Peter Sellers
Biography
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE (September 8, 1925 – July 24, 1980), known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, for playing three different characters in Dr. Strangelove, as Clare Quilty in Lolita, and as the man-child and TV-addicted Chance the gardener in his penultimate film, Being There. Leading actress Bette Davis once remarked of him, "He isn't an actor—he's a chameleon." Sellers rose to fame on the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show. His ability to speak in different accents (e.g., French, Indian, American, German, as well as British regional accents), along with his talent to portray a range of characters to comic effect, contributed to his success as a radio personality and screen actor and earned him national and international nominations and awards. Many of his characters became ingrained in public perception of his work. Sellers' private life was characterized by turmoil and crises, and included emotional problems and substance abuse. Sellers was married four times, and had three children from the first two marriages. An enigmatic figure, he often claimed to have no identity outside the roles that he played, but he left his own portrait since, "he obsessively filmed his homes, his family, people he knew, anything that took his fancy right to the end of his life—intimate film that remained undiscovered until long after his death in 1980." The director Peter Hall has said: "Peter had the ability to identify completely with another person, and think his way physically, mentally and emotionally into their skin. Where does that come from? I have no idea. Is it a curse? Often. I think it's not enough though in this business to have talent. You have to have talent to handle the talent. And that I think Peter did not have." Description above from the Wikipedia article Peter Sellers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley / Dr. Strangelove
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Insp. Jacques Clouseau
The Pink Panther
Jacques Clouseau
A Shot in the Dark
Clare Quilty
Lolita
El Rey en Londres
Rudolf IV/Rudolf V/Sidney Frewin
The Prisoner of Zenda
Fu Manchu / Nayland Smith
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
Chance
Being There
Dr. Kabir
The Millionairess
Dr. Fritz Fassbender
What's New Pussycat?
The Music of Lennon & McCartney
Hrundi V. Bakshi
The Party
Harry, alias 'Mr. Robinson'
The Ladykillers
Sidney Wang
Murder by Death
Chief Inspector Clouseau
Revenge of the Pink Panther
Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE
The Magic Christian
Indian Neurologist (uncredited)
The Road to Hong Kong
Inspector Clouseau
The Return of the Pink Panther
Assorted
The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn
Evelyn Tremble
Casino Royale
Chief Inspector Clouseau
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
Mr. Hoffman
Hoffman
Grand Duchess Gloriana XII / Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy / Tully Bascombe
The Mouse That Roared
Chief Insp. Jacques Clouseau (archive footage)
Trail of the Pink Panther
The March Hare
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Fred Kite
I'm All Right Jack
King of Hearts
Alice in Wonderland
Percy Quill
The Smallest Show on Earth
The Major / Arnold Fringe
Penny Points to Paradise
Wilfred Morgenhall
The Dock Brief
Prime Minister Amphibulos
Carlton-Browne of the F.O.
Lionel Meadows
Never Let Go
Robert Danvers
There's a Girl in My Soup
Harold
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!
Pearly Gates
The Wrong Arm of the Law
Gen. Leo Fitzjohn
Waltz of the Toreadors
Mr. Martin
The Battle of the Sexes
Jean
Woman Times Seven
Général Latour / Major Robinson / Herr Schroeder / Adolf Hitler / The President / Prince Kyoto
Soft Beds, Hard Battles
Doctor Pratt
The Wrong Box
Dodger Lane
Two Way Stretch
Dr. Strangelove / Fred Kite (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hitler: The Comedy Years
Sonny MacGregor
The Naked Truth
Self
Muppet Treasures
Auguste Topaze
Mr. Topaze
Aldo Vanucci / Federico Fabrizi
After the Fox
Self
Muppet Video: Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets
Henry Orient
The World of Henry Orient
Rouquet
The Blockhouse
Multiple Roles
Let's Go Crazy
John Lewis
Only Two Can Play
Antony
Tom Thumb
Dr. Albert T. Hopfnegal
Where Does It Hurt?
Queen Victoria
The Great McGonagall
Imperial Me
Carol for Another Christmas
Major Bloodnok
Down Among the Z Men
Pvt. Goffin
Orders Are Orders
The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film
The Slightly Larcenous Mayor
Kingdom Of Gifts
Various
Julie: My Favourite Things
Salesman
A Day at the Beach
Self
The Big Screen
Juan Bautista
The Bobo
Self (archive footage)
Sellers' Best
(archive footage)
Ça, c'est du cinéma
CPO Doherty
Up the Creek
Sam
The Optimists of Nine Elms
Police Constable Diamond
John and Julie
Himself
The Peter Sellers Story
Self (archive footage)
Peter Sellers: Genius at Work
Voice of Parrot
Our Girl Friday
The Rev. John Smallwood
Heavens Above!
The Last Goon Show of All
Man with Two Cars
Simon Simon
Dick Scratcher
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
G.W. Ross
Wilton's: The Handsomest Hall in Town
Winston Churchill (voice)
The Man Who Never Was
Self (archive material)
Eric Sykes: One of the Great Troupers
Hector Dimwittie
Dearth of a Salesman
The Villain Antony (archive footage)
The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of 'Gorgo'
Self (Archive footage)
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
Himself (archive footage)
Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace
One Pair of Eyes - No, But Seriously
Narrator (voice)
Birds, Bees and Storks
Self
A Salute to Sir Lew Grade
Billy Dannreuther (voice) (uncredited)
Beat the Devil
I Say I Say I Say
The Very Best of Peter Sellers
Will the Real Mr Sellers.....?
Self (archive footage)
The Beatles: Get Back...Winter of Discontent
Himself (Archive)
The Ghost of Peter Sellers
Himself
Spike
Self (archive footage)
Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
Self
Mickey's 50
Lu Chung (voice)
The Black Rose
Self (Archival Footage)
Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy
Self (archive footage)
Kubrick by Kubrick
Himself
The Peter Sellers Story - As He Filmed It
To See Such Fun
Voice narrator
A Burlesque on the Opera Carmen
Insomnia is Good for You
Self
Flip Wilson... Of Course
Directed By Blake Edwards
Self - On TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Koyaanisqatsi
Viewed on TV screen acting in 1964 film Carol For Another Christmas uncredited
Scrooged
The Super Secret Service
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
106
Gender
Male
Birthday
1925-09-08
Place of Birth
Southsea, Hampshire, England, UK
Also Known As
A. Queen