Actor Peter Falk dead at 83

LOS ANGELES, June 24 (UPI) -- Screen and TV icon Peter Falk, famous for his portrayal of Los Angeles police detective Lieutenant Frank Columbo, has died in Beverly Hills, CBS News reported.

He was 83. He died Thursday.

Falk won four Emmy awards for playing Columbo, a character he portrayed in an eponymous show and numerous TV movies.

His film credits included the classics "Murder, Inc.," "A Woman Under the Influence," "A Pocketful of Miracles," "Robin and the Seven Hoods," "The Great Race," "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," "The Cheap Detective" and "The Princess Bride."

The cause of Falk's death was not immediately disclosed, but he reportedly had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for several years.

"I love [Columbo,]" the actor told UPI about his most famous character in a 2006 interview.

So, what makes a good "Columbo" mystery?

"You gotta have a really ingenious murder; something that no one has ever seen before," he explained. "Then you have to have, in the first investigation scene, one thing that only Columbo would see. You can't have something the average detective ... or even a better-than-average detective could see. You could only have something that me and Sherlock Holmes would see and that's it and those are hard to come by."

Falk is survived by his wife Shera and his two daughters, The Hollywood Reporter said.