Date of Birth

8 September 1925, Southsea, Hampshire, England, UK

Date of Death

24 July 1980, London, England, UK

Often credited as the greatest comedian of all time, Peter Sellers was born to a well-off English acting family in 1925. His mother and father worked in an acting company run by his grandmother. As a child, Sellers was spoiled, as his parents' first child had died at birth. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force and served during World War II. After the war he met Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine, who would become his future workmates.

After the war, he set up a review in London, which was a combination of music (he played the drums) and impressions. Then, all of a sudden, he burst into prominence as the voices of numerous favorites on "The Goon Show" (1951-1960), making his debut in films in Penny Points to Paradise (1951) and Down Among the Z Men (1952), before making it big as one of the criminals in The Ladykillers (1955). These small but showy roles continued throughout the 1950s, but he got his first big break playing the dogmatic union man, Fred Kite, in I'm All Right Jack (1959). The film's success led to starring vehicles into the 1960s that showed off his extreme comic ability to its fullest. In 1962, Sellers was cast in the role of Clare Quilty in the Stanley Kubrick version of the film Lolita (1962) in which his performance as a mentally unbalanced TV writer with multiple personalities landed him another part in Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (1964) in which he played three roles which showed off his comic talent in play-acting in three different accents; British, American, and German.

He is best known for playing the klutzy and bumbling French Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Pink Panther (1963) which led to him reprising the role in A Shot in the Dark (1964), plus three more Pink Panther movies during the 1970s. But after the relative failure of What's New Pussycat (1965), which was Woody Allen's first film, Sellers embarked on a rapid downfall to "Grade Z" movies during the 1970s, all of which he claimed to have made only because he needed the money.

In 1972, he read the book "Being There" and decided to make it into a film. It took him seven years to finally bring it to the screen, but it earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination (he lost to Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of "Superdad" in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)). Being There (1979) proved to be somewhat of a last hurray for Sellers, as he died the following year.

In May 1964, at age 38, Sellers suffered a series of heart attacks (13 in total, and all within a few days) because of his recreational smoking, drinking, and drug use. Although he survived, his heart was permanently damaged. Sellers' heart condition slowly deteriorated over the next 16 years because, instead of electing traditional medical treatment, he only consulted with "psychic healers." In late 1977, Sellers barely survived another major heart attack and as a result, he had a pacemaker surgically implanted on his failing heart to help regulate his heartbeat, which caused him even more considerable medical problems.

A reunion dinner was scheduled in London with his Goon Show partners, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe, for July 25, 1980. But on July 22, Sellers collapsed from a massive heart attack in his Dorchester Hotel room and fell into a coma. He died in a London hospital just after midnight on July 24, 1980 at age 54. He was survived by his fourth wife, Lynne Frederick, and three children: Michael, Sarah and Victoria. At the time of his death, he was scheduled to undergo heart surgery in Los Angeles at the very end of that month.

His last movie, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980), completed just a few months before his death, proved to be another box office flop. Director Blake Edwards' attempt at reviving the Pink Panther series after Sellers' death resulted in two panned 1980s comedies, the first of which, Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), deals with Inspector Clouseau's disappearance and was made from material cut from previous Pink Panther films and includes interviews with the original casts playing their original characters.

Father, with actress Britt Ekland, of actress Victoria Sellers.

Ranked #84 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]

Born at 6:00am-BST

Interred at Golders Green Crematorium, London, England, UK.

Sellers, Spike Milligan, Michael Bentine and Harry Secombe performed on BBC Radio as "The Goon Show" in the early 1950s.

Duet with Sophia Loren, "Goodness Gracious Me," was released in 1960 and reached the top four. Also with Loren, "Bangers and Mash" peaked at 22 in the UK charts in 1961.

Sellers also enjoyed success in the UK music charts, with "Any Old Iron" reaching 17 in 1957 and a cover of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" released in 1965 and reaching 14.

Claims to have had a near-death experience during a heart attack, in which he saw Heaven.

He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1966 for his services to drama.

First actor to be nominated for a single Academy award (best actor) for a film in which he potrayed three different characters in the same film: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).

Sellers was the first male to appear on the cover of Playboy Magazine, in April 1964

Was a vegetarian.

Father, with Anne Howe, of Michael Sellers and Sarah Sellers.

