125-477: The Family Way is a 1966 British comedy-drama film produced and directed by John and Roy Boulting , respectively, and starring father and daughter John Mills and Hayley Mills . Based on Bill Naughton 's play All in Good Time (1963), with screenplay by Naughton, the film began life in 1961 as the television play Honeymoon Postponed . It is about the marital difficulties of a young newlywed couple living in
250-616: A chief petty officer in Val Guest 's Up the Creek . Guest later claimed that he had written and directed the film as a vehicle for Sellers and thus had started Sellers' film career. To practise his voice, Sellers purchased a reel-to-reel tape recorder. The film received critical acclaim in the United States and Roger Lewis viewed it as an important practice ground for Sellers. Next, Sellers featured with Terry-Thomas as one of
375-621: A commercial house, where it ran for three months. London's drama critics awarded it the Best New Play of 1962–1963. Naughton sold the American film and theatre rights for $ 100,000, enabling him to become a full-time writer. David Susskind bought the rights to produce the play in America, and cast Eric Portman as the father. However, Portman was unable to play the part. The play debuted on Broadway in 1965 with Donald Wolfit playing
500-559: A "cheeky young sod" for his efforts, but gave him an audition. This led to his brief appearance on 1 July 1948 on ShowTime and subsequently to work on Ray's a Laugh with comedian Ted Ray . In October 1948, Sellers was a regular radio performer, appearing in Starlight Hour , The Gang Show , Henry Hall's Guest Night and It's Fine To Be Young . By the end of 1948, the BBC Third Programme began to broadcast
625-492: A "flawless sense of mistiming" in a performance that was "one of the most delicate studies in accident-proneness since the silents". Despite the views of the critics, the film was one of the top ten grossing films of the year. The role earned Sellers a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the 22nd Golden Globe Awards , and for a Best British Actor award at
750-421: A $ 1 million contract for the film ($ 9,100,000 in 2023 dollars). Seven screenwriters worked on the project, and filming was chaotic. To make matters worse, according to Ekland, Sellers was "so insecure, he won't trust anyone". A poor working relationship quickly developed between Sellers and Welles: Sellers eventually demanded that the two should not share the same set. Sellers left the film before his part
875-589: A 'Boulting Brothers film'. They were socialists, as John demonstrated with his involvement in the Spanish Civil War (see above), and wanted all film, including comedies, to reflect the real world. In 1937, they set up Charter Film Productions and made several short features, including The Landlady (1937) and Consider Your Verdict (1938), which attracted critical and commercial attention. They made quota quickies such as Trunk Crime (1939) and Inquest (1939). Being eager to speak out against
1000-559: A Hollywood studio (in this case MGM) with an imported star ( Gene Kelly ); it was not a big success. The brothers collaborated on a comedy, Josephine and Men (1955) then Roy was hired by United Artists to do an action film with Hollywood stars, Run for the Sun (1956). In the mid-50s, the Boulting brothers became identified with "affectionate" satires on British institutions. The sequence began with John's Private's Progress (1956),
1125-731: A Swedish actress who had arrived in London to film Guns at Batasi . On 19 February 1964, just ten days after their first meeting, the couple married. Sellers soon showed signs of insecurity and paranoia; he would become highly anxious and jealous, for example, when Ekland starred opposite attractive men. Shortly after the wedding, Sellers started filming on location in Twentynine Palms, California , for Billy Wilder 's Kiss Me, Stupid , opposite Dean Martin and Kim Novak . The relationship between Wilder and Sellers became strained; both had different approaches to work and often clashed as
1250-464: A belated one in Blackpool . Jenny's Uncle Fred advises the couple to get their own home; Ezra agrees to help Jenny and Arthur with the down payment on their own cottage, wanting to build a better relationship with Arthur, whom he tearfully calls "son". After Arthur leaves, Ezra ingenuously remarks how much Arthur looks and acts like the long-gone Billy, causing Lucy to console him. Bill Naughton wrote
1375-478: A biopic of William Friese-Greene and a film containing numerous cameo appearances. It was shown at the 1951 Festival of Britain but on general release the following year proved a box office disappointment. Roy received an offer to direct a World War Two naval film, Sailor of the King (1953), starring Jeffrey Hunter for 20th Century Fox . Seagulls Over Sorrento (1954) was another war naval story financed by
