'Columbo' star suffering from Alzheimer's

'Columbo' actor Peter Falk suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and is no longer competent to run his own life, his daughter said in papers filed with a Los Angeles court.

Catherine Falk said her Oscar-nominated father “requires full-time custodial care for his health and safety” as she started the legal process of asking for a conservatorship – a type of legal guardianship – at the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

She said the 81-year-old Hollywood legend “can easily be deceived into transferring away property” and added that a conservatorship would protect him from “fraud or undue influence”.

According to the documents, Falk “forgets events that have occurred and remembers events that did not occur”.

Ms Falk added that her father also sustained a head injury six months ago as a result of a car accident where he “lost control” while driving and claimed he can no longer “recognise familiar people, places and things”.

Falk, who is best known for his role as 'Columbo', received two Oscar nominations during his long career – for the 1961 film 'Murder, Inc', and the 1962 film 'Pocketful of Miracles'.

A hearing on the issue is expected next month.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said: “It is tragic to hear that such a talented actor is living with Alzheimer’s, demonstrating that the disease can affect anyone.”

She added that more than 26 million people worldwide were living with dementia and called for more investment in “research to find new treatments and cures now to halt this global epidemic”.