Friday, June 24, 2011

"Push the button, Max!"


I'm sorry to see that the actor Peter Falk died today. He was 83 years old.

Mr. Falk will probably be best remembered for portraying the TV detective Columbo, but I'll always remember him with a happy smile for his hilarious performance as Maximilian Meen, or just plain 'Max!', the bumbling, inept sidekick to Jack Lemmon's villainous Professor Fate, in the 1965 movie 'The Great Race'. Here are two amusing excerpts from the movie that I've been able to find on YouTube. The volume in the first one isn't as loud as it could be, so you may need to turn up your speakers.










The entire movie is available in segments on YouTube. If you've never seen it before, and you like slapstick comedy, it's wonderfully funny. The first segment (of 11) is here.

Thanks for the happy memories, Mr. Falk. Rest in peace.

Peter
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5 comments:

  1. gebivJune 25, 2011 at 6:59 AM

    The best pie fight ever filmed is in that movie. Worth watching just for that.

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  2. Bob@thenestJune 25, 2011 at 8:10 AM

    Oh, you bring back good memories, Peter. I'm not much for slapstick -- I'm stodgy enough I guess to classify that style as super silly, but that movie was absolutely a corker. Have seen it several times and crack up every time as though I've never seen it before.

    Falk had a unique delivery that hasn't been matched and probably will never be. I, too, was saddened to hear of his death.

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  3. ShrimpJune 25, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    That was one of my favorite films, and Peter Falk was just one small part of it. My other favorite role for him was the grandfather in "The Princess Bride."

    He will be missed.



    WV: Undying
    No, really, that's what the word verification was.

    ReplyDelete
  4. trailbeeJune 25, 2011 at 6:40 PM

    This was one great guy. These segments bring back some very funny memories. Many thanks, and farewell.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mad JackJune 27, 2011 at 4:42 PM

    This is one of my favorite films of all time. Falk and Lemmon deliver great performances, and the background music is priceless!

    ReplyDelete

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