A tribute to the man behind oh so many masks.
Artwork by Anna Becker
Dr. Strangelove, President Merkin Muffley, Captain Lionel Mandrake, Chance the Gardener, and Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau. These iconic characters are some of the many personas of comedian Peter Sellers. Widely hailed as the greatest comedian of all time, Sellers was a comedic mastermind; with personalities ranging from the odd, to the strange, to the Strangelove, to the completely bumbling and ridiculous. He is the epitome of hilarity, yet he was not always on top.
Born Richard Henry Sellers in London in the year 1925 to a well-off acting family, Peter Sellers grew up in showbiz. His parents both worked in an acting company run by his grandmother, and learned stagecraft at a young age. He was quite spoiled, as his elder brother died at birth, and received the nickname “Peter” after his dead brother. Talk about creepy. Anyway, despite his odd upbringing, Sellers accompanied his family on various variety shows, plays, as well as other venues throughout nearly all of his young adulthood.
During World War II, Sellers enlisted in the Royal Air Force and rose to the rank of Corporal, despite being grounded due to poor eyesight. In 1948, when he was discharged and returned to England, he began to do stand-up comedy in the form of impersonations and music. Sellers soon got into the radio business, doing his famous impressions and accents as different characters on The Goon Show. He was not particularly well-known, even during his portrayal of Clare Quilty in director Stanley Kubrick’s version of Lolita in 1962.
His major breakthrough, however, was in Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, in which he played three separate characters: worrywart President Merkin Muffley, posh and pompous Captain Lionel Mandrake, and the crazed German scientist Dr. Strangelove. Soon after, he became idolized as he filled the role of maladroit Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther. This truly sent Sellers into the Valhalla of Comedy, exalting him to the heavens, and spawning four sequels with the Inspector and the Panther. Yet, he fell off the map for a while, making bad movies with bad characters just to pay some bills. One of his last films before his death was Being There, a thought provoking movie about an elderly man with the mind of a child.
Despite his illustrious movie career, Sellers had quite a few personal problems. He was married four times, and either suspected his wives of affairs, or had affairs of his own. He clashed with other actors, drank excessively, smoked excessively, engaged in drug use, and had various psychological problems like depression and, ironically, a slight multiple personality disorder. His drug use led to multiple heart attacks in 1964 at the age of 38, in which his heart was permanently damaged. His health deteriorated over the rest of his life, yet instead of traditional remedies, he opted for psychic solutions. On July 22, at the age of 54, Sellers had a massive heart attack that put him into a coma. Two days later, Sellers died in a London hospital, leaving behind three children and his fourth wife.
In spite of his questionable personal life, Sellers was without a doubt one of the best actors I’ve ever seen. I have laughed myself senseless through all of the Pink Panther movies, for each word uttered in that purposefully horrible French accent sends me into a giggling fit. The Pink Panther is the definition of slapstick comedy, with Sellers acting as the embodiment of Murphy’s Law. Clouseau is the worst detective the world has ever seen, and yet, through sheer dumb luck, he always gets his man. One of my personal favorite parts of the series involves Clouseau’s Chinese manservant, Cato. One of the best running gags I’ve ever seen in a series of movies, Clouseau orders Cato to attack him randomly in order to keep his skills sharp. The result is a sidesplitting swath of destruction and chaos cut through his tiny apartment. As kooky as it is, Clouseau is easily Seller’s most recognizable character.
Dr. Strangelove is actually higher on my list than Panther, half due to Sellers and half due to director Stanley Kubrick. This movie is as much insane as it is satirical of the Cold War paranoia gripping the nation during the sixties. Kubrick is the master of the bizarre and crazy stories, and Sellers is the master of bizarre and crazy characters. The perfect match? I think so. From the tension in the nuclear control room, to the iconic scene where the cowboy pilot (Slim Pickens) rides the bomb to its target, this movie will flip you upside down on your head and make you shout like the mad German scientist Dr. Strangelove, “Mein Fuhrer! I can walk!”
Being There is one of the most thought provoking movies I’ve ever seen, and with good reason. It is childish at times, but with such a powerful underlying sadness that I am utterly shocked that Sellers did not win the Oscar for best actor. Chance the Gardener, erroneously known as Chauncey Gardener to the rest of the world, is a grown man with the innocent mind of a young boy. All he does is eat, sleep, watch TV, and tend to the garden. When the rich man who owns the mansion dies, Sellers has to find his own way in a curious new world that he has never seen. This movie openly mocks the so-called “elite” and satirizes anything political. The wonderful irony is that the satirical tone is so dark, but it is through Chance’s innocent eyes that we are exposed to it. Sellers is on the top of his game for the entire performance, and this film truly should have won best picture.
Peter Sellers walked the line between genius and insanity daily, and he has definitely earned the mantle of Greatest Comedian of All Time. I’d even go as far as to label him one of the Greatest Actors of All Time! Satirical, secretive, or just plain silly, Sellers is the quintessence of comedic acting.
