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Actress, comedian, writer, and director Elaine May, 92, does not do interviews; she rarely makes public appearances. So when she agreed to a post-screening Q&a as part of Metrograph‘s American Cinema Editors Presents series, it became a sold-out event that attracted New York’s biggest cinephiles; for them, May is the most elusive member in the pantheon of greatest living filmmakers.

After a screening of “Mikey and Nicky,” the writer-director sat down for a 40-minute conversation with her frequent editorial and production consultant Phillip Schopper and Jeffrey Wolf, who was an assistant editor on the film. Topics included the film’s surprising origins, stars Peter Falk and John Cassavetes, and the bizarre story of the film’s extremely troubled post-production during which the film went “missing” and Paramount sued May.

May has always been upfront about her family’s connection to organized crime; Falk and Cassvetes’ characters were based on people she knew growing up.

Emma Stone might be in a whole bunch of your favorite movies — but what are her favorites?

In January 2024, Stone spoke to Letterboxd — the social media site centered around movies — about her "four favorites," a regular interview the outlet does with major Hollywood celebrities. After appearing visibly stressed by the prospect of only picking four movies, Stone responds that Charlie Chaplin's 1931 comedy "City Lights" is her all-time favorite movie. "I love 'Network,'" Stone continued, name-checking the 1976 dark comedy that won Best Picture at the 49th Academy Awards in 1977. "'Mikey and Nicky,' I just saw it for the first time a couple of weeks ago," Stone raved, citing Elaine May's movie (also from 1976) about a mobster and his best friend (played by John Cassavetes and Peter Falk). "I love almost every Cassavetes movie — that one wasn't Cassavetes, he's just in it. It's obviously Elaine May, who's a genius,...

After leading dark comedy “A Different Man” and Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice,” Sebastian Stan is slated for iconic filmmaker Elaine May’s fifth and final feature, “Crackpot.” However, production is still waiting on a shadow director for the 92-year-old May.

Stan said during “The Big Picture” podcast that he is on board the project, which was first announced in 2019. Dakota Johnson is set to co-lead alongside Stan, but Stan said he still doesn’t know the status of the film — and he’s casting his net in hopes of helping May find a shadow director to insure the movie. It’s a common set practice with older filmmakers.

“I have this thing, I don’t know if it’ll ever get going,” Stan said. “I have this thing that Elaine May was going to direct. It was going to be her last film and her first film since ‘Ishtar.

Donald Glover and Maya Erskine aren’t returning for season 2 of Prime Video’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith?! What? Is this some sort of contract negotiation standoff? Even after the series’ 16 Emmy nominations including Lead Actor and Lead Actress in a drama?

Hardly, according to co-Creator and EP Francesca Sloane and the show’s director and EP Hiro Murai.

“We’re just trying to make the best version of season 2 possible,” Sloane tells Crew Call, “That’s why we’re being so coy about it.” That is whether Glover and Erskine are really not returning.

Donald Glover, Maya Erskine

Well, then is the gist of future Mr. & Mrs. Smith seasons to be like an anthology series ala Fargo? Sloane was a producer on that Noah Hawley created series. “Maybe,” she tells us.

“We wanted the ending to leave on this nod to a’ 70s cinema cliffhanger,” Sloane says, “If we tell you too much,...

Before now there has never been a full-length biography of Elaine May, the icon known for being one-half of Nichols and May and the director of A New Leaf, The Heartbreak Kid, Mikey and Nicky, and the hilarious, unfairly maligned Ishtar. Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius is the book that fans of May have been wanting for, well, the entire career of the comedian, screenwriter, playwright, and filmmaker.

The world, it seems, was waiting for Carrie Courogen. The writer, whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Teen Vogue, Glamour, and Pitchfork, pored through archives, conducted interviews, and dug deep to highlight a person who has avoided the spotlight for decades. Miss May Does Not Exist obviously enhances one’s knowledge of May, but it also succeeds in something far greater: it deepens our cultural appreciation for a figure whose...

