A Glimpse into Late ‘Columbo’ Star Peter Falk’s Marriage to Shera Danese

Peter Falk, the actor who gave life to the iconic detective Columbo on the series of the same name, was married for over three decades to his second wife, Shera Danese. They were together until his death in 2011, and he was “crazy about her.”

Peter Falk went down in television story as the disheveled, absent-minded, cigar-smoking detective Lieutenant Columbo in the 70’s series of the same name.

His performance gave the series and the character so much credibility that it has remained a fan favorite for years and is considered one of the best TV dramas of all time in the U.S.

Although Falk loved the character, he had one regret about the series: his character didn’t have an on-screen love interest.

Detective Columbo had a wife who was often mentioned but never shown. For Falk, this was a problem, as his character was as crazy about Mrs. Columbo as Falk was about his real-life wife, Shera Danese.

Here’s a glimpse into the actor’s marriage to Danese.

A Chase for Love

Peter Falk married his college sweetheart, pianist Alyce Mayo, in 1960. The couple adopted two daughters, Catherine and Jackie, but divorced in 1976 after Falk met Shera Danese.

According to Shera, Falk was on the set of “Mikey & Nicky” when he caught a glimpse of her in the sidelines and immediately gave her all his attention. “He saw me walking down the street, and that was it,” Danese told the L.A Times. However, it wasn’t love at first sight for Danese, but she admitted to being “taken aback at how cute he looked.”Falk had to chase Danese until she agreed to go out with him, and it didn’t take long for the charming star to win Danese’s interest. They married a year after Falk divorced Mayo, and were together for 33 years with no kids.

Shera and Peter’s marriage was filled with ups and downs.

They had several break-ups and reconciliations, earning them the nickname “The Fighting Falks” in Hollywood. Danese confessed:

“We went through a really hard spell. I don’t know why, but we didn’t agree on anything. Then, we made concessions; we accepted the bad habits of the other.”

One of those concessions was Shera attending parties alone while Peter stayed home. She explained: “Peter is really lonely. He loves taking long walks, watching sports or documentaries on TV. He also loves drawing. It is a passion for him. However, I made him his coffee this morning.”

In 1991, Danese recalled to People a time when Falk moved into a hotel after a fight but kept coming back home for things like his toothbrush, so she told him he might as well move back.

“She makes me laugh,” Falk said of his wife’s best attribute. As for what Danese saw in him, she replied, “He has a lot of money.”

A Chemistry Brought On-Screen

Although Columbo didn’t have a love interest in the series, he did share the screen with several women over time.

Shera Danese brought various female characters to life throughout the series. She appeared in six episodes of the show, and although she was never the killer, Danese wanted to try something different in the “Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star” episode.

She wanted to play the victim, but her husband didn’t like the idea.

“I wanted to play the rock star, but he wouldn’t let me because she is in bed with some young guy,” Danese recalled. “But I am singing her songs. How is that for a twist? She is doing the scenes, and I am doing the singing.”

 A Family War Over Peter’s Well-Being

In 2006, Peter’s memory began to fail, and by 2008, he showed signs of dementia, possibly caused by Alzheimer’s disease. As Falk’s condition deteriorated, his daughter Catherine filed a lawsuit against Shera, accusing her of elder abuse and claiming that she had barred Falk’s children from visiting him. After a seven-month legal battle, a judge placed Peter in conservatorship with Shera as the conservator, ordering her to allow Catherine 30-minute visits twice a week.

Despite the court order, the relationship between Catherine and her stepmother did not improve. When Peter died from complications with pneumonia in 2011, Catherine learned about his passing from the media.

Falk left most of his fortune to Shera.