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#17328013782291500-501: A chance meeting with a North American Indian spirit guide in the 1950s Sellers became convinced that the music hall comedian Dan Leno , who had died in 1904, haunted him and guided his career and life-decisions. Sellers was a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats , the exclusive theatrical fraternity founded by Leno in 1890. In 1958 Sellers starred with David Tomlinson , Wilfrid Hyde-White , David Lodge and Lionel Jeffries as
1625-481: A character role as the bluff father who cannot understand his son and produces the lower working-class man’s vulgarity without overdoing it. Avril Angers as the girl’s acid mother and John Comer as her husband are equally effective, but the best performance comes from Marjorie Rhodes as John Mills’ astute but understanding wife." The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 4/5 stars, writing: "Considered somewhat risqué in its day, this gentle comedy can now be seen as
1750-590: A collection of comic songs and sketches, among them Balham - Gateway to the South , where Sellers plays a variety of comic characters. Produced by George Martin and released on Parlophone , the album reached number three in the UK Albums Chart ; The same year, Sellers made his first film with John and Roy Boulting in Carlton-Browne of the F.O. , a comedy in which he played a supporting role for
1875-547: A complete idiot. I think a forgivable vanity would humanize him and make him kind of touching. It's as if filmgoers are kept one fall ahead of him." —Sellers on portraying Clouseau. After his father's death in October 1962, Sellers decided to leave England and was approached by director Blake Edwards who offered him the role of Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther , after Peter Ustinov had backed out of
2000-447: A considerable amount of money on the film. In 1975, Roy was working on a stage play, The Family Games . He worked on the script for The Kingfisher Caper (1975), starring Mills. In the US, Roy directed The Last Word (1979), a comedy starring Richard Harris that was barely seen. When John died of cancer in 1985, Roy stopped making films. His last credit was directing an episode of
2125-480: A crowded house with the husband's family. After Jenny Piper and Arthur Fitton's rowdy wedding reception at a local Lancashire pub, the newlyweds spend their wedding night at the Fittons' house. Arthur's father, Ezra Fitton, and some drunken guests loudly sing in the living room. Arthur clashes with Ezra, a lifelong gasworks employee who is unable to understand his son's love of literature and classical music. After
2250-551: A film career and took a number of small roles such as a police officer in John and Julie (1955). He accepted a larger part in the 1955 Alexander Mackendrick -directed Ealing comedy The Ladykillers in which he starred opposite his idol Alec Guinness , in addition to Herbert Lom and Cecil Parker . Sellers portrayed Harry Robinson, the Teddy Boy ; biographer Peter Evans considers this Sellers' first good role. The Ladykillers
2375-450: A fond portrait of an era when sex was still taboo. Complete with a score by Paul McCartney, it recounts the experience of so many 1960s newlyweds who had to share a house with their in-laws for much of the early part of their married lives. Hywel Bennett is bang on form as the husband so wound up by cohabitation that he is unable to consummate his marriage to the equally impressive Hayley Mills. But it's her real-life dad, John Mills, who steals
2500-474: A free artistic licence. Sellers later claimed that his relationship with Kubrick became one of the most rewarding of his career. Writing in The Sunday Times , Dilys Powell commented that Sellers gave "a firework performance, funny, malicious, only once for a few seconds overreaching itself, and in the murder scene which is both prologue and epilogue achieving the macabre in comedy." Towards
2625-410: A heart attack; Parrish asked Sellers if he wanted to visit her in hospital, but Sellers remained on set. She died within days, without Sellers having seen her. He was deeply affected by her death and remorseful at not having returned to London to see her. Ekland served him with divorce papers shortly afterwards. The divorce was finalised on 18 December 1968, and Sellers' friend Spike Milligan sent Ekland
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#17328013782292750-513: A look at army life, starring Attenborough, Terry-Thomas and Ian Carmichael and co written by Frank Harvey . It was the second most commercially successful film in Britain in 1956. They followed it with Lucky Jim (1957), set in academe, adapted from the novel by Kingsley Amis . It starred Carmichael and Terry-Thomas. Brothers in Law (1957) with Carmichael, Attenborough and Thomas, took on
