"Columbo Columbo () is an American television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. The character and show, created by Richard Levinson and William Link, popularized the inverted detective story format, which begins by showing the commission of the crime and its perpetrator; the plot therefore usually has no ""whodunit"" element, and instead revolves around how a perpetrator known to the audience will finally be caught and exposed (sometimes referred to as a ""howcatchem""). Columbo is a shrewd but inelegant blue-collar homicide detective whose trademarks include his rumpled beige raincoat, unassuming demeanor,"
"declined the offer. Twenty years later, he would be cast as Lewis in the 1996 television adaptation. Initially, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were proposed for the leads, but Simon was opposed to the idea, as he felt the roles required Jewish comedians. Several actors, including Groucho Marx and Phil Silvers were considered and the roles eventually were given to real-life vaudevillian veterans Red Skelton and Jack Benny. Skelton declined after realizing his income was higher performing his stand-up comedy than what he was offered for the film; he was replaced by the younger Matthau. Benny was forced to withdraw"
"Jack's right foot ""just for the hell of it."" He retired from acting in 1986, and died of a heart attack in Sechelt, British Columbia, in 1994 while on a fishing trip with his son. Bert Freed Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 – August 2, 1994) was an American character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending Penn State University, and made his Broadway debut in 1942. Following World War II Army service in the European theatre, he appeared in the Broadway musical"
"it's got to be a big star. Get Burt Reynolds and you can shoot the telephone book."" Aldrich says his son suggested Peter Falk, best known for ""Columbo"". ""I gave him the Bette Davis speech - a great hook for any actor,"" said Aldrich, referring to a technique he used to get Davis to star in ""Whatever Happened to Baby Jane"". ""It goes like this: 'Peter if this isn't the best script ever written for you put it in an envelope and sent it right back. But if it is the best then lets make it. I don't want you"
"his cousin Fred who convinced him he'd prefer it to New York. Early in his career, he worked in the L.A.P.D.'s Hollenbeck Division (part of the Central Bureau, covering the communities of Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights and El Sereno). In Falk's first appearance as Columbo in the 1968 TV-movie, ""Prescription Murder"", the character had the rank of police lieutenant. In ""Uneasy Lies the Crown"" released in 1990, Columbo tells a colleague that he has been ""on the force"" (presumably meaning the LAPD) for 22 years, which would suggest that he began his career on the LAPD as a lieutenant in"
"up to me shouting, 'Columbo, Columbo!'"" Singer Johnny Cash recalled acting in one episode, and although he was not an experienced actor, he writes in his autobiography: ""Peter Falk was good to me. I wasn't at all confident about handling a dramatic role, and every day he helped me in all kinds of little ways."" The first episode of ""Columbo"" as a series was directed in 1971 by a 24-year-old Steven Spielberg in one of his earliest directing jobs. Falk recalled the episode to Spielberg biographer Joseph McBride: The character of Columbo had previously been played by Bert Freed in"
"but she was under contract with Warner Brothers and Jack L. Warner refused to lend her. Carole Lombard was unable to accept, because Columbia’s proposed filming schedule would conflict with her work on ""Bolero"" at Paramount. Loretta Young also turned it down. Harry Cohn suggested Colbert, and she initially turned the role down. Colbert's first film, ""For the Love of Mike"" (1927), had been directed by Capra, and it was such a disaster that she vowed to never make another with him. Later on, she agreed to appear in ""It Happened One Night"" only if her salary was doubled to"
"before it was accepted by Charlton Heston. Burt Lancaster stated he turned down the role because he found the script boring and belittling to Christianity. Paul Newman turned it down because he said he didn't have the legs to wear a tunic. Marlon Brando, Rock Hudson, Geoffrey Horne, and Leslie Nielsen were also offered the role, as were a number of muscular, handsome Italian actors (many of whom did not speak English). Kirk Douglas was interested in the role, but was turned down in favor of Heston, who was formally cast on January 22, 1958. His salary was $250,000 for"
"that dependable, reliable quality of the great Hollywood stars – you would trust him through thick and thin. And he was more humorous than, say, Gary Cooper, more down-to-earth than, say, Cary Grant. ""The Admirable Crichton"" was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1957. In 1957 More had announced that he would play the lead role of a captain caught up in the Indian Mutiny in ""Night Runners of Bengal"" but the film was never made. More turned down an offer from Roy Ward Baker to play a German POW in ""The One That Got"
"down the role because he found the script boring and belittling to Christianity. Paul Newman turned it down because he said he didn't have the legs to wear a tunic. Marlon Brando, Rock Hudson, Geoffrey Horne, and Leslie Nielsen were also offered the role, as were a number of muscular, handsome Italian actors (many of whom did not speak English). Kirk Douglas was interested in the role, but was turned down in favor of Heston, who was formally cast on January 22, 1958. His salary was $250,000 for 30 weeks, a prorated salary for any time over 30 weeks, and"
"Gielgud was not too happy with Burton's Hamlet and asked him while both were backstage: ""Shall I go ahead and wait until you're better?... ah, I mean ready?"" Burton picked up the hint and infused some of Gielgud's traits to his own in later performances as Hamlet. A greater success followed in the form of the Roman General Gaius Marcius Coriolanus in ""Coriolanus"". At first, Burton refused to play Coriolanus as he didn't like the character's initial disdain for the poor and the downtrodden. Michael Benthall, who was renowned for his association with Tyrone Guthrie in a 1944 production of"
"Bill Murray turned down the film's lead role, which was eventually given to Robin Williams; his brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, ended up in the cast instead. John Cleese was also slated to star, but immediately dropped out before Peter O'Toole signed on to replace him. ""Ed Roboto"" is a pseudonym for Harry Shearer, who was asked to do a rewrite with Tom Leopold. Only two words of what they wrote ended up in the film (the title). Shearer later commented that he was ""so appalled by the movie"" that he removed his name from the credits. Adolph Caesar died of a"
"Walter Cronkite and John Chancellor, but neither was open to the idea. Although not mentioned in Chayefsky's notes, George C. Scott, Glenn Ford and William Holden reportedly also turned down the opportunity to play Beale, with Holden instead playing Max Schumacher: for that role, Chayefsky had initially listed Walter Matthau and Gene Hackman. Ford was under consideration for this part as well, and was said to be one of two final contenders. Holden finally got the edge because of his recent box-office success with ""The Towering Inferno"". The movie's producers were wary that Finch, born in England and raised partly"
"turned down the option, in order to work on his own gangster film ""Once Upon a Time in America"". Peter Bogdanovich was then approached but he also declined the offer because he was not interested in the mafia. In addition, Peter Yates, Richard Brooks, Arthur Penn, Costa-Gavras, and Otto Preminger were all offered the position and declined. Evans' chief assistant Peter Bart suggested Francis Ford Coppola, as a director of Italian ancestry who would work for a low sum and budget after the poor reception of his latest film ""The Rain People"". Coppola initially turned down the job because he"
"in ""Gone with the Wind"", ""Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"", is one of the most famous lines in movie history. Gable was an almost immediate favorite for the role of Rhett with both the public and producer David O. Selznick. Since Selznick had no male stars under long-term contract, though, he needed to go through the process of negotiating to borrow an actor from another studio. Gary Cooper was Selznick's first choice. When Cooper turned down the role of Butler, he was quoted as saying, """"Gone With the Wind"" is going to be the biggest flop in"
"Archie Mayo's biographical film ""The Adventures of Marco Polo"". Plagued by production problems and a weak screenplay, the film became Goldwyn's biggest failure to that date, losing $700,000. During this period, Cooper turned down several important roles, including the role of Rhett Butler in ""Gone with the Wind"". Cooper was producer David O. Selznick's first choice for the part. He made several overtures to the actor, but Cooper had doubts about the project, and did not feel suited to the role. Cooper later admitted, ""It was one of the best roles ever offered in Hollywood ... But I said no."
"Mark of the Wolfman"" (about a Polish werewolf named Count Waldemar Daninsky) and managed to interest some German producers into financing it. Naschy never intended to play ""el Hombre Lobo"" (as the doomed lycanthrope came to be called in Spain), he just wound up with the part when the producers could not find a suitable actor. (They had tried to hire Lon Chaney Jr., but at age 62, the fabled Hollywood horror star was far too sickly to travel). The German producers insisted he change his name from Jacinto Molina because it sounded too Spanish, which would have hurt the"
"original play and film had been set in medieval times, this version was set during the Napoleonic era in Spain – its climax involved the Battle of Waterloo, with Torin Thatcher making a cameo appearance as Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (Napoleon is never seen in the film). Following her success in ""Baby Doll"", Carroll Baker turned down parts in ""God's Little Acre"" and ""Too Much, Too Soon"". Warner Bros put her under suspension for refusing the latter; she agreed to play ""The Miracle"" for the studio, in part because the role was ""sympathetic"" and similar to a ""feminine"
"for the 1942 Warner Bros. film ""Casablanca"" which was written specifically for Hedy Lamarr in the female lead role. However, MGM refused to release Hedy Lamarr despite all efforts by Warners. Charles Boyer's invitation to ""Come with me to ze Casbah,"" did not appear in the film, but still became the comedians standard imitation of Boyer, much like ""Play it again, Sam"" for Humphrey Bogart and ""Judy, Judy, Judy"" for Cary Grant – all apocryphal lines. Boyer hated being reduced in that way, believing that it demeaned him as an actor. In some part, the lampoon of Boyer spread owing"
"doctor.” He next performed a similar function on ""The Cassandra Crossing"", starring Richard Harris, Sophia Loren, Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner, receiving shared screenplay credit. This followed by his screenplay for ""The Eagle Has Landed"", a World War II thriller with Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall. During this time actor Peter Falk asked Universal Studios to hire Mankiewicz to read the scripts for his hit television series, ""Columbo"", and make plot suggestions. He was paid a consulting fee on each episode for an entire season while performing no actual writing services. Mankiewicz later admitted being a script doctor"
"persona of witty sophistication was so far removed from his humble lower class origins that audiences would be unable to accept him as Gibbons, and he initially offered the role to Robert Donat instead. Donat refused the role because he objected to the final speech delivered by his character in the stage version. As he explained in a letter to Coward: ""Rightly or wrongly, I believe it is just that very political irresponsibility that got us into another war"". The role was given to Robert Newton, whose reputation for alcoholism led the producers to require Newton to sign a contract"
"on actor Bela Lugosi, and Walt did bring him in to do live action reference for the character. However, Bill already had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to do and did not like Bela's interpretation of the character. Instead he had Wilfred Jackson (who is credited for the music of ""Steamboat Willie"") act out the part for him, and that is what he used as live action reference. By 1940 Tytla was tiring of animating heavies. Not one to want to be typecast Tytla requested as his next assignment Dumbo (namesake star of the 1941 film), the"