Anyone over 25 must have seen at least one episode of the long running cop show 'Columbo' and he/she knows for a fact that, with his signature raincoat, brown suit and ruined car, the man was not your average cop. Add to that his slow speech and unusual methods of solving a crime, and one realizes that Peter Falk gave life to one of the most enduring characters in the history of television.

Falk, aged 79, was asked in a recent interview to recall the way his character's wardrobe was picked at the onset of the series. Naturally, the reporter wanted to know how it came that Columbo was to be seen in the same outfit all those years and an explanation for both the outfit and the car was, according to the fans, long due.

The actor said that the stylist took him to pick his clothes for the shoot and that there were too many stylish outfits already chosen. But he opted for the most rumpled suit he could find, asked somebody from the crew to have it dyed in dirty and dull brown. He then went home and got his hand on a used raincoat he had in his wardrobe.

The same happened when he was to choose the car: he found nothing to his liking in the studio's parking lot. 'Then I saw it way in the back, just its nose - an ugly Peugeot. And it had the perfect touch... a flat tire', the actor said laughing.

Despite being branded for his entire life as 'the guy who played Columbo', Peter Falk says he has no regrets for taking up the part. 'I love the guy. I was very lucky to have a character that rich, that I like personally so much. The whole thing was an actor's dream - getting a character that tickles you so much that you can't wait to act as him', Falk said as conclusion.