was peter sellers married to elke sommer
[151] Sellers's personality was described by others as difficult and demanding, and he often clashed with fellow actors and directors. [282] A feature of the characterisations undertaken by Sellers is that, regardless of how clumsy or idiotic they are, he ensured that they always retain their dignity. [279][280], "I start with the voice. [30] He portrayed three roles, including King Rudolf IV and King Rudolf Vrulers of the fictional small nation of Ruritaniaand Syd Frewin, Rudolf V's half-brother. This very tall gentleman said, Im Mr. Sellers valet. Would I like to come to his suite?. Upon its release in May 1979, the film was well received; Janet Maslin of The New York Times observed how Sellers divided "his energies between a serious character and a funny one, but that it was his serious performance which was more impressive". [165][166] Because of Sellers's poor health, producer Charles K. Feldman insured him at a cost of $360,000[167] ($3,145,365 in 2021 dollars). Speer called Sellers a "cheeky young sod" for his efforts, but gave him an audition. When I arrived, he said, I have a doctor here because you dont look well. The doctor said, Shes suffering strain and stress. [267], Author Aaron Sultanik observed that in Sellers's early films, such as I'm All Right Jack, he displays "deft, technical interpretations [that] pinpoint the mechanical nature of his comic characterization", which "reduces each of his characters to a series of gross, awkward tics". The four comedians dubbed him KOGVOS (Keeper of Goons and Voice of Sanity)[b] Grafton later edited some of the first Goon Shows.[44]. [57] Sellers and Milligan then penned the script to Let's Go Crazy, the earliest film to showcase Sellers's ability to portray a series of different characters within the same film, and he made another appearance opposite his Goons co-stars in the 1952 flop, Down Among the Z Men. Director: Clive Donner | Stars: Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine Votes: 10,549 | Gross: $18.82M 8. I won't tell you what I think of you. [231] Sellers too had become tired of the role, saying after production, "I've honestly had enough of ClouseauI've got nothing more to give". [92], In 1960 Sellers portrayed an Indian doctor, Dr Ahmed el Kabir, in Anthony Asquith's romantic comedy The Millionairess, a film based on a George Bernard Shaw play of the same name. The couple married on 24 August 1970,[209] despite Sellers's private doubtsexpressed to his agent, Dennis Selingerabout his decision to remarry. [61] He accepted a larger part in the 1955 Alexander Mackendrick-directed Ealing comedy The Ladykillers in which he starred opposite his idol Alec Guinness, in addition to Herbert Lom and Cecil Parker. This continued all night and he took my radio and smashed it. [243] Sellers described his experience of working on the film as "so humbling, so powerful", and co-star Shirley MacLaine found Sellers "a dream" to work with. Sellers instead of Mr. Ustinovthank God! Filmed in April 1980 in Ireland, he played Monty Casino, a Jewish con-man. "[263], On 21 July 1980 Sellers arrived in London from Geneva. His father doubted Sellers's abilities in the entertainment field, even suggesting that his son's talents were only enough to become a road sweeper, while Sellers's mother encouraged him continuously. [15] Later in his life, Sellers observed that while his father's faith was according to the Church of England, his mother was Jewish, "and Jews take the faith of their mother. [12] Although Bill Sellers was Protestant and Peg was Jewish, Sellers attended the nearby Roman Catholic school St Aloysius' College in Highgate, run by the Brothers of Our Lady of Mercy. [26], In September 1943, he joined the Royal Air Force, although it is unclear whether he volunteered or was conscripted;[27] his mother unsuccessfully tried to have him deferred on medical grounds. [170] The film was directed by Vittorio De Sica, whose English Sellers struggled to understand. "[251], Sellers's last film was The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu, a comedic re-imagining of the eponymous adventure novels by Sax Rohmer; Sellers played both police inspector Nayland Smith and Fu Manchu, alongside Helen Mirren and David Tomlinson. [90][91] In 1959 Sellers released his second album, Songs for Swingin' Sellers, whichlike his first recordreached number three in the UK Albums Chart. