THE PRINCESS BRIDE Peter Falk Memorial

Last week, 83 year-old Peter Falk passed away. The man was a legend of both the screen and stage and had a very long and varied career. He was even nominated for an Oscar for his very first screen appearance in Murder, Inc! For some, he will forever be that guy with the weird glass eye, and, for most, he will eternally be remembered as the rumpled raincoat-wearing, stogie-sucking, mystery-solving genius Columbo. I've seen Peter Falk in many things, from Columbo to Corky Romano, but the character that I've always felt closest to him is as Grandpa.

When I was a kid and was home sick, my mom would always pop on The Princess Bride, and the framing device of Peter Falk and Fred Savage always transported me because it made me feel like Falk was my own grandpa sitting there and reading to me until I felt better. So when I caught news of his passing, it hit me not only as the loss of a great actor, but also like the loss a family member. One of my greatest joys since I started at the Alamo is our annual screenings of our The Princess Bride Quote-Alongs. The community, the revelry, the INFLATABLE SWORD FIGHTING, it's all so much fun! So we thought what better way to send off a legend than with an epic party of a Quote-Along. I feel like it's as he wished. (GREG MACLENNAN)