2875-522: A lot different from Harry Secombe." Sellers and Loren developed a close relationship during filming, culminating in Sellers declaring his love for her in front of his wife. Sellers also woke his son at night to ask, "Do you think I should divorce your mummy?" There is uncertainty if the relationship was anything more than platonic: a number of people, including Spike Milligan, consider it an affair, while others, including Graham Stark, think it remained only
3000-461: A lot. A lot. I suppose I feel mainly I need the help of a woman. I'm continually searching for this woman. They mother you, they're great in bed, they're like a sister, they're there when you want to see them, they're not there when you don't. I don't know where they are. Maybe they're around somewhere. I'll find one, one of these days." —Sellers on his need for women. Towards the end of filming, in early February 1964, Sellers met Britt Ekland ,
3125-605: A love triangle. Because of Sellers' poor health, producer Charles K. Feldman insured him at a cost of $ 360,000 ($ 3,500,000 in 2023 dollars). On 20 January 1965, Sellers and Ekland announced the birth of a daughter, Victoria . They moved to Rome in May to film After the Fox , an Anglo-Italian production in which they were both to appear. The film was directed by Vittorio De Sica , whose English Sellers struggled to understand. Sellers attempted to have De Sica fired, causing tensions on
3250-493: A make-up artist cover the marks. During his next film, The Bobo , which again co-starred Ekland, the couple's marital problems worsened. Three weeks into production in Italy, Sellers told director Robert Parrish to fire his wife, saying "I'm not coming back after lunch if that bitch is on the set". Ekland later stated that the marriage was "an atrocious sham" at this stage. In the midst of filming The Bobo , Sellers' mother had
3375-680: A marriage counsellor, but a gossipy charwoman overhears their session and spreads what was discussed. After Jenny confides to her parents, Liz and Leslie Piper, that the marriage is still unconsummated, they tell Jenny's in-laws. Arthur's mother Lucy, reminisces to the Pipers about her own marriage having a slow start. Ezra tries defending himself when Lucy relates how he brought his friend Billy on their honeymoon and spent more time with him than with her. Lucy later tells Mrs Piper about spending an evening with Billy when Ezra worked late, after which Billy disappeared from their lives. Joe Thompson, having heard
3500-581: A member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), which provided entertainment for British forces and factory workers during the war. Sellers also performed comedy routines at these concerts, including impersonations of George Formby , with Sellers accompanying his own singing on ukulele. In September 1943, he joined the Royal Air Force , although it is unclear whether he volunteered or
3625-596: A pair of comic villains in George Pal 's Tom Thumb (1958), a musical fantasy film, opposite Russ Tamblyn , Jessie Matthews and Peter Butterworth . Terry-Thomas later said that "my part was perfect, but Peter's was bloody awful. He wasn't difficult about it, but he knew it". The performance was a landmark in Sellers' career and became his first contact with the Hollywood film industry. Sellers released his first studio album in 1958 called The Best of Sellers ;
3750-536: A passionate anti-isolationist allegory distinguished by imaginative cinematography and a theatrical but highly atmospheric lighthouse setting. It was financed by MGM . In 1941, Roy joined the Army Film Unit , where he was responsible for Desert Victory , which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1944. He also worked on Tunisian Victory (1944) and Burma Victory (1945). John joined
3875-543: A performance by Peter Sellers as trade union foreman Fred Kite. It was the most popular film at the British box office in 1959. Suspect (1960) was a return to the thriller genre for the brothers. A French Mistress (1960) was a comedy farce. Heavens Above! (1963) looked at religion in Britain, starring Sellers and Carmichael. It was a minor hit. Rotten to the Core (1965) was a heist comedy which attempted to make
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4000-417: A result. On the night of 5 April 1964, prior to having sex with Ekland, Sellers inhaled amyl nitrite ( poppers ) as a sexual stimulant in his search for "the ultimate orgasm ", and suffered a series of eight heart attacks over the course of three hours as a result. His illness forced him to withdraw from the filming of Kiss Me, Stupid and he was replaced by Ray Walston . Wilder was unsympathetic about
4125-