His third wife, Miranda Quarry, is now "The Countess of Stockton."

Turned down the role of George Webber in Blake Edwards' 10 (1979) (George Segal was cast instead but eventually replaced by Dudley Moore). Sellers made a cameo appearance but it wound up being cut out.

His "Goon Show" records, and other comedy recordings from the 1950s and early 1960s, were produced by George Martin, before he worked with The Beatles.

Recorded a comedic rendition of "Unchained Melody" which wasn't released until years afterwards.

He was voted the 41st Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.

Died at 12:26am - BST after being in a coma for more than 30 hours after suffering a massive heart attack.

Mel Brooks considered him for - and he expressed interest in - the role of "Leo Bloom" in The Producers (1968), but nothing ever came of it, and the role eventually went to Gene Wilder. However, Sellers was instrumental in the success of the film. After its release, he happened, almost by accident, to see a private screening of it and was so impressed that the next day he took out two full-page newspaper ads at his own expense proclaiming that it was one of the greatest comedies he had ever seen. This exposure helped promote the film at a critical time when it appeared that it was destined to sink without a trace.

Is portrayed by Geoffrey Rush in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004).

At the time of his death, he was due to undergo heart surgery in Los Angeles on July 30.

One afternoon the doorbell rang in Sellers' London flat. As he was busy in his study, his wife Anne went to the door, where she was handed a telegram. The message: "Bring me a cup of coffee. Peter".

Late one night, following a disappointing day wrestling with a troublesome scene in one of the Pink Panther films, director Blake Edwards was roused by a call from Sellers. "I just talked to God!" he exclaimed, "and he told me how to do it!" The next day Edwards humored Sellers - and the result was an unmitigated disaster. "Peter," Edwards suggested, "next time you talk to God, tell him to stay out of show business!".

Died a few days after filming a "Barclays Bank" commercial, which was never aired.

His performance as Dr. Strangelove in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) is ranked #75 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

His performance as Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the "Pink Panther" franchise is ranked #67 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

His performance as Chance the Gardener in Being There (1979) is ranked #49 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

At the time of his death, Sellers was set to play Inspector Clouseau again in "Romance of the Pink Panther". The script had been written by Sellers and Jim Moloney and the film was to be directed by Clive Donner. Pamela Stephenson was to have played the female lead. Also in the pipeline were the leads in Lovesick (1983) and Unfaithfully Yours (1984). Both these roles were taken over by Dudley Moore.

Left the bulk of his estate--cash, cars, houses and art amounting to £4.5 million--to fourth wife Lynne Frederick. He left his son Michael and his daughter Sarah from his first marriage to actress Anne Howe only £800 each. "It was a calculated and considered act. Even his lawyers blushed when they told me," Michael said. Sellers had married Frederick, who was known primarily as David Frost's girlfriend (and subsequently his wife after Sellers' death), in 1977. Reportedly Sellers was in the process of excluding her from his will in the time immediately preceding his death by heart attack in 1980. A drug addict and an alcoholic, Frederick died at aged 39 and all income from Sellers' estate, including royalties from movie profit-sharing deals, was inherited by her daughter with third husband Barry Unger.

Together with Nicolas Cage (Adaptation. (2002)) and Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou (1965)), and José Ferrer (Moulin Rouge (1952) Sellers is the only actor with an Oscar nomination for playing multiple characters in a film (in (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), he plays three characters, Group Captain (G/C) Lionel Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley and Dr. Strangelove). Marvin is the only one who actually won one for a double role.

Became friends with The Beatles, and visited them at Abbey Road Studios. Was given a tape of rough mixes from the "White Album", which was auctioned (and bootlegged) after his death.

He was one of the favorite actors of Elvis Presley who always had Sellers' Pink Panther films with him on the airplane while he was on tour.

Prince Charles had been a fan of Sellers since "The Goon Show". In 1975, after he had seen The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) in Montreal, Charles wrote to Sellers that he'd laughed so hard he had wet the dress of the woman in the next seat.

Before his death he spoke very highly of Robin Williams and Steve Martin, both considered that a great honor.

Was an amateur photographer and camera nut for most of his life.

Served in the Royal Air Force during World War II.

His father was Protestant and his mother was Jewish. He attended St. Aloysius College, a Roman Catholic School.

He was fitted with a pacemaker in the late 1970s for his failing heart.

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