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Peter Sellers

British actor and comedian (1925-1980) · United Kingdom · Actors · Died at 54

Peter Sellers is read about 3,702 times a day, in 33 languages.

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He was the man of a thousand voices who insisted he had no voice of his own. Peter Sellers turned self-erasure into art - becoming Inspector Clouseau, three characters in Dr. Strangelove, a simpleton who baffles Washington in Being There - but offstage the emptiness wasn't an act.

A life in dates

1980Died24 July 1980The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu ManchuFilm, 1980Fu Manchu / Nayland Smith1978Rire et sourire : Le SplendidSeries, Extrait du film « La Malédiction de la Panthère rose », 1978Revenge of the Pink PantherFilm, 1978Chief Inspector Clouseau1977“There is no me. I do not exist … There used to be a me, but I had it surgically removed.”In their words6 December 1977As "Himself" in The Muppet Show, episode # 2.19 (6 December 1977); also quoted in "Sellers Strikes Again"by Richard Schickel in TIME

1975The Return of the Pink PantherFilm, Inspector Clouseau1972SykesSeries, Tommy Grando1970There's a Girl in My SoupFilm, Robert Danvers1969This Is Tom JonesSeries1968I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!Film, Harold1967One Pair of EyesSeriesCasino RoyaleFilm, 1967Evelyn Tremble1965The Dean Martin ShowSeriesWhat's New Pussycat?Film, 1965Dr. Fritz Fassbender1963The Pink PantherFilm, Insp. Jacques Clouseau1961“Criticism should be done by critics, and a critic should have some training and some love of the medium he is discussing.”In their wordsSeptember 1961Statement (September 1961), as quoted in Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers (1999) by Ed Sikov, p. 168

TempoSeries, 19611960The Battle of the SexesFilm, Mr. Martin1958Tom ThumbFilm, Antony1957Theatre NightSeries, The Sultan1956The Man Who Never WasFilm, Voice of Winston Churchill (uncredited)1954And So To BentleySeries1953Beat the DevilFilm, Billy Dannreuther (voice) (uncredited)1925Born8 September 1925

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

In their own words 9

,
Peter Sellers
,
9 statements, newest first
  1. There is no me. I do not exist … There used to be a me, but I had it surgically removed.

    Dec 6, 1977, As "Himself" in The Muppet Show, episode # 2.19 (6 December 1977); also quoted in "Sellers Strikes Again"by Richard Schickel in TIME, Own words

  2. Criticism should be done by critics, and a critic should have some training and some love of the medium he is discussing.

    Sep 1961, Statement (September 1961), as quoted in Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers (1999) by Ed Sikov, p. 168, Own words

  3. If you ask me to play myself, I will not know what to do. I do not know who or what I am.

    As quoted in Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion (1988) by Leslie Halliwell, p. 622, Own words

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On YouTube

1,700 subscribers
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Filmography 40

