Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers, born into a touring actor family, became a "drummer, pianist and general funny man" for RAF Gang Shows during the war. After demobilization, he worked on radio as an impressionist, exhibiting the extraordinary vocal inventiveness that became one of his trademarks and was a cornerstone of radio's highly popular The Goon Show (1952-60). Sellers made two Goon Show spin-off films, Down Among the Z Men (directed by Maclean Rogers, 1952) and The Case of the Mukkinese Battlehorn (directed by Joseph Sterling, 1956).

His other 1950s film parts were bewilderingly varied: timorous Teddy Boy in The Ladykillers (directed by Alexander Mackendrick, 1955), fly Petty Officer in Up the Creek (directed by Val Guest, 1958), aged, obfuscating Scottish accountant in The Battle of the Sexes (directed by Charles Crichton, 1959), or Brummie villain in Never Let Go (directed by John Guillermin, 1960), complemented by multiple roles in The Naked Truth (directed by Mario Zampi, 1957) and The Mouse that Roared (directed by Jack Arnold, 1960).

The role that confirmed his acting ability was Fred Kite, the Communist shop steward in I'm All Right Jack (directed by John Boulting, 1959), where his brilliant performance captured both the vanity and poignancy of this ideologue and intellectual manqué. It was this mixture of sharp observation and pathos that characterised Sellers' ordinary men with aspirations: the provincial librarian in Only Two Can Play (directed by Sidney Gilliat, 1961), the idealistic vicar in Heavens Above! (directed by John Boulting, 1963).

These qualities infused his most popular achievement, Inspector Clouseau, in five films beginning with The Pink Panther (directed by Blake Edwards, 1963) through to Revenge of the Pink Panther (directed by Edwards, 1978). In Clouseau, Sellers combined his vocal ingenuity and skill as a slapstick comedian, yet always retained an essential humanity through the inspector's indefatigable dignity in the face of a hostile universe.

His other, evergreen performance was the triple role he played in Dr. Strangelove (directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1963) as (1) the well-meaning US President, (2) unflappable RAF group-captain and (3)the nightmarish Dr. Strangelove himself, the government's adviser on nuclear warfare who is unable to control his own body, the black gloved hand always trying to make a Nazi salute, expressing an ineradicable desire to dominate and destroy.

Always restless, insecure and self-critical, Sellers's favorite appearances were in romantic roles like The Bobo (directed by Robert Parrish, 1967) or Hoffman (directed by Alvin Rakoff, 1970). However, his greates success he achieved in parts that expressed his own vanities and pretensions, like the TV presenter and narcissistic lothario in "There's a Girl in My Soup" (directed by Roy Boulting, 1970). Sellers' career tok a ding during the 1970s; only his role as the humble gardener turned guru in Being There (US, directed by Hal Ashby, 1979) showed the usual broad range of his talent.

He was married, among others, to actresses Britt Ekland (his second) and Lynne Frederick (his fourth).

Resources:
Biographies: Peter Sellers by Alexander Walker (1981), Peter Sellers: A Film History by Michael Starr (1991).

Andrew Spicer, Encyclopedia of British Cinema

From Wikipedia we learn: "Sellers' artistic genius did come with a cost, which was manifested in a troubled personal life. While he won accolades for his artistic contributions, his off-screen persona often clashed with fellow actors and directors, as illustrated by Sellers' strained relationship with friend and director Blake Edwards, with whom he had worked on the Pink Panther series (among other films). His relationship with Edwards was tested by Sellers' eccentric behavior, to a point where the two sometimes ceased speaking to each other during filming. Their personal and professional relationship was frequently disrupted by Sellers' difficult demeanour, highlighted in the semi-biographical HBO/BBC film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.

Sellers' personality was often described as difficult and demanding by many others who interacted with him. His unreasonable behaviour caused physical and emotional hurt to many people in his life, most notably his first three wives. As portrayed in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, he told his eight-year-old son that the boy's mother (Sellers' wife at the time) was having an affair. Sellers is known to have physically assaulted Britt Ekland often prompted by fits of (unsubstantiated) jealousy."

"In 1964 at age 38, Sellers had suffered a near-fatal heart attack, which permanently damaged his heart. Sellers' condition deteriorated over a time when he deferred proper medical treatment, instead opting for "treatment" from psychic healers. He also wore a pacemaker which caused him considerable problems."

A reunion dinner was scheduled in London with Goon Show partners Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe in the second half of July 1980. But the reunion never took place: on July 22nd Sellers suffered a massive heart attack in his hotel room. He passed away in a London hospital on July 24th 1980. He was 54.

He was survived by his wife Lynne Frederick, and his three children: Michael, Sarah and Victoria. At the time of his death he was scheduled for heart surgery in Los Angeles to take place within a few weeks.

In a tragic twist of fate, Sellers' only son Michael died of a heart attack at age 52 during surgery on the 24th of July 2006, 26 years to the day after his father's death.