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images), BEACH BOYS MIKE LOVE SAYS HE WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE GLIMMER OF HOPE WITH THIS TOO SHALL PASS. Sellers was nominated three times for an Academy Award, twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his performances in Dr. Strangelove and Being There, and once for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1959). I suppose I feel mainly I need the help of a woman. [242][243] During filming, to remain in character, Sellers refused most interview requests and kept his distance from the other actors. ", Sellers describing how he prepared for his wide range of roles in an October 1962 interview for Playboy. In lighter moments, Sellers had joked that his epitaph should read "Star of stage, screen and alimony. According to The Times, the film was a major commercial success and became the seventh most popular film at the British box office in 1970. Then I get together with the makeup man and we sort of transfer my drawings onto my face. [122], The Pink Panther was released in the UK in January 1964[128] and received a mixed reception from the critics,[129] although Penelope Gilliatt, writing in The Observer, remarked that Sellers had a "flawless sense of mistiming" in a performance that was "one of the most delicate studies in accident-proneness since the silents". The studio subsequently returned to Blake Edwards, who was adamant not to recast the character, feeling certain that no one could adequately replace Sellers. [218] In 1974, Sellers again claimed to have communicated with the long-dead music hall comic Dan Leno, who advised him to return to the role of Clouseau. He just said thats taken care of. Originally intended as a private film, the eleven-minute short film The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film was screened at the 1959 Edinburgh and San Francisco film festivals. In 1952, an earlier adaptation of the story was made into a film starring Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger, and directed by Richard Thorpe. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net Family (2) Trade Mark (4) Sky-high bouffant hairstyle Blue-green eyes and full lips "[268], A private funeral service was held at Golders Green Crematorium on 26 July, conducted by Sellers's old friend, Canon John Hester. Legal Statement. [114] Writing in The Sunday Times, Dilys Powell commented that Sellers gave "a firework performance, funny, malicious, only once for a few seconds overreaching itself, and in the murder scene which is both prologue and epilogue achieving the macabre in comedy". A playboy who refuses to give up his hedonistic lifestyle to settle down and marry his true love seeks help from a demented psychoanalyst who is having romantic problems of his own. Sellers portrayed Sir Guy Grand, an eccentric billionaire who plays elaborate practical jokes on people. On the following pages, you have the chance to read a detailed biography and browse through a myriad of personal information. [205][206][207] Fellow comedian and friend Spike Milligan believed that the early 1970s were for Sellers "a period of indifference, and it would appear at one time that his career might have come to a conclusion". [210], In April 1972, Sellers reunited with Milligan and Harry Secombe to record The Last Goon Show of All, which was broadcast on 5 October. [111] Sellers was apprehensive about accepting the role, doubting his ability to successfully portray the part of a flamboyant American television playwright who was according to Sellers "a fantastic nightmare, part homosexual, part drug addict, part sadist". Definitely something to talk about with Ms. Sommer when I got to spend an afternoon with her at her home in 2003, after being introduced to her by a mutual and beloved friend, casting director Marvin Paige (1927-2013). [100], In 1961 Sellers made his directorial debut with Mr. Topaze, in which he also starred. [179] A poor working relationship quickly developed between Sellers and Welles: Sellers eventually demanded that the two should not share the same set. [202], Sellers's next films, including Rodney Amateau's Where Does It Hurt? [192] Directors John and Roy Boulting considered that Sellers was "a deeply troubled man, distrustful, self-absorbed, ultimately self-destructive. [290] Writer and playwright John Mortimer saw the process for himself when Sellers was about to undertake filming on Mortimer's The Dock Brief and could not decide how to play the character of the barrister. The shows aired on Britain's new ITV channel. [194], In 1969 Sellers starred opposite Ringo Starr in the Joseph McGrath-directed film The Magic Christian. He had so much talent, it just oozed out of him";[271] in dark humour, referring to the missed dinner the Goons had planned, he added, "Anything to avoid paying for dinner". [140] Kubrick then re-cast Slim Pickens as Kong. [11] Despite Sellers's deep personal problems, The Pink Panther Strikes Again was well received critically. The bikini was actually of mink I was floored., HAPPY DAYS STAR ANSON WILLIAMS RE-RECORDS PUMP YOUR BLOOD TO IM GONNA WASH MY HANDS FOR CHILDREN, Peter Sellers Britt Eklund during happier times, circa 1964. [195] The film, a satire on human nature,[196] was in general viewed negatively by critics. [233] Steven Bach, the senior vice-president and head