1925-09-08 Southsea, Hampshire, England, UK
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE, 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."
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Love Left the Masquerade: Peter Medak's Cinema of Pretenders | Archive | 2025-06-17 |
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Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2025-01-24 |
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Peter Sellers: Genius at Work | Self (archive footage) | 2023-09-21 |
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Directed By Blake Edwards | Self | 2021-02-03 |
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Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy | Self (Archival Footage) | 2020-05-09 |
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The Ghost of Peter Sellers | Himself (Archive) | 2018-08-30 |
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Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace | Himself (archive footage) | 2014-12-10 |
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The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of 'Gorgo' | The Villain Antony (archive footage) | 2013-03-19 |
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Hitler: The Comedy Years | Dr. Strangelove / Fred Kite (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2007-05-10 |
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The Beatles: Get Back...Winter of Discontent | Self (archive footage) | 2005-01-01 |
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Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove' | Self (archive footage) | 2004-10-28 |
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The Peter Sellers Story - As He Filmed It | Himself | 2003-04-23 |
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The Paranormal Peter Sellers | Self (Archive footage) | 2001-01-01 |
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Spike | Himself | 1996-06-11 |
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The Peter Sellers Story | Himself | 1995-07-09 |
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Sellers' Best | Self (archive footage) | 1992-02-01 |
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The Very Best of Peter Sellers | 1990-01-01 | |
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Muppet Video: Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets | Self | 1985-10-01 |
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Muppet Treasures | Self | 1985-07-09 |
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Trail of the Pink Panther | Chief Insp. Jacques Clouseau (archive footage) | 1982-12-03 |
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Eric Sykes: One of the Great Troupers | Self (archive material) | 1981-12-10 |
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The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu | Fu Manchu / Nayland Smith | 1980-08-08 |
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The Prisoner of Zenda | Rudolf IV/Rudolf V/Sidney Frewin | 1979-08-17 |
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Being There | Chance | 1979-12-19 |
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Mickey's 50 | Self | 1978-11-19 |
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Kingdom Of Gifts | The Slightly Larcenous Mayor | 1978-01-01 |
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Revenge of the Pink Panther | Chief Inspector Clouseau | 1978-01-08 |
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To See Such Fun | 1977-11-01 | |
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The Pink Panther Strikes Again | Chief Inspector Clouseau | 1976-12-15 |
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Murder by Death | Sidney Wang | 1976-06-23 |
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The Great McGonagall | Queen Victoria | 1975-01-23 |
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The Return of the Pink Panther | Inspector Clouseau | 1975-05-21 |
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Julie: My Favourite Things | Various | 1975-04-18 |
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A Salute to Sir Lew Grade | Self | 1975-04-18 |
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Flip Wilson... Of Course | Self | 1974-10-18 |
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Soft Beds, Hard Battles | Général Latour / Major Robinson / Herr Schroeder / Adolf Hitler / The President / Prince Kyoto | 1974-01-24 |
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Ghost in the Noonday Sun | Dick Scratcher | 1973-01-01 |
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The Optimists of Nine Elms | Sam | 1973-10-17 |
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The Blockhouse | Rouquet | 1973-01-01 |
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The Big Screen | Self | 1973-02-20 |
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The Last Goon Show of All | Self | 1972-05-10 |
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Where Does It Hurt? | Dr. Albert T. Hopfnegal | 1972-07-24 |
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | The March Hare | 1972-11-20 |
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There's a Girl in My Soup | Robert Danvers | 1970-12-15 |
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Wilton's: The Handsomest Hall in Town | G.W. Ross | 1970-12-26 |
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A Day at the Beach | Salesman | 1970-05-01 |
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Hoffman | Mr. Hoffman | 1970-07-16 |
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Simon Simon | Man with Two Cars | 1970-06-01 |
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The Magic Christian | Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE | 1969-12-12 |
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Will the Real Mr Sellers.....? | 1969-12-18 | |
