The TV detective series, Columbo, can now only been seen as reruns or on You Tube, and because of the Basset Hound who occasionally appeared with the rumpled character, they were a subject for National Purebred Dog Day:
What we didn’t know at the time of the post was that a life-size bronze reproduction of Columbo and “Dog,” make their home on Fallk Miksa Utca (“utca” is Hungarian for “street”) in Budapest. The pieces sculpted by Géza Feket were installed in 2014 as part of an urban rejuvenation project and cost about $63,000.
While their appearance in Budapest may baffle some tourists, it’s not a mystery to Hungarians. The actor who played Columbo, Peter Falk, had Hungarian heritage. His mother, a Jewish Hungarian, moved to New York before Falk was born, and some suggest (namely, Antal Rogán, the district mayor at the time of the installment) that there may even be a familial connection to Miksa Falk, 19th-century Hungarian journalist, author, and political figure for whom the street is named. We like that the sculptor included the Basset Hound. The dog was modeled after a local Basset Hound named, “Franzi” who made an appearance for the unveiling.
We came across a You Tube video of the statue, and mispronunciations notwithstanding, you might enjoy it:
Sadly, Peter Falk never saw the work. He died in Beverly Hills in 2011 at the age of 83.