Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers (September 8, 1925 — July 24, 1980) was an English film actor, comedian and singer. He performed in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show, featured on a number of hit comic songs and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series of films. Sellers made his stage debut at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, when he was two weeks old and accompanied his parents in a variety act that toured the provincial theaters. He toured around England as a member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) and developed his mimicry and improvisational skills during a spell in Ralph Reader's wartime Gang Show entertainment troupe. After the war, Sellers made his radio debut in ShowTime and eventually became a regular performer on various BBC radio shows.

Sellers began his film career during the 1950s, appearing in The Ladykillers (1955), Two Way Stretch (1960), The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963), and Heavens Above! (1963). Although the bulk of his work was comedic, often parodying characters of authority such as military officers or policemen, he also performed in other film genres and roles. Films demonstrating his artistic range include I’m All Right Jack (1959), Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove (1964), What’s New, Pussycat? (1965), Casino Royale (1967), The Party (1968), Being There (1979), and five films of the Pink Panther series (1963-1978).

Sellers' versatility enabled him to portray a wide range of comic characters using different accents and guises, and he would often assume multiple roles within the same film, frequently with contrasting temperaments and styles. Satire and black humor were major features of many of his films, and his performances had a strong influence on a number of later comedians. Sellers was nominated three times for an Academy Award, twice for Best Actor (for Dr. Strangelove and Being There) and once for Best Live Action Short Film (The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film). He won a BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role twice (for I'm All Right Jack and The Pink Panther) and was nominated as Best Actor three times. In 1980 he won the Golden Globe Award for his role in Being There. An enigmatic figure, he often claimed to have no identity outside the roles that he played. He died from a heart attack in 1980 at age 54, in his home town of London (where he predicted he would die). English filmmakers the Boulting brothers described Sellers as "the greatest comic genius this country has produced since Charles Chaplin.”