Peter Sellers
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
Credits
- 2023 · Peter Sellers: Genius at Work as Self (archive footage)
- 2021 · The Beatles: Get Back as Self (archive footage)
- 2020 · Kubrick by Kubrick as Self (archive footage)
- 2020 · Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy as Self (Archival Footage)
- 2018 · The Ghost of Peter Sellers as Himself (Archive)
- 2014 · Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace as Himself (archive footage)
- 2013 · The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of 'Gorgo' as The Villain Antony (archive footage)
- 2007 · Hitler: The Comedy Years as Dr. Strangelove / Fred Kite (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2005 · The Beatles: Get Back...Winter of Discontent as Self (archive footage)
- 2004 · Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove' as Self (archive footage)
- 2003 · The Peter Sellers Story - As He Filmed It as Himself
- 2001 · The Paranormal Peter Sellers as Self (Archive footage)
- 1996 · Spike as Himself
- 1995 · The Peter Sellers Story as Himself
- 1992 · Funny Business as (archive footage)
- 1992 · Sellers' Best as Self (archive footage)
- 1990 · The Very Best of Peter Sellers as
- 1985 · Muppet Video: Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets as Self
- 1985 · Muppet Treasures as Self
- 1982 · Trail of the Pink Panther as Chief Insp. Jacques Clouseau (archive footage)
- 1981 · Eric Sykes: One of the Great Troupers as Self (archive material)
- 1980 · The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu as Fu Manchu / Nayland Smith
- 1979 · Being There as Chance
- 1979 · The Prisoner of Zenda as Rudolf IV/Rudolf V/Sidney Frewin
- 1978 · Rire et sourire : Le Splendid as Extrait du film « La Malédiction de la Panthère rose », 1978
- 1978 · Mickey's 50 as Self
- 1978 · Revenge of the Pink Panther as Chief Inspector Clouseau
- 1978 · Kingdom Of Gifts as The Slightly Larcenous Mayor
- 1977 · To See Such Fun as
- 1976 · The Pink Panther Strikes Again as Chief Inspector Clouseau
- 1976 · The Muppet Show as Self - Special Guest Star
- 1976 · Murder by Death as Sidney Wang
- 1975 · The Return of the Pink Panther as Inspector Clouseau
- 1975 · A Salute to Sir Lew Grade as Self
- 1975 · Julie: My Favourite Things as Various
- 1975 · The Great McGonagall as Queen Victoria
- 1974 · Flip Wilson... Of Course as Self
- 1974 · Soft Beds, Hard Battles as Général Latour / Major Robinson / Herr Schroeder / Adolf Hitler / The President / Prince Kyoto
- 1973 · The Optimists of Nine Elms as Sam
- 1973 · The Big Screen as Self
- 1973 · The Blockhouse as Rouquet
- 1973 · Ghost in the Noonday Sun as Dick Scratcher
- 1972 · Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as The March Hare
- 1972 · Sykes as Tommy Grando
- 1972 · Where Does It Hurt? as Dr. Albert T. Hopfnegal
- 1972 · The Last Goon Show of All as
- 1971 · V.I.P. Schaukel as Self
- 1970 · Wilton's: The Handsomest Hall in Town as G.W. Ross
- 1970 · There's a Girl in My Soup as Robert Danvers
- 1970 · Hoffman as Mr. Hoffman
- 1970 · Simon Simon as Man with Two Cars
- 1970 · A Day at the Beach as Salesman
- 1969 · Will the Real Mr Sellers.....? as
- 1969 · The Magic Christian as Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE
- 1969 · One Pair of Eyes - No, But Seriously as
- 1969 · This Is Tom Jones as Self
- 1968 · I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! as Harold
- 1968 · The Party as Hrundi V. Bakshi
- 1968 · It Takes a Thief as Man in Harbor Records Office
- 1967 · Woman Times Seven as Jean
- 1967 · Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as Self
- 1967 · Casino Royale as Evelyn Tremble
- 1967 · The Bobo as Juan Bautista
- 1966 · Alice in Wonderland as King of Hearts
- 1966 · El Rey en Londres as
- 1966 · ABC Stage 67 as Self
- 1966 · After the Fox as Aldo Vanucci / Federico Fabrizi
- 1966 · The Wrong Box as Doctor Pratt
- 1965 · Birds, Bees and Storks as Narrator (voice)
- 1965 · The Music of Lennon & McCartney as
- 1965 · The Dean Martin Show as
- 1965 · What's New Pussycat? as Dr. Fritz Fassbender
- 1964 · Carol for Another Christmas as Imperial Me
- 1964 · I Say I Say I Say as
- 1964 · A Shot in the Dark as Jacques Clouseau
- 1964 · The World of Henry Orient as Henry Orient
- 1964 · Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb as Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley / Dr. Strangelove
- 1963 · The Pink Panther as Insp. Jacques Clouseau
- 1963 · The Telegoons as
- 1963 · Heavens Above! as The Rev. John Smallwood
- 1963 · The Wrong Arm of the Law as Pearly Gates
- 1962 · Trial and Error as Wilfred Morgenhall
- 1962 · Lolita as Clare Quilty
- 1962 · Waltz of the Toreadors as Gen. Leo Fitzjohn
- 1962 · The Road to Hong Kong as Indian Neurologist (uncredited)
- 1962 · Only Two Can Play as John Lewis
- 1961 · The Mike Douglas Show as Self (archive footage)
- 1961 · Mr. Topaze as Auguste Topaze
- 1960 · Two Way Stretch as Dodger Lane
- 1960 · The Millionairess as Dr. Kabir
- 1960 · Never Let Go as Lionel Meadows
- 1960 · The Battle of the Sexes as Mr. Martin
- 1959 · The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film as
- 1959 · I'm All Right Jack as Fred Kite
- 1959 · The Mouse That Roared as Grand Duchess Gloriana XII / Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy / Tully Bascombe
- 1959 · Carlton-Browne of the F.O. as Prime Minister Amphibulos
- 1958 · Tom Thumb as Antony
- 1958 · Up the Creek as CPO Doherty
- 1957 · Insomnia is Good for You as
- 1957 · The Naked Truth as Sonny MacGregor
- 1957 · The Smallest Show on Earth as Percy Quill
- 1957 · Yes, It's The Cathode-Ray Tube Show! as
- 1957 · Dearth of a Salesman as Hector Dimwittie
- 1956 · Son of Fred as
- 1956 · A Show Called Fred as
- 1956 · The Man Who Never Was as Winston Churchill (voice)
- 1956 · The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d as
- 1956 · The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn as Assorted
- 1955 · The Ladykillers as Harry, alias 'Mr. Robinson'
- 1955 · John and Julie as Police Constable Diamond
- 1954 · Orders Are Orders as Pvt. Goffin
- 1954 · And So To Bentley as
- 1953 · Our Girl Friday as Voice of Parrot
- 1953 · Beat the Devil as Billy Dannreuther (voice) (uncredited)
- 1952 · Down Among the Z Men as Major Bloodnok
- 1951 · Let's Go Crazy as Multiple Roles
- 1951 · Penny Points to Paradise as The Major / Arnold Fringe
- 1951 · The Slappiest Days of Our Lives as (archive footage)
- 1951 · A Burlesque on the Opera Carmen as Voice narrator
- 1950 · The Black Rose as Lu Chung (voice)
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Italian Movie Director (archive footage)