JMJohn Candy: I Like Me2025 · ★ 7.9
KKKubrick by Kubrick2020 · ★ 7.3
KOKoyaanisqatsi1983 · ★ 7.9
TPTrail of the Pink PantherChief Insp. Jacques Clouseau (archive footage)1982 · ★ 5.1
TMThe Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu ManchuFu Manchu / Nayland Smith1980
BTBeing ThereChance1979 · ★ 7.6
TZThe Prisoner of ZendaRudolf IV/Rudolf V/Sidney Frewin1979
RPRevenge of the Pink PantherChief Inspector Clouseau1978 · ★ 6.4
MDMurder by DeathSidney Wang1976 · ★ 7.1
TAThe Pink Panther Strikes AgainChief Inspector Clouseau1976 · ★ 6.9
TPThe Return of the Pink PantherInspector Clouseau1975 · ★ 6.8
AWAlice's Adventures in WonderlandThe March Hare1972 · ★ 6.3
TSThere's a Girl in My SoupRobert Danvers1970 · ★ 5.5
TCThe Magic ChristianSir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE1969 · ★ 5.8
TPThe PartyHrundi V. Bakshi1968 · ★ 7.3
ITI Love You, Alice B. Toklas!Harold1968
CRCasino RoyaleEvelyn Tremble1967 · ★ 5.2
WSWoman Times SevenJean1967 · ★ 6.3
AFAfter the FoxAldo Vanucci/Federico Fabrizi1966 · ★ 6.1
TBThe Wrong BoxDoctor Pratt1966 · ★ 6.4
AWAlice in WonderlandKing of Hearts1966
WPWhat's New Pussycat?Dr. Fritz Fassbender1965 · ★ 5.9
DBDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BombGroup Capt. Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley / Dr. Strangelove1964 · ★ 8.1
ADA Shot in the DarkJacques Clouseau1964 · ★ 7.2
TOThe World of Henry OrientHenry Orient1964 · ★ 5.9
CCCarol for Another ChristmasImperial Me1964
TPThe Pink PantherInsp. Jacques Clouseau1963 · ★ 6.9
TLThe Wrong Arm of the LawPearly Gates1963
LOLolitaClare Quilty1962 · ★ 7.3
TKThe Road to Hong KongIndian Neurologist (uncredited)1962
TSTwo-Way StretchDodger Lane1960 · ★ 6.7
TMThe MillionairessDr. Kabir1960
TSThe Battle of the SexesMr. Martin1960
TRThe Mouse That RoaredGrand Duchess Gloriana XII / Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy / Tully Bascombe1959 · ★ 6.4
IJI'm All Right JackFred Kite / Sir John Kennaway1959 · ★ 6.6
TTTom ThumbAntony1958 · ★ 6.4
TEThe Smallest Show on EarthPercy Quill1957
TWThe Man Who Never WasVoice of Winston Churchill (uncredited)1956 · ★ 7.0
TLThe LadykillersHarry, alias 'Mr. Robinson'1955 · ★ 7.3
BDBeat the DevilBilly Dannreuther (voice) (uncredited)1953 · ★ 6.1

146 credits on file

Television 24

TBThe Beatles: Get Back2021
PAParkinson2004
THThe World of Hammer1994
FBFunny Business(archive footage)1992
RSRire et sourire : Le SplendidExtrait du film « La Malédiction de la Panthère rose », 19781978
TSThe Muppet Show1976
SYSykesTommy Grando1972
FIFilm '721971
VSV.I.P. Schaukel1971
TJThis Is Tom Jones1969
RIRowan & Martin's Laugh-In1968
ITIt Takes a ThiefMan in Harbor Records Office1968
OEOne Pair of Eyes1967
ASABC Stage 671966
TSThe Dean Martin Show1965
TTThe Telegoons1963
TSThe Mike Douglas Show1961
TETempo1961
WWWhicker's World1959
TNTheatre NightThe Sultan1957
AFA Show Called Fred1956
TDThe Idiot Weekly, Price 2d1956
SFSon of Fred1956
ABAnd So To Bentley1954

Awards

Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Golden Globe Awards

Family

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About this person

Born Richard Henry Sellers on 8 September 1925, he grew up touring English variety halls with his parents and later drummed for troop shows during the war, honing the mimicry that would define him. In 1951 he joined Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe for The Goon Show on BBC Radio, a nine-year run that made him a household presence before he ever stepped in front of a camera. His film work through the 1950s and '60s revealed a performer who could inhabit aristocrats, buffoons, and megalomaniacs with equal conviction - The Ladykillers, Lolita, five Pink Panther films, the triple role in Dr. Strangelove. He was nominated twice for the Oscar as Best Actor and won the Golden Globe in 1980 for Being There, playing a gardener mistaken for a sage. Depression, four marriages, clashes on set, and a heart that finally gave out on 24 July 1980 at fifty-four - the Boulting brothers called him the greatest comic genius Britain had produced since Chaplin, but Sellers himself claimed he didn't exist outside the parts.

Country
United Kingdom
Category
Actors
Type
Actor
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1925 to 1980 · aged 54

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