How many great films does it take to designate a director as a historically significant auteur? Jean Vigo only directed a few shorts and one feature, but they were enough to make him a hero to the pioneers of the French New Wave. Actor-turned-helmer Charles Laughton directed just one movie — “The Night of the Hunter” — but it was such a haunting and singular masterpiece that few would argue that Laughton was one of the medium’s masters. Elaine May stopped directing after four movies, but she’d probably be considered one of the greatest directors who ever lived if she had only made “Mikey and Nicky.”

Christina Hornisher is nowhere near as well known as Vigo, Laughton, or May, but she should be — and now, thanks to a pristine restoration of her sole feature, “Hollywood 90028,” perhaps she will. Released in 1974 after Hornisher earned critical accolades for her UCLA film school shorts,...

Victor J. Kemper, the veteran cinematographer who shot more than 50 features, including Dog Day Afternoon, Eyes of Laura Mars, The Jerk and Slap Shot, has died. He was 96.

Kemper died Monday of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, his son, Steven Kemper, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Kemper earned his inaugural D.P. credit on Husbands (1970), written and directed by John Cassavetes, then shot Elia Kazan’s final feature, The Last Tycoon (1976) and Tim Burton’s first, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).

Kemper also did six films for director Arthur Hiller — The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Hospital (1971), Author! Author! (1982), The Lonely Guy (1984), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Married to It (1991) — and three in a row for Carl Reiner: Oh God! (1977), The One and Only (1978) and The Jerk (1979).

The New Jersey native said he had to wear ice skates when he photographed the hockey scenes in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977) and...

In the wake of the box office and critical success of "Fargo," all eyes were on the Coen Brothers and their next film, "The Big Lebowski," which celebrates its 25th anniversary this week. Instead of following up their Oscar-winning black comedy with another richly profound crime film, the Coens made a stoner comedy starring Jeff Bridges as an easygoing slacker perfectly content to spend his days sipping White Russians and bowling with his buddies. Decades later, The Dude has become a cultural icon and "The Big Lebowski" is considered a bonafide comedy classic. When it was first released, however, it received a lukewarm reception in the States, save for a few diehard fans that understood its low-key greatness.

No one was clamoring for a sequel, except John Turturro who pleaded with the Coen Brothers to sign off on a spin-off centering around his character Jesus Quintana — the perverted rival bowler...

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Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman and Jeffrey Katzenberg were among the Hollywood luminaries who paid tribute to Bert Fields, the power lawyer who died in August at age 93, at a memorial service held Sunday at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Fields’ client Cruise, who appeared via video, shared how he met the lawyer — whom he referred to as the most interesting man in the world — at a dinner in 1989 with his Rain Man co-star Dustin Hoffman, another Fields client.

At the time, Cruise said, he didn’t know who Fields was, but when he found out Fields was Hoffman’s lawyer, he knew he wanted to hire the attorney.

Hoffman also was on hand at the service, where he spoke about Fields’ attributes, including his sense of humor as well as his loyalty.

Katzenberg also spoke, relaying how they often ate at The Grill on the Alley,...

Hollywood actors, writers and executives gathered at a memorial on Sunday in Santa Monica to remember power attorney Bert Fields with a string of stories about his legal prowess and sometimes unorthodox way of helping clients.

The larger-than-life litigator — with clients that included The Beatles, Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, Edward G. Robinson and Michael Jackson — knew a lot of the secrets behind Hollywood scandals that happened throughout his six-decade-long career. Not to mention, he was yanked into a federal wiretapping and conspiracy probe into notorious private investigator Anthony Pellicano in the early 2000s.

The video that played to kick off the tribute addressed the controversies head-on — putting up a fake tabloid cover with the word “escandalo.” It also included a 1967 clip of his appearance on “Dragnet” (Jack Webb was a client) and a tribute from Tom Cruise.

“He’s a very unique adventure, someone I knew we could always count on.

Bertram “Bert” Fields, the larger-than-life entertainment lawyer whose roster of star clients and studios spoke to a penchant for doling out legal threats with a rhetorical flourish, along with a capacity for winning lucrative settlements, has died at his Malibu home, his rep confirmed to Variety. He was 93.