of worldwide productions for United Artists, who worked with Sellers on Revenge of the Pink Panther, considered that Sellers was "deeply unbalanced, if not committable: that was the source of his genius and his truly quite terrifying aspects as manipulator and hysteric. Sellers and Kubrick got along famously during the film's production and had the greatest of respect for each other, also sharing a love of photography. [242] Critic Frank Rich wrote that the acting skill required for this sort of role, with a "schismatic personality that Peter had to convey with strenuous vocal and gestural technique A lesser actor would have made the character's mental dysfunction flamboyant and drastic [His] intelligence was always deeper, his onscreen confidence greater, his technique much more finely honed":[245] in achieving this, Sellers "makes the film's fantastic premise credible". [71] Sellers was a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats, the same exclusive theatrical fraternity founded by Leno in 1890. He just went on and on, she said. [153], "I feel extremely vulnerable, and I need help a lot. [181][f], Shortly after leaving Casino Royale, Sellers was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in honour of his career achievements. [277], After his death, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer tried to continue with Romance of the Pink Panther and offered the role of Clouseau to Dudley Moore, who turned it down. Sommer's married Wolf Walther in 1993. advertisement [244] Sellers's performance was universally lauded by critics and is considered by critic Danny Smith to be the "crowning triumph of Peter Sellers's remarkable career". [216] So important was the voice as the starting point for character development, that Sellers would walk around London with a reel-to-reel tape recorder, recording voices to study at home. [32] On resuming his theatrical career, Sellers could get only sporadic work. Market data provided by Factset. Sellers portrayed Harry Robinson, the Teddy Boy; biographer Peter Evans considers this Sellers's first good role. He just pre-decided everything without ever asking me., She also claimed it was Sellers actions that got her fired from the 1964 film Guns at Batasi., He called me and said, Ask the production if you can have an extra day off, she said. Elke Sommer Biography Elke Sommer, born Elke von Schletz, is a German-born actress, entertainer and artist, who has starred in many Hollywood films. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars, remarking that Sellers was "back doing what he does best", although he also said that in Sellers's previous films he had "been at his worst recently". She is a German actress, entertainer and artist who has starred in a number of Hollywood films. "[251] His other daughter Sarah told Sellers her thoughts about the incident and he sent her a telegram that read "After what happened this morning with Victoria, I shall be happy if I never hear from you again. His behaviour was often erratic and compulsive, and he frequently clashed with his directors and co-stars, especially in the mid-1970s when his physical and mental health, together with his alcohol and drug problems, were at their worst. Together with writer William Peter Blatty, they turned the script into a Clouseau comedy, also adding Herbert Lom as Commissioner Dreyfus and Burt Kwouk as Cato. [121], "I'll play Clouseau with great dignity, because he thinks of himself as one of the world's best detectives. Two days after their first date, Ekland said Sellers called her and admitted he told the press they were getting married. [180] Sellers left the film before his part was complete. During the filming from February to June 1976, the already fraught relationship between Sellers and Blake Edwards had seriously deteriorated. Sellers was married four times and had three children from his first two marriages. [43] Sellers played four main charactersMajor Bloodnok, Hercules Grytpype-Thynne, Bluebottle and Henry Crunand seventeen minor ones. He decided what I was going to wear, she said. This prompted Sellers to throw both children out, saying that he never wanted to see them again. [208] In his private life, he had been seeing the twenty-three-year-old model Miranda Quarry. Sellers was married four times and had three children from his first two marriages. [36], Sellers wrote to the BBC in 1948, and was subsequently auditioned. [39] On his playing of Clouseau, Sellers said: "I set out to play Clouseau with great dignity because I feel that he thinks he is probably one of the greatest detectives in the world. He began accompanying his parents in a variety act that toured the provincial theatres. [152] Upon its release in late June 1964, Bosley Crowther noted the "joyously free and facile way" in which Sellers had developed his comedy technique. 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