Just One More Thing:
Stories from My Life
Carroll & Graf Publishers
Arrow Books
ISBN 9780786717958
Over the last year I have alternated seasons of M*A*S*H* and Columbo. It was hard after ever season of Columbo not to just start the next. I because fascinated with Peter Falk while watching these made for TV movies. I wanted to read Falk’s autobiography Just One More Thing, but there is no eBook edition so I know it will take me a while to get around to reading it. But I have read a biography and 2 of the Columbo novels. Once I started reading this I could hardly put it down. It was as compelling as an episode of the show itself, and filled with far more humour.
This volume is not a typical autobiography. Sometimes he goes back and forth in time. Focuses on the people and places in his life. And it is mainly a storyteller telling tales about his life and adventures on and off the screen. There are just as many stories about being on the set as off. But the main thing is the people in his life, and his interactions with them. The book is also filled with pictures and numerous of Falk’s own drawings.
The chapters in the volume are:
foreward
on being nominated for an academy award
you have you stories and i have eye stories
my wife shera
thinking about faye dunaway while driving
on being a young man who has no idea what he wants to do with his life (p.s. and he is in no hurry to find out)
i graduate college-next day paris
on working to get a master's degree in a field you have no interest in and no aptitude for
on the thin line dividing naivete from stupidity, or why it took 12 years to become an actor
on the four words that broke the camel's back
the big apple and my first play
the iceman cometh
jason robards tells a good story
on being an actor with one eye
marjorie morningstar
leo penn's ad-lib
on my wedding day
my father
i have never been arrested in the united states but i have been arrested in ...
murder, inc.
on my first meeting with frank capra
on wanting to kiss frank capra
on the role overcoats can play in an actor's career
making a movie in russia-why?!
it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world
robin and the seven hoods
the great race
arthur miller tells a good story
on what i had and you didn't-a lou lilly in my life
getting arrested in genoa 1
the raisin story
anzio
how did the columbo character evolve?
columbo odds and ends - to play Columbo makeup not required-unlike some other actors
"this old man, he played one he played knickknack on my thumb"
columbo odds and ends-god never designed any one human to be recognized by two billion other humans
columbo odds and ends-descriptions
what's the toughest thing about creating a columbo?
great clues
the early days-the fights-the disputes-the distrust
in summit meetings called to settle disputes, where the star of a tv series sits can be decisive
peter falk's ad-lib
shera stories
john cassavetes
first meeting with john
husbands
a woman under the influence
what is a cassavetes set like?
getting a laugh
cassavetes-a tribute
neil simon
actors as artists
drawing art students' league
a message to the people of romania
can movie directors help movie actors? if so, how?
on why i wasn't in the godfather
why marlon brando wars an earplug
the brinks job
the in-laws
how the in-laws began
the in-laws: years later, alan and i share a joyous moment
wings of desire
the princess bride
happy new year
room mates
epilogue
The book begins with these words:
“WHEN I WAS growing up, a biography was the life of Abe Lincoln. Today every fifth person is a legend or icon. I go into Nate and Al's, a delicatessen in Beverly Hills, and in the next booth there are three icons sitting there eating pastrami sandwiches.
so this is not an autobiography!
To be honest, I don't know what you'd call it. I know it's funny you'll laugh a lot. And when I talk about Columbo, it's interesting. He absorbed me
and how he evolved will absorb you.
There's a chapter on Marlon Brando. He never acted without wearing a plug in his ear. That's a fact and all of us actors were fascinated. When you read about it, I believe you will be as consumed as I was.”
And it concludes with these:
“M y AGENT CALLED the other day with an offer for a part in a new film. As always, my first question: "How much are they paying?" Some things never change. We can all say that about our lives, and there's some truth in it-some things never change It's certainly true in my case-but with one EXCEPTION. And that EXCEPTION just happened. I've just WRITTEN A BOOK! Talk about change! Who would dream I would ever write a book! Not me! Not my wife, not my doctor, dogs, family, friends, or acquaintances. Let me sum up by saying it was a blast! The funny stuff. Reliving it. Putting it on paper. If you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it, you'll be dancing on the ceiling. For those of you still in your chairs, I'm delighted you're still awake. I love you for staying with me until the end.”
I highlighted a few passages while reading this collection of stories some of them are:
“I'VE BEEN ASKED a few thousand times how much of Columbo is Falk and vice versa. For years I've had a stock answer 'Tm just as sloppy as the lieutenant but not nearly as smart." That was a quickie response for the media. They're drawn to anything that takes less than five seconds. The truth is, no one is like Columbo. He's unique-if he were up for auction, he would be described as "One of a kind-a human with the brain of Sherlock Holmes who dresses like the homeless."”
“WHY DID IT take so long to decide to be an actor? Obviously fear-fear of failure, but fear by itself is too simple. It was fear coupled with my highly romantic, ridiculously unrealistic notion of what constituted an actor.”
“THERE HAVE BEEN many descriptions of Columbo. My favorite is: Columbo is an ass-backward Sherlock Holmes.*
The above is perfect just as it is. But I'm a hog and can't help
adding to it. . . .
• Holmes has a long thin neck-Columbo has no neck.
• Holmes speaks the King's English-Columbo is still working on his.
• Holmes wears tailor-made British tweeds - Columbo's coat should be cleaned and burned.
• Oh, another good description-Being chased by Columbo is like being nibbled to death by a duck.”
This was a fascinating read. At the time of writing this review there are over 20 editions of this book and it has been published in at least 6 languages. It was interesting to learn about his life and the meandering route he took to become an actor. He states:
“So why did I wait forty-four years to take up drawing? I believed my delay was related to that naive notion that having to look while you're drawing was somehow cheating. However, claiming that naivete is involved is a tough sell. It sounds too dumb. Instead I see a definite pattern of delays in my life:
1 . It took twelve years for me to decide to become an actor.
2 . I didn't get married until I was 32.
3. It took 43 years for me to take up drawing, and another 31 years to go to watercolor.”
He is open about many of his faults. And many of his struggles. He shares successes, triumphs and some big mistakes. And he does it all in a self-effacing way. I knew he did other acting but was unaware of just how much. And this volume seems to give inside information on almost everything he was in. For fans of Columbo or fans of Falk in general this will be a fascinating read. Some of the stories of his capers are laugh out loud funny. And some are much more sombre. An excellent read!
Books about Peter Falk or Columbo:
Columbo Phile - A Casebook - Mark Dawidziak
Cooking With Columbo Suppers With The Shambling Sleuth - Jenny Hammerton
Shooting Columbo - David Koenig
The Columbo Companion, 1968-78: Investigating Every Detail of All 45 'Classic Era' Columbo Adventures - The Columbophile
...
Columbo Books:
A Christmas Killing - Alfred Lawrence
The Dean's Death - Alfred Lawrence
Any Old Port in a Storm - Henry Clements
By Dawn's Early Light - Henry Clements
Murder by the Book - Lee Hays
A Deadly State of Mind Book - Lee Hays
The Columbo Collection – William Link
…
Columbo Novels by William Harrington:
The Game Show Killer (1996)
The Glitter Murders (1997)
The Hover Files (1998)
…
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