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One Pair of Eyes - No, But Seriously | 1969-06-07 | |
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I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! | Harold | 1968-10-18 |
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The Party | Hrundi V. Bakshi | 1968-04-04 |
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Woman Times Seven | Jean | 1967-09-29 |
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The Bobo | Juan Bautista | 1967-03-31 |
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Casino Royale | Evelyn Tremble | 1967-04-13 |
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The Wrong Box | Doctor Pratt | 1966-06-19 |
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Alice in Wonderland | King of Hearts | 1966-12-28 |
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El Rey en Londres | 1966-10-11 | |
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After the Fox | Aldo Vanucci / Federico Fabrizi | 1966-09-08 |
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Birds, Bees and Storks | Narrator (voice) | 1965-12-31 |
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The Music of Lennon & McCartney | 1965-12-16 | |
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What's New Pussycat? | Dr. Fritz Fassbender | 1965-06-22 |
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Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley / Dr. Strangelove | 1964-01-29 |
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Carol for Another Christmas | Imperial Me | 1964-12-28 |
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A Shot in the Dark | Jacques Clouseau | 1964-06-23 |
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The World of Henry Orient | Henry Orient | 1964-03-19 |
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I Say I Say I Say | 1964-07-09 | |
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Heavens Above! | The Rev. John Smallwood | 1963-05-20 |
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The Wrong Arm of the Law | Pearly Gates | 1963-03-17 |
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The Pink Panther | Insp. Jacques Clouseau | 1963-12-18 |
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The Road to Hong Kong | Indian Neurologist (uncredited) | 1962-03-29 |
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The Dock Brief | Wilfred Morgenhall | 1962-09-25 |
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Waltz of the Toreadors | Gen. Leo Fitzjohn | 1962-04-12 |
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Lolita | Clare Quilty | 1962-06-13 |
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Only Two Can Play | John Lewis | 1962-01-19 |
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Mr. Topaze | Auguste Topaze | 1961-04-04 |
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The Millionairess | Dr. Kabir | 1960-10-18 |
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Never Let Go | Lionel Meadows | 1960-06-02 |
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The Battle of the Sexes | Mr. Martin | 1960-02-25 |
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Two-Way Stretch | Dodger Lane | 1960-12-20 |
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The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film | 1959-10-31 | |
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The Mouse That Roared | Grand Duchess Gloriana XII / Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy / Tully Bascombe | 1959-07-17 |
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Carlton-Browne of the F.O. | Prime Minister Amphibulos | 1959-03-10 |
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I'm All Right Jack | Fred Kite | 1959-08-18 |
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Tom Thumb | Antony | 1958-12-04 |
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Up the Creek | CPO Doherty | 1958-05-13 |
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The Smallest Show on Earth | Percy Quill | 1957-04-09 |
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Dearth of a Salesman | Hector Dimwittie | 1957-01-01 |
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The Naked Truth | Sonny MacGregor | 1957-12-03 |
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Insomnia is Good for You | 1957-12-12 | |
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The Man Who Never Was | Winston Churchill (voice) | 1956-04-03 |
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The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn | Assorted | 1956-01-01 |
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John and Julie | Police Constable Diamond | 1955-07-26 |
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The Ladykillers | Harry, alias 'Mr. Robinson' | 1955-12-08 |
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Orders Are Orders | Pvt. Goffin | 1954-10-01 |
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Our Girl Friday | Voice of Parrot | 1953-12-01 |
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Beat the Devil | Billy Dannreuther (voice) (uncredited) | 1953-11-26 |
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The Super Secret Service | Sir Walter Smood / Reuben J. Crouch | 1953-01-01 |
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Down Among the Z Men | Major Bloodnok | 1952-10-01 |
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Let's Go Crazy | Multiple Roles | 1951-05-01 |
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A Burlesque on the Opera Carmen | Voice narrator | 1951-03-01 |
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Ça, c'est du cinéma | (archive footage) | 1951-03-23 |
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Penny Points to Paradise | The Major / Arnold Fringe | 1951-04-25 |
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The Black Rose | Lu Chung (voice) | 1950-09-01 |
