Peter Sellers
Acting
- Born:
- 1925-09-08
- Died:
- 1980-07-24
- Place of birth:
- Southsea, Hampshire, England, UK
Biography
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE (September 8, 1925 – July 24, 1980), known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, for playing three different characters in Dr. Strangelove, as Clare Quilty in Lolita, and as the man-child and TV-addicted Chance the gardener in his penultimate film, Being There. Leading actress Bette Davis once remarked of him, "He isn't an actor—he's a chameleon." Sellers rose to fame on the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show. His ability to speak in different accents (e.g., French, Indian, American, German, as well as British regional accents), along with his talent to portray a range of characters to comic effect, contributed to his success as a radio personality and screen actor and earned him national and international nominations and awards. Many of his characters became ingrained in public perception of his work. Sellers' private life was characterized by turmoil and crises, and included emotional problems and substance abuse. Sellers was married four times, and had three children from the first two marriages. An enigmatic figure, he often claimed to have no identity outside the roles that he played, but he left his own portrait since, "he obsessively filmed his homes, his family, people he knew, anything that took his fancy right to the end of his life—intimate film that remained undiscovered until long after his death in 1980." The director Peter Hall has said: "Peter had the ability to identify completely with another person, and think his way physically, mentally and emotionally into their skin. Where does that come from? I have no idea. Is it a curse? Often. I think it's not enough though in this business to have talent. You have to have talent to handle the talent. And that I think Peter did not have."
Known For
Filmography
John Candy: I Like Me
Love Left the Masquerade: Peter Medak's Cinema of Pretenders
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
Peter Sellers: Genius at Work
The Beatles: Get Back
Directed By Blake Edwards
Kubrick by Kubrick
Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy
The Ghost of Peter Sellers
Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace
The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of 'Gorgo'
Hitler: The Comedy Years
The Beatles: Get Back...Winter of Discontent
Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
Parkinson
The Peter Sellers Story - As He Filmed It
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
The Unknown Peter Sellers
Spike
The Peter Sellers Story
The World of Hammer
Funny Business
Sellers' Best
The Very Best of Peter Sellers
Muppet Video: Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets
Muppet Treasures
Koyaanisqatsi
Trail of the Pink Panther
Eric Sykes: One of the Great Troupers
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
Being There
The Prisoner of Zenda
Mickey's 50
Rire et sourire : Le Splendid
Revenge of the Pink Panther
Kingdom Of Gifts
To See Such Fun
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
The Muppet Show
Murder by Death
The Return of the Pink Panther
Julie: My Favourite Things
A Salute to Sir Lew Grade
The Great McGonagall
Flip Wilson... Of Course
Soft Beds, Hard Battles
The Optimists of Nine Elms
The Big Screen
The Blockhouse
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Sykes
Where Does It Hurt?
The Last Goon Show of All
Film '72
V.I.P. Schaukel
Wilton's: The Handsomest Hall in Town
There's a Girl in My Soup
Hoffman
Simon Simon
A Day at the Beach
Will the Real Mr Sellers.....?
The Magic Christian
One Pair of Eyes - No, But Seriously
This Is Tom Jones
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!
The Party
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
It Takes a Thief
With Love, Sophia
Woman Times Seven
One Pair of Eyes
Casino Royale
The Bobo
Alice in Wonderland
El Rey en Londres
ABC Stage 67
After the Fox
The Wrong Box
Birds, Bees and Storks
The Music of Lennon & McCartney
The Dean Martin Show
What's New Pussycat?
Carol for Another Christmas
I Say I Say I Say
A Shot in the Dark
The World of Henry Orient
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
The Pink Panther
The Telegoons
Heavens Above!
The Wrong Arm of the Law
The Dock Brief
Lolita
Waltz of the Toreadors
The Road to Hong Kong
Only Two Can Play
The Mike Douglas Show
Tempo
Mr. Topaze
Two-Way Stretch
The Millionairess
Never Let Go
The Battle of the Sexes
The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film
I'm All Right Jack
The Mouse That Roared
Whicker's World
Carlton-Browne of the F.O.
Tom Thumb
Up the Creek
Insomnia is Good for You
The Naked Truth
The Smallest Show on Earth
Yes, It's The Cathode-Ray Tube Show!
Theatre Night
Dearth of a Salesman
Son of Fred
A Show Called Fred
The Man Who Never Was
The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d
The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn
The Ladykillers
John and Julie
Orders Are Orders
And So To Bentley
Our Girl Friday
Beat the Devil
The Super Secret Service
Down Among the Z Men
Let's Go Crazy
Penny Points to Paradise
The Slappiest Days of Our Lives
A Burlesque on the Opera "Carmen"
The Black Rose
Hybrid Creatures
Talking Comedy