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."
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (44)
John Candy: I Like Me
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
2025
Love Left the Masquerade: Peter Medak's Cinema of Pretenders
as Archive
2025
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2025
Peter Sellers: Genius at Work
as Self (archive footage)
2023
Directed By Blake Edwards
as Self
2021
Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy
as Self (Archival Footage)
2020
The Ghost of Peter Sellers
as Self (Archive)
2018
Black Baby
as Dr. Strangelove (archive footage)
2018
Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace
as Self (archive footage)
2014
The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of 'Gorgo'
as The Villain Antony (archive footage)
2013
Hitler: The Comedy Years
as Dr. Strangelove / Fred Kite (archive footage) (uncredited)
2007
The Beatles: Get Back...Winter of Discontent
as Self (archive footage)
2005
Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
as Self (archive footage)
2004
The Peter Sellers Story - As He Filmed It
as Himself
2003
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
as Self (Archive footage)
2001
Spike
as Himself
1996
The Peter Sellers Story
as Himself
1995
Sellers' Best
as Self (archive footage)
1992
The Very Best of Peter Sellers
1990
Muppet Video: Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets
as Self
1985
Muppet Treasures
as Self
1985
Trail of the Pink Panther
as Chief Insp. Jacques Clouseau (archive footage)
1982
Eric Sykes: One of the Great Troupers
as Self (archive material)
1981
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
as Fu Manchu / Nayland Smith
1980
Being There
as Chance
1979
The Prisoner of Zenda
as Rudolf IV/Rudolf V/Sidney Frewin
1979
Mickey's 50
as Self
1978
Revenge of the Pink Panther
as Chief Inspector Clouseau
1978
Kingdom Of Gifts
as The Slightly Larcenous Mayor
1978
To See Such Fun
1977
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
as Chief Inspector Clouseau
1976
Murder by Death
as Sidney Wang
1976
The Return of the Pink Panther
as Inspector Clouseau
1975
Julie: My Favourite Things
as Various
1975
A Salute to Sir Lew Grade
as Self
1975
The Great McGonagall
as Queen Victoria
1975
Flip Wilson... Of Course
as Self
1974
Soft Beds, Hard Battles
as Général Latour / Major Robinson / Herr Schroeder / Adolf Hitler / The President / Prince Kyoto
1974
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
1973
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
as The March Hare
1972
Where Does It Hurt?
as Dr. Albert T. Hopfnegal
1972
TV Shows (6)
The Beatles: Get Back
as Self
2021
The World of Hammer
as Self (archive footage)
1994
Funny Business
as (archive footage)
1992
Rire et sourire : Le Splendid
as Extrait du film « La Malédiction de la Panthère rose », 1978
1978
The Muppet Show
as Self - Special Guest Star
1976
Sykes
as Tommy Grando
1972