Peter Sellers
“A chameleonic comic genius who vanished into his characters, from bumbling inspector to mad scientist.”
In 1964 Peter Sellers played three roles in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove and created the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther, cementing his reputation as the most versatile comic actor of his era. The dual triumph carried his radio-honed gift for voices and disguise fully into international film stardom. From there the accident-prone Clouseau became his signature for life.
The Goon
A drummer and impressionist from a show-business family, Sellers rose to fame on BBC radio's surreal The Goon Show. His uncanny ability to vanish into accents and characters set the template for his film career.
Master of Disguise
On screen he proved astonishingly versatile, juggling three parts in Dr. Strangelove and immortalizing the hapless Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series. He claimed to have no fixed personality of his own, only the characters he played.
Genius and Turmoil
Behind the comedy lay a turbulent, often troubled man plagued by ill health after major heart attacks in 1964. His subtle, near-silent performance in Being There earned a final Oscar nomination shortly before his death at 54.
Career Timeline
- 1925Born in Southsea, Portsmouth, England
- 1951Joins radio's The Goon Show
- 1959Stars in I'm All Right Jack
- 1963Debuts Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther
- 1964Plays three roles in Dr. Strangelove
- 1964Suffers a series of severe heart attacks
- 1975Revives Clouseau in The Return of the Pink Panther
- 1979Stars in Being There
- 1980Dies of a heart attack in London at 54
Biggest Hits
- His parents nicknamed him 'Peter' after a stillborn elder brother, though he was christened Richard.
- He survived a string of heart attacks in 1964 that briefly left him clinically dead before continuing his career.
The Moment You Remember
In <em>Dr. Strangelove</em>, Sellers's wheelchair-bound title scientist wrestles his own gloved arm into a involuntary salute, a darkly comic image that crowned his triple performance in the Cold War satire.
Portrait: Allan Warren (retouch by Keraunoscopia) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons