Alyce Mayo – Life And Death Of Peter Falk’s Ex-wife

• Alyce Mayo was the first wife of American actor Peter Falk and was married for 9 years from 1960 until they divorced in 1976
• The former piano teacher, painter, fashion designer, and interior designer attended the same school, Syracuse University as Falk and it was there that they met.
• The mother of 2 lived for 85 years from 1931 to her death in 2016 

Alyce Mayo was a woman who comfortably juggled different careers as a musician, as a painter, a fabric designer, and as an interior designer.

She recorded quite a good success in her different endeavors but her marriage to Peter Falk – a man most famous for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in Columbo, is what she is mostly remembered for.

Her Early Life and How She Met Falk

Alyce Mayo was born Alyce Caroline Mayo on January 7, 1931, in Long Island City to Edward and Alice Mayo. She had a sister called Jacquelyn Mayo.

The former celebrity wife was raised on the East Coast. After her high school education, she headed to Syracuse University in New York. It was while she was in college in Syracuse that she met her ex, the actor Peter Falk.

They would go on to later get married in 1960.

Looking through the early life of her ex, Peter Falk, our findings show that he was born in The Bronx, New York City in 1898 making him 4 years older than Mayo.

When Falk was just 3 years old, he went through eye surgery for a type of cancer called retinoblastoma. The surgery would lead to him wearing glass and making him quint.

By the time he was 12, he had already developed an interest in acting and appeared in a summer camp drama.

His career as a professional actor did not start until after he had worked on a railroad and headed for college.

Alyce Mayo Was Married to Falk for 16 Years and Had 2 Children

It was in 1960, about 2 years after Peter Falk made his film debut as a writer in Wind Across the Everglades (1958) that Alyce Mayo became his wife. They had met each other when they were students at Syracuse University, and fell in love.

Their love blossomed and they eventually got married in 1960. During their union, they adopted 2 daughters, Jacqueline Falk and Christine Falk. Christine Falk is now a private investigator.

As regards other details about the marriage, there is barely any information. What we know is that they kept their union out of the spotlight and kept things working well for over a decade.

However, in 1976, their marriage sadly ended after 16 years.

Both Alyce Mayo and Her Ex Had Other Marriages 

After the failure of their marriage, the former couple went on to marry again. Mayo went away from Hollywood and married a man called Harry Derleth while Peter married Shera Danese, a 1949-born American actress.

Because Alyce Mayo decided to keep her distance from the spotlight, very little is known about what her love life was like after her divorce from Peter Falk. It is however believed that she was divorced from Derleth at the time of her death.

On the other hand, her ex headed in the direction of Hollywood to marry an actress who was also a guest in Columbo – one of the actor’s most acclaimed works.

The marriage came in 1977, only a year after Mayo of Falk and Alyce’s divorce. The union lasted almost 34 years until 2011, following the death of the multiple Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor, Falk.

Alyce Had a Successful Career in Different Sectors 

Alyce Mayo was an artist who had a successful career as a painter. But she was more than just a painter. Alyce also did work as a fabric designer and interior designer.

Apart from this, she was also a musician who taught piano to people. She even obtained a Masters degree in music and was said to have actually been very good at what she did and endeared herself to many people.

Alyce Mayo was also a member of SAGES, the senior group for the arts at All Saints’ Church in Beverly Hills.

On the part of Peter Falk, he was an established actor, comedian, and writer whose professional career traces to the late 1950s. He would go out to appear in multiple movies and TV series, including Bloody Brood (1959), A Woman Under the Influence (1974),  Columbo (1968), Three Days in Vegas (2007), and his last American Cowslip (2009).

His career fetched him 2 Academy Awards nominations (1961 and 1962), 5 Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Awards (1973).

Alyce Died 5 Years After Falk, 40 Years After Their Divorce, and a Law was Made with Respect to Her Ex

On March 7, 2016, Alyce Mayo died at the age of 85. Her passing came about 5 years after her ex died and about 40 years after their divorce.

Her 1927-born ex, Peter died in 2011 in Beverly Hills California at the age of 83. The death came primarily as a result of pneumonia while the secondary was due to the complications that accompanied Alzheimer’s disease – a neurodegenerative disease.

The death of the Murder Inc. actor led to the passing into law The Peter Falk’s Law.

The law started with a case brought by the former couple’s daughter Catherine against Shera, his second wife. Shera was the former comedian’s only conservator.

She was said to have stopped the other family members from visiting Catherine’s father and left them out of the progression of his health as well as his death and funeral arrangements.

Prior to that, Catherin, a private investigator had sued Shera who was said to have prevented her from seeing her father even though she wanted to give him the care he needed. She wanted to become his conservator but was declined.

The Peter Falk’s Law would protect children from being cut off from having the knowledge of the serious medical conditions and those that may lead to loss of life. The law includes visitation rights and notice of death among others.