Peter Sellers On Stage, Radio, Screen And Record
The British actor and comedian Peter Sellers (1925–1980) performed in many genres of light entertainment, including film, radio and theatre. He appeared in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show, recorded a number of hit comic songs and became known internationally through his many film characterisations, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series. The filmmakers John and Roy Boulting described him as "the greatest comic genius [Britain] has produced since Charles Chaplin".
Sellers in the 1966 film After the Fox
Sellers's career on radio, film, television and record spanned from 1948 until his death. He made his radio debut on ShowTime in 1948, followed by appearances in Ray's a Laugh, Starlight Hour, The Gang Show, Henry Hall's Guest Night and It's Fine to Be Young. Along with Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine, he took part in the radio series The Goon Show (1951–60). Throughout his career, Sellers made a number of television appearances, in character roles and for interviews and advertisements. His stage appearances were few, largely because he had been unhappy with the touring he had done as a child with his family. During his career, he also released a number of albums containing sketches and comic songs; the songs were undertaken in a variety of comic characters.
Starting in the 1950s, Sellers appeared in over fifty films, including I'm All Right Jack, Dr. Strangelove, Lolita, Being There and the Pink Panther series. At the peak of his career, he was one of the most popular stars at the British box office: third in most popular films in 1962, and second in 1963. Sellers's versatility enabled him to portray a wide range of comic characters using different accents and guises, and he would often assume multiple roles within the same film. In 2005, Channel 4 conducted a survey of modern-day comedians, who ranked Sellers the 14th most influential comedian of all time.
Stage credits
| Show | Dates | Theatre | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack and the Beanstalk | 1946 | Théâtre Marigny | Various | |
| Mother Goose | December 1954 – March 1955 | London Palladium | The Squire | |
| Brouhaha | 17 August 1958 – February 1959 | Aldwych Theatre | The Sultan |
At the start of his career, Sellers also performed acts in a number of variety shows in various parts of Britain; his wartime service with the Gang Shows of Ralph Reader saw him perform in India, Ceylon and Burma.
Selected radio broadcasts
| Programme | Year(s) | Number of episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShowTime | 1948 | 2 | Appeared in the 1 July and 19 August 1948 broadcasts |
| It's Fine to Be Young | 1948 | 4 | Appeared in the weekly 31 August–21 September 1948 broadcasts |
| Third Division | 1949 | 6 | First broadcast in late January 1949 |
| Petticoat Lane | 1949 | 7 | Unknown broadcast dates |
| Sellers Market | 1950 | 8 | Broadcast in March 1950 |
| Crazy People | 1951 | 17 | Broadcast under the show's original name, Crazy People, against the wishes of the Goons; broadcast 28 May – 20 September 1951 |
| "Cinderella" | 1951 | 1 | The Goon Show pantomime; broadcast 26 December 1951 |
| The Goon Show, Season 2 | 1952 | 25 | Broadcast 22 January–15 July 1952 |
| The Goon Show, Season 3 | 1952–1953 | 25 | Broadcast 11 November 1952 –5 May 1953 |
| "Coronation Edition" | 1953 | 1 | The Goon Show special; broadcast 1 June 1953 |
| The Goon Show, Season 4 | 1953–1954 | 30 | Broadcast 2 October 1953 –19 April 1954 |
| "Archie in Goonland" | 1954 | 1 | The Goon Show crossover with Educating Archie; broadcast 11 June 1954 |
| "The Starlings" | 1954 | 1 | The Goon Show special; broadcast 31 August 1954 |
| The Goon Show, Season 5 | 1954–1955 | 26 | Broadcast 28 September 1954 –22 March 1955 |
| The Goon Show, Season 6 | 1955–1956 | 27 | Broadcast 20 September 1955 –15 November 1955 |
| "China Story" | 1956 | 1 | The Goon Show special; broadcast 29 August 1956 |
| The Goon Show, Season 7 | 1956 | 25 | Broadcast 4 October 1956 –1 November 1956 |
| Sellers Market | 1957 | 8 | Broadcast in March 1950 |
| Desert Island Discs | 1957 | 1 | Broadcast on 4 February 1957 |
| The Goon Show, Season 8 | 1957–1958 | 26 | Broadcast 30 September 1957 –24 March 1958 |
| Vintage Goons | 1957–1958 | 14 | Selected remakes of past episodes of The Goon Show; broadcast 6 October 1957 –23 March 1958 |
| The Goon Show, Season 9 | 1958–1959 | 17 | Broadcast 2 November 1958 –23 February 1959 |
| The Goon Show, Season 10 | 1959–1960 | 6 | Broadcast 24 December 1959 –28 January 1960 |
| "The Last Goon Show of All" | 1972 | 1 | Broadcast 5 October 1972 |
Sellers also appeared in supporting roles in a number of other radio programmes from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Filmography
| Film | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Black Rose | 1950 | Lu Chung (voice only) | Sellers dubbed the part played by Alfonso Bedoya (uncredited) |
| Penny Points to Paradise | 1951 | The Major, Arnold Fringe | |
| Let's Go Crazy | 1951 | Groucho, Giuseppe, Cedric, Izzy, Gozzunk, Crystal Jollibottom | Short film. Also co-wrote screenplay (uncredited) |
| Burlesque on Carmen | 1951 | Narrator | 1951 re-release of Charlie Chaplin's 1915 short |
| Down Among the Z Men | 1952 | Major Bloodnok | |
| Our Girl Friday | 1953 | Parrot | Voice (uncredited) |