Fields thrived on the notion that he never lost a trial, and even if the Perry Mason-like reputation wasn’t exactly true, he was a relentless litigator who defined some of the industry’s most heralded cases of the 1980s and ’90s, with clients that included Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, the Beatles, Edward G. Robinson, Michael Jackson, Rupert Murdoch and, at one time or another, just about all of the major studios.

Cruise said in a statement, “Bert Fields was a gentleman; an extraordinary human being. He had a powerful intellect, a keen wit, and charm that made one enjoy every minute of his company.

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Bert Fields, the renowned entertainment litigator whose clients included Edward G. Robinson, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tom Cruise, Warren Beatty, The Beatles and a host of other luminaries, studios and talent agencies, has died. He was 93.

Fields died peacefully late Sunday night at his Malibu home, a spokesperson for his law firm, Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger Llp., announced.

“For forty years, we were graced with Bert’s brilliance, decency and charm,” said Bob Baradaran, managing partner of Greenberg Glusker. “Bert was a beloved colleague, friend and mentor who trained a generation of outstanding lawyers. We were blessed to know and work with such a truly remarkable lawyer and human being.”

A longtime partner at Greenberg Glusker and mainstay on THR‘s annual Power Lawyer list, Fields during his six-decade career also represented the likes of David Geffen, James Cameron, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Jackson, Mike Nichols,...

Academy president David Rubin and Oscar show producer Will Packer clearly enjoyed escaping from the anxieties of this year’s Oscars for one relaxed evening, as this year’s postponed Governors Awards finally unfolded the Friday before the big night Sunday, in a low-key alternative Oscar universe. These awards used to be presented at the main Oscars, but were cut back in 2009 after it took a full 45 minutes to give them out. Now the Academy Awards ceremony displays a montage of the Governors Awards presentation.

Usually the Governors Awards, voted on by the 53-member Board representing 17 branches, take place in November and function as a black-tie starting gun to Oscar season, while providing the Academy with a revenue-generating event, as studios buy tables and pack them with that year’s Oscar-bound talent. That energy was missing from the subdued proceedings tonight, as Denzel Washington was the only star nominee to...

When screen acting pioneer Lillian Gish was presented with an honorary Academy Award exactly 50 years ago, she broke new ground as the first female director to receive one, having helmed “Remodeling Her Husband” over half a century earlier. Within the last four years, internationally renowned filmmakers Agnès Varda and Lina Wertmüller have followed her lead. Now, the academy has chosen to recognize the eclectic career of multihyphenate Elaine May, thus making her a member of this exclusive club.

Along with Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson, and Liv Ullmann, May is set to be honored at the upcoming 12th annual Governors Awards. The 89-year-old has earned this accolade because her “bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers.” Often cited as a revolutionary comedic genius, her work ethic and achievements have only garnered more respect and admiration over time.

As a child of stage actors,...

Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann will receive honorary Oscars this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday. Danny Glover will also receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Governors Awards ceremony on Jan. 15, 2022.

“We are thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to four honorees who have had a profound impact on both film and society,” Academy president David Rubin said in a statement. “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide, while Elaine May’s bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers. Liv Ullmann’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals, and Danny Glover’s decades-long advocacy for justice and human rights reflects his dedication...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday that its Board of Governors voted to present the annual Honorary Awards to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May, and Liv Ullmann. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award will be given to Danny Glover. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 12th annual Governors Awards on Saturday, January 15, 2022, in Los Angeles.

Academy President David Rubin summed up the recipients’ impact, cinematic and otherwise, in the following statement: “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide, while Elaine May’s bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers.”

Rubin added, “Liv Ullmann’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals, and Danny Glover’s decades-long advocacy for justice and human rights reflects his...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors voted to present Honorary Oscars to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Danny Glover, the Academy announced on Thursday.

The four Honorary Oscars will be presented at the Academy’s 12th Governors Awards on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Los Angeles.

