Peter Sellers (Actor)

Peter Sellers picture
Peter Sellers outside court during his divorce hearings. (Photo: Harold Clement / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

About Peter Sellers

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 1963, Sellers starred in the first installment of the hugely popular "Pink Panther" series, introducing the loveable 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; he turned in a triumphant valedictory performance as Chance, the gardener-turned-statesman, in Hal Ashby's gentle political satire, "Being There" (1979). He was at one time married to actress Britt Ekland.

After his death in 1982 Sellers' colorful yet tormented life off the screen became the inspiration of the acclaimed HBO telepic "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" (2004), which explored the various demons that drove the comedian.

Family
Name: Relation: Notes:
Ann Hayes wife divorced
Britt Ekland wife divorced
Miranda Quarry wife divorced
Lynne Frederick wife died on April 27, 1994 at age 39; married and divorced TV personality David Frost after marriage to Sellers had ended
Peg Mendoza mother
Bill Sellers father
Companions
Name: Relation: Notes:
Liza Minnelli companion
Milestones
Drafted at age 18, assigned to Royal Air Force entertainment unit (appeared in India, Ceylon, Burma)
1949 - 1956 Appeared on BBC radio's "The Goon Show" with Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan
1951 Screen debut "Penny Points to Paradise"
1961 Directed, and acted in, "Mr Topaze"
1964 Suffered serious heart attack during filming of "Kiss Me, Stupid"
1980 Last film, "The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu"
1982 Feature film, "The Trail of the Pink Panther", assembled from outtakes and previously edited-out footage from Sellers's earlier films as Inspector Clouseau; extra scenes shot to connect material together

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Quick Facts

Born

September, 08 1925 in Southsea, England

Professions

actor

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