Val Avery is an American character actor who has added heft to hundreds of movies and television shows since the 1950s. Some of the qualities he can bring to a performance, a down-on-his-luck appearance (highlighted by his pockmarked face) and an abrasive but vulnerable personality, were put to particularly good effect by the makers of the Columbo television series, starring Peter Falk, and by the film director, and Falk collaborator, John Cassavetes.