“We are thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to four honorees who have had a profound impact on both film and society,” Academy president David Rubin said in a statement. “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide, while Elaine May’s bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers. Liv Ullmann’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals, and Danny Glover...

Nevertheless, she persisted.

Elaine May, who turns 89 on Wednesday, has enjoyed a late career resurgence, earning a Tony Award for her work in Kenneth Lonergan’s play “The Waverly Gallery” and directing an acclaimed documentary on her friend and frequent collaborator Mike Nichols for American Masters. Even “Ishtar,” her much derided 1987 flop, clawed its way into the black by the early aughts, as emails from the Sony hack revealed.

And yet, it’s impossible not to feel as though movie lovers and comedy fans have been robbed of decades of great work because the entertainment industry never quite knew what to make of May. Her struggles to remain true to her unbending artistic compass in a bottom-line-driven industry derailed her directing ambitions. May’s resume is slender, consisting of just four features, but what’s there is choice. There are three masterworks, “Mikey and Nicky,” “The Heartbreak Kid” and “A New Leaf,...

Welcome, one and all, to the latest episode of The Film Stage Show! Today, Brian Roan and Michael Snydel are joined by Carrie Courogen to discuss Elaine May’s 1976 film Mikey and Nicky, which is now on HBO Max, The Criterion Channel, and Tubi.

Enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. For a limited time, all new Patreon supporters will receive a free Blu-ray/DVD. After becoming a contributor, e-mail podcast@thefilmstage.com for an up-to-date list of available films.

Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, or stream below.

The Film Stage Show is supported by Mubi, a curated streaming service showcasing exceptional films from around the globe. Every day, Mubi premieres a new film. Whether it’s a timeless classic, a cult favorite, or an acclaimed masterpiece — it’s guaranteed to be either a movie you’ve...

“If all of the people who hate ‘Ishtar’ had seen it,” Elaine May famously said, “I would be a rich woman today.” On Wikipedia’s list of the biggest box-office disasters, with losses over $100 million (at current dollar values), “Ishtar” doesn’t even rate a mention. That’s because the movie lost about $91 million — more in the range of a box-office dud like “Cats.”

But to this day, Elaine May’s 1987 comedy adventure about two floundering singer/songwriters meandering around the Sahara — played by Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman — is considered one of Hollywood’s great box-office debacles, rivaled only by Michael Cimino’s studio-destroying “Heaven’s Gate,” with its loss of $126 million.

Here’s why “Ishtar” outlasted so many bigger money-losers as the poster child for a troubled belly-flop.

Media Coverage

From in front, “Ishtar” was a troubled production. One red flag went up when May (who directed the hit...

(Welcome to Now Stream This, a column dedicated to the best movies streaming on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and every other streaming service out there.) A long holiday weekend is just around the corner, folks. You know what that means: stuffing your face with carbs. Also: watching movies. But where to start? There are so many options […]

The post Now Stream This: ‘Booksmart’, ‘Mikey and Nicky’, ‘Inside Out’, ‘Drive’, ‘Creed II’, ‘The Souvenir’ and More appeared first on /Film.

In today’s film news roundup, Afm tells attendees that Santa Monica isn’t burning, the La Film Critics honor Elaine May and MarketCast hires a Nielsen executive.

Afm Reassurance

With less than a week before the American Film Market opens in Santa Monica, Afm has assured attendees that the beachside city has not been hit by the region’s wildfires.

The Getty Fire near the Getty Museum is the closest fire. The blaze, which ignited on Oct. 28, is about seven miles away from Afm headquarters at the Loews Hotel. It has now burned more than 700 acres, forcing evacuations from more than 7,000 homes.

“We would like to assure you that there are no fires in Santa Monica,” Afm said in a message. “Some media have referred to fires in the ‘Santa Monica Mountains.’ This mountain range is actually in Los Angeles, miles from Santa Monica. There is no threat to the Santa Monica business area.

