Peter Sellers

On 24 August 1970, he got married for the third time to a twenty-three-year-old model, Miranda Quarry. But like his previous two marriages, this marriage also did not last long, and the couple separated in 1974.

Peter was born to William Sellers and Agnes Doreen, who worked as variety show artists in Southsea, England.

As a child he learned dancing and was sent to the St. Aloysius’ Boarding and Day School for Boys. He also knew how to play drums and was a part of some jazz bands as a teenager.

He was recruited by the Royal Air Force at the age of 18, during the Second World War. While in the air force, he formed a small group, who would entertain the soldiers.

Sellers developed a passion for comedy early in his life and in 1948 he auditioned for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). He made his debut on March 18 with the show ‘New To You’.

In 1951 he, along with comedians Spike Mulligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine, worked for ‘The Goon Show’. The show was loved by the audiences and Sellers became famous.

A successful stint on radio helped him launch his career on the big screen. In 1952 he appeared in ‘Down Among the Z Men’ and landed himself a small role in the 1955 movie ‘The Ladykillers’.

He got a chance to display his true potential with the movies ‘I’m All Right, Jack’ and ‘The Mouse That Roared’ in 1959, both of which were well-received.

In 1963, he played the role of a police inspector in the blockbuster ‘The Pink Panther’ and in 1964 he portrayed multiple characters in ‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’.

Sellers garnered his initial fame with ‘I'm All Right Jack’, a parody based on the British industrial life. He played the role of the trade’s union shop warden, Fred Kite, and it became the most popular movie in the year it was released in.

He also appeared in the ‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’ or just ‘Dr. Strangelove’ and was applauded for playing three characters at the same time.

However, his most popular movie till date is ‘The Pink Panther’ and its sequels in which he was a French police detective ‘Inspector Jacques Clouseau’. ‘The Pink Panther’ is the most important film for Sellers as the character he played was simply beyond praise and it became so successful that the filmmakers came up with its sequels.

‘Being There’ was the film which took this actor-comedian to the heights of glory. It also was his last major work.