| Orders Are Orders | 1954 | Private Griffin | |
| John and Julie | 1955 | Police Constable Diamond | |
| The Ladykillers | 1955 | Harry Robinson | |
| The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn | 1956 | Narrator, Supt. Quilt, Asst. Commissioner Sir Jervis Fruit, Henry Crun | Short film. Also additional material |
| The Man Who Never Was | 1956 | Winston Churchill | Voice only |
| Insomnia Is Good for You | 1957 | Hector Dimwiddle | Short film |
| The Smallest Show on Earth | 1957 | Percy Quill | |
| The Naked Truth | 1957 | Sonny McGregor | |
| Dearth of a Salesman | 1957 | Hector Dimwiddle | Short film |
| Up the Creek | 1958 | CPO Doherty | |
| Tom Thumb | 1958 | Antony | |
| Carlton-Browne of the F.O. | 1959 | Prime Minister Amphibulos | |
| The Mouse That Roared | 1959 | Grand Duchess Gloriana XII, Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy, Tully Bascombe | |
| I'm All Right Jack | 1959 | Fred Kite | Won: BAFTA Award for Best British Actor |
| The Battle of the Sexes | 1959 | Mr. Martin | |
| The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film | 1960 | Photographer | Short film. Also co-writer and producer Won: San Francisco International Film Festival Award for Best Fiction Short Nominated: Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film |
| Never Let Go | 1960 | Lionel Meadows | |
| The Millionairess | 1960 | Dr. Ahmed el Kabir | |
| Two-Way Stretch | 1960 | Dodger Lane | |
| Mr. Topaze | 1961 | Auguste Topaze | Also director |
| Only Two Can Play | 1962 | John Lewis | Nominated: BAFTA Award for Best British Actor |
| Waltz of the Toreadors | 1962 | General Leo Fitzjohn | Won: San Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
| The Road to Hong Kong | 1962 | Indian Neurologist | Uncredited |
| Lolita | 1962 | Clare Quilty | Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |
| The Dock Brief (a.k.a. Trial & Error) |
1962 | Wilfred Morgenhall | |
| The Wrong Arm of the Law | 1963 | Pearly Gates | |
| Heavens Above! | 1963 | The Reverend John Smallwood | |
| The Pink Panther | 1963 | Inspector Jacques Clouseau | Added to the American National Film Registry in 2010 Nominated: BAFTA Award for Best British Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | 1964 | Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley, Dr. Strangelove | Added to the American National Film Registry in 1989 Nominated: Academy Award for Best Actor BAFTA Award for Best British Actor |
| The World of Henry Orient | 1964 | Henry Orient | |
| A Shot in the Dark | 1964 | Inspector Jacques Clouseau | |
| Carol for Another Christmas | 1964 | King of the Individualists | TV film |
| Birds, Bees and Storks | 1965 | Narrator | Short film |
| What's New Pussycat? | 1965 | Doctor Fritz Fassbender | |
| The Wrong Box | 1966 | Doctor Pratt | |
| After the Fox | 1966 | Aldo Vanucci | |
| Casino Royale | 1967 | Evelyn Tremble / James Bond | Also additional screenplay (uncredited) |
| Woman Times Seven | 1967 | Jean | |
| The Bobo | 1967 | Juan Bautista | |
| The Party | 1968 | Hrundi V. Bakshi | |
| I Love You, Alice B. Toklas | 1968 | Harold | |
| The Magic Christian | 1969 | Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE | Also additional material |
| A Day at the Beach | 1970 | Salesman | Credited under the alias "A. Queen" |
| Hoffman | 1970 | Benjamin Hoffman | |
| Simon, Simon | 1970 | Man with two cars (cameo) | Short film |
| There's a Girl in My Soup | 1970 | Robert Danvers | |
| Where Does It Hurt? | 1972 | Dr. Albert T. Hopfnagel | |
| Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | 1972 | The March Hare | |
| Ghost in the Noonday Sun | 1973 | Dick Scratcher | Released posthumously in 1985 on VHS and Betamax |
| The Blockhouse | 1973 | Rouquet | Shown at the Berlin Film Festival, but otherwise unreleased until 1978. |
| The Optimists of Nine Elms | 1973 | Sam | Won: Tehran Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
| Soft Beds, Hard Battles | 1974 | Général Latour, Major Robinson, Herr Schroeder, Adolf Hitler, The President, Prince Kyoto | |
| The Great McGonagall | 1974 | Queen Victoria | |
| The Return of the Pink Panther | 1975 | Inspector Jacques Clouseau | Won: The Evening News British Film Award for Best Actor Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| Murder by Death | 1976 | Sidney Wang | |
| The Pink Panther Strikes Again | 1976 | Inspector Jacques Clouseau | Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| Kingdom of Gifts | 1978 | Larcenous Mayor | Voice only |
| Revenge of the Pink Panther | 1978 | Inspector Jacques Clouseau | |
| The Prisoner of Zenda | 1979 | Rudolf IV, Rudolf V, Syd Frewin | |
| Being There | 1979 | Chance | Added to the American National Film Registry in 2015 Won: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy London Film Critics Circle Special Award National Board of Review Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated: Academy Award for Best Actor BAFTA Award for Best British Actor |
| The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu | 1980 | Nayland Smith, Dr. Fu 'Fred' Manchu | Also director (uncredited) Final film |
| Trail of the Pink Panther | 1982 | Inspector Jacques Clouseau | Sellers' material consists entirely of previously cut footage from previous "Pink Panther" films. The film was a critical failure. MGM, United Artists, and film director Blake Edwards were successfully sued by Sellers' widow, Lynne Frederick. |