Elaine May and Walter Matthau in A New Leaf. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures/Photofest.Two bright young comedians emerge on the Broadway scene, with a fresh act and brand of humor. Dropping out of their act with their fame still on the rise, it was not long before Hollywood came calling. One of these comedians directed over fifteen features, and racked up countless awards, prestige, and acclaim. The other was Elaine May, and she has directed only four films. Until recently (and even now), her films were hard to find, a sad gap in film comedy. Her term as filmmaker was one spent suffering constant battles with studios, moneymen, and critics. Eventually, after the public debacle of her fourth feature, Ishtar (1987), she decided to hang up her director’s cap. One gets the impression she may be more at ease with this than we are; she was never a fan of spotlight.

Sure, it may only be October, but it’s never too early to think about 2019. Skip past the holidays and those requisite family dinners. It’s time to talk January 2019 and specifically, which new Criterion films you’ll be purchasing in the new year.

Leading the way in January is actress, writer, and director Elaine May, who joins the esteemed Criterion Collection with her 1976 film “Mikey and Nicky.” The crime film stars Peter Falk and John Cassavetes as two former friends and mobsters that find their friendship brought back into light when one of them is scared for his life.

Continue reading Elaine May’s ‘Mikey And Nicky’ Joins ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ & Hitchcock’s ‘Notorious’ In January’s Criterion Releases at The Playlist.

Filtered through her experience as an unequalled comic performer, writer-director Elaine May scores a bulls-eye with this grossly underappreciated gem, fashioned in a style that could be called ‘black comedy lite.’ And that’s the release version mangled by the producer. What might it have been if May had been allowed to finish her director’s cut?

A New Leaf Olive Signature

Blu-ray

Olive Films

1971 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date December 5, 2017 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.99

Starring: Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston, George Rose, James Coco, Doris Roberts, Renée Taylor, William Redfield, David Doyle.

Cinematography: Gayne Rescher

Original Music: Neal Hefti

Written by Elaine May from a story by Jack Ritchie

Produced by Hilliard Elkins, Howard W. Koch, Joseph Manduke

Directed by Elaine May

Olive’s next title up for Signature Collection status is A New Leaf, the directing debut of comedienne-writer Elaine May. It’s certainly a worthy title.

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Anomalisa (Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson)

Charlie Kaufman, the writer behind Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, teams up with animator Duke Johnson to create a complex emotional drama starring lifelike puppets. The premise is riddled with existential dread of modern-day life, presented uniquely through Kaufman’s idiosyncratic point-of-view. For protagonist and self-help author Michael Stone (voiced soulfully by David Thewlis), everyone around him has the same voice (thanks to...

A New Leaf

Written by Elaine May

Directed by Elaine May

USA, 1971

Fellow Canadian cinephiles know that our local version of Netflix has a terrible wheat-to-chaff ratio. The thin library, coupled with the still-not-great Ui, makes it so that a disproportionately large amount of legwork has to be put into just browsing for movies. Then there’s what available. It’s unlikely that you’ll find a movie olden than you on the front page. This is because the collection sharply skews recent: at time of writing, approximately 0.01% of the films in the library were released before 1960. For comparison, about 58% of the films currently available were released this decade. Despite all this, though, I come here today not to bury Netflix Canada, nor to tear it a new one, but to provide fellow Canucks with a road map to navigating Netflix’s choppy waters. And with that, I welcome you...

"If all of the people who hate 'Ishtar' had seen it, I would be a rich woman today." So said Elaine May in 2006, two decades after the Warren Beatty-Dustin Hoffman comedy she wrote and directed had become synonymous with "extravagant flop." (The film grossed $14.4 million on a $55 million budget.) Up until May 22, 1987 (the day it opened in theaters, 25 years ago), advance buzz on "Ishtar" was contentious; it was either a brilliant comic masterpiece or a textbook case of overreach on the part of two giant Hollywood egos to whom no one could say, "No." After the film's release... same thing. To this day, the movie is roundly mocked for its alleged awfulness (often by people who've never seen it), while a passionate cult of fans insists it's a lost work of misunderstood genius that never got its proper due from critics or moviegoers. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

