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British actor Peter Sellers was incredibly versatile, playing Chief Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films with as much ease as Clare Quilty in Lolita.
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Peter Sellers - Master of Mimicry
Watch a short video about Peter Sellers and learn how he became a world renowned comedian.
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Play NowPeter Sellers. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 02:07, Jun 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/peter-sellers-9478624.
Peter Sellers. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/peter-sellers-9478624 [Accessed 18 Jun 2013].
"Peter Sellers." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 18 2013, 02:07 http://www.biography.com/people/peter-sellers-9478624.
"Peter Sellers," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/peter-sellers-9478624 [accessed Jun 18, 2013].
"Peter Sellers," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/peter-sellers-9478624 (accessed Jun 18, 2013).
Peter Sellers [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/peter-sellers-9478624.
Peter Sellers, http://www.biography.com/people/peter-sellers-9478624 (last visited Jun 18, 2013).
Peter Sellers. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/peter-sellers-9478624. Accessed Jun 18, 2013.
Synopsis
Born on September 8, 1925 in Portsmouth, England, British comedian Peter Sellers was an incredibly versatile actor, playing Chief Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films with as much ease as Clare Quilty in Lolita. Stanley Kubrick asked him to play three roles in Dr. Strangelove for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. He also released two comedy records, controversial for including material involving the royal family.
Early Life
Considered a comic genius, Peter Sellers was literally born into show business. His parents were vaudeville performers, and he arrived while they were appearing in Southsea, England. Sellers studied dance as a child before attending St. Aloysius’ Boarding and Day School for Boys. As a teenager, he learned to play the drums and played with jazz bands.
At the age of 18, Sellers entered the Royal Air Force during World War II. There he began part of a group of entertainers who performed for the troops. Sellers played his drums and did dead-on impersonations of some of the officers. After the war, he struggled to launch his comic career for several years.
Career Beginnings
After several previous attempts, Sellers managed to land work with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) by winning over radio producer Roy Speer during a phone conversation. His spot-on impersonations helped make him a beloved radio comedian. In 1951, Sellers joined fellow comics Spike Mulligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine for The Goon Show. The program proved to be hugely popular with listeners who tuned in to hear their absurd skits and bits.
The success of The Goon Show helped Sellers break into movies. After appearing Down Among the Z Men (1952) with his radio colleagues, Sellers landed a small part in the comedy The Ladykillers (1955) with Alec Guinness. His career really took off in 1959 with I’m All Right, Jack and The Mouse That Roared. In The Mouse That Roared, Sellers played three characters, including a duchess and X. This successful movie helped introduce Sellers to American movie-goers.
The Goon Show ended its run in 1960, but the program proved to be a strong influence on British comedy. It paved the way for such future comedy shows as Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Hit Films and Misses
Sellers hit his stride in the early 1960s with two of his most famous roles. Sellers also introduced audiences to the world’s most bumbling detective, Inspector Jacques Closeau, in Blake Edwards’s The Pink Panther (1963). The film proved to be a huge success, and it was quickly followed by the sequel A Shot in the Dark (1964). In Stanley Kubrick’s war satire Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), he once again showed his ability to tackle multiple characters, including the title role.
In 1964, Sellers had his first heart attack. He was reportedly clinically dead for two and a half minutes before being revived. This incident marked the beginning of his heart troubles, and he later had a pacemaker installed to help manage his heartbeat.
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