Warning: The following post contains discussions of suicide.
Fifteen years after Columbo star Peter Falk died from pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease, his daughter Jacqueline Falk has died at the age of 60.
She died Monday, April 27, with her death ruled a suicide, according to records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner obtained by People.
Falk was one of the two adopted daughters that the actor shared with wife, Alyce Mayo, whom he married in 1960. The couple divorced in 1976, and he went on to marry Shera Danese the following year.
For the most part, Falk lived her life out of the public eye. Her sister, Catherine Falk, has been more public-facing. She created the Catherine Falk Organization after allegedly dealing with issues maintaining contact with her father amid his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and second marriage.
On her organization’s website, sister Catherine alleged Danese did not inform her and Jacqueline of their father’s condition and “refused to allow his children to visit their ailing father.” She ultimately filed legal action to become her father’s conservator, but a judge ruled that Danese would be appointed to that role and ordered her to allow the sisters to visit the former actor.
Still, Catherine accused her stepmother of “continuing to interfere” with the relationship between Peter and his daughters. “Although Catherine fought for her right to visit Mr. Falk, his other daughter, Jackie, did not do so. As a consequence, she was unable to visit with her father for the last three years of his life,” the website explains. “[Shera] did not notify Mr. Falk’s daughters when he was hospitalized in June 2011. [She] also did not notify Mr. Falk’s daughters when Mr. Falk died. Instead, they learned of the death of their father from media reports and their attorney.”
Catherine started her organization to assist others dealing with similar issues and pushed to pass the Peter Falk Bill with the hopes of protecting visitation and communication rights for adult children.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or dial988. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
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