"Although most film festivals are consecrated to glamorous premieres and the newsworthy new, [To Save and Project: The Ninth Moma International Festival of Film Preservation, opening tomorrow and running through November 19,] treasures the rediscovered and dusted-off," writes J Hoberman in the Voice. "Like browsing a used bookstore in an unfamiliar city — another endangered pleasure — parsing Tsap's lineup, you're never sure what will turn up. This year's attractions range from a restored color version of Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon (the Star Wars of 1902) and the first Soviet stereo-vision feature, Robinzon Kruso (1947), to new prints of Roger Corman's anti-segregationist screen-scorcher The Intruder (the most alarming B-movie of 1962), Louis Malle's 1969 doc Calcutta (showing with Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad's lyrical portrait of a leper colony, The House Is Black), Alberto Lattuada's 1952 neorealist adaptation of Gogol's The Overcoat, and Elaine May's 1976 black comedy Mikey and Nicky (the best movie John Cassavetes never made), as well as the preserved work of the late downtown performance artist Stuart Sherman.

Paddy Considine is the latest actor to turn film-maker, with his highly acclaimed Tyrannosaur. Who else has made the switch?

Best known for his performances in Shane Meadows-helmed films such as A Room for Romeo Brass and Dead Man's Shoes, Paddy Considine is swapping his acting career – which includes stints in Hollywood in The Bourne Ultimatum and Cinderella Man – for the director's chair. His film Tyrannosaur, which he wrote and directed, was released on 7 October. But Considine isn't the first actor to sign up for a spell behind the camera. What drives other performers to make the switch?

The egoists

The need to take absolute control can be a powerful motivator. Charlie Chaplin began his film career working under the tutelage of Mack Sennett, who laid down the essentials of slapstick comedy, and directors such as Mabel Normand and Henry Lehrman. But pretty soon he was writing scripts, directing...

This one is coming up late, due to Criterion jam packing a ton of releases on Friday, right while I was finishing up the original post. I think they wanted to mess with me, which is very funny. But being the premier (and only) site that gives you the best coverage of Hulu Plus movies, I don’t mind taking the time at all. I’m hoping it has nothing to do with the recent shake-up going on that Josh just reported on the other day (here), and with Hulu wanting to be bought because of financial problems stemming from multiple sources, this makes one wonder what’s going to happen to the Criterion Collection and their deal with Hulu. I’m crossing my fingers that whoever buys the service, be it Amazon, Google or Yahoo (who is the frontrunner), it doesn’t ruin the deal in place for Criterion and its films.

Us actor whose success as the scruffy TV detective Columbo was complemented by a wide range of stage and screen roles

Show-business history records that the American actor Peter Falk, who has died aged 83, made his stage debut the year before he left high school, presciently cast as a detective. Despite the 17-year-old's fleeting success, he had no thoughts of pursuing acting as a career – if only because tough kids from the Bronx considered it an unsuitable job for a man. Just 24 years later, Falk made his first television appearance as the scruffy detective, Columbo, not only becoming the highest paid actor on television – commanding $500,000 an episode during the 1970s – but also the most famous.

Inevitably the lieutenant dedicated to unravelling the villainy of the wealthy and glamorous dominated his career, although – unlike some actors – he escaped the straitjacket, or in his case shabby raincoat, of typecasting. In addition to stage work,...

Updated through 6/26.

"Peter Falk, the stage and movie actor who became identified as the squinty, rumpled detective in Columbo, which spanned 30 years in primetime television and established one of the most iconic characters in police work, has died. He was 83." Anthony McCartney for the AP: "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 favorites, including the semi-improvisational films Husbands and A Woman Under the Influence, directed by his friend John Cassavetes, and Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire, in which he played himself."

Last November,...

Today brought with it the deeply sad news that iconic actor, Peter Falk, had passed away at the age of 83.  During his over fifty year career, the actor had starred in such great films as Murder, Inc and A Pocketful Of Miracles.

Read more on The Criterion Collection adds 21 films to their Hulu Plus page; includes Peter Falk/John Cassavetes Mikey And Nicky...