Peter Sellers
(1925 - 1980)
Biography from Baseline's Encyclopedia of Film
Occupation: Actor
Birth Name: Richard Henry Sellers
Born: September 8, 1925, Southsea, England
Died: 1980
Protean comic actor who first came to attention on the popular radio series "The Goon Show," a precursor to both "Beyond the Fringe" and "Monty Python's Flying Circus." Sellers made his screen debut in 1951 and demonstrated a remarkable gift for character transformation in films such as THE MOUSE THAT ROARED (1959), a political spoof in which he played three very different roles. In 1964, Sellers starred in the first installment of the hugely popular PINK PANTHER series, introducing the lovable bumbler, Inspector Clouseau. (In that same year, he again assumed multiple identities in Stanley Kubrick's barbed satire, DR. STRANGELOVE.) Although the Clouseau character made him a rich, international star, Sellers expressed frustration with the limitations of the role. One of his final roles was a triumphant performance as the gardener-turned-statesman in Hal Ashby's gentle political satire, BEING THERE (1979). He was married to actresses Britt Ekland and Lynne Frederick.
What are your favorite Peter Sellers movies? Mine are
Being There
The Party
The Pink Panther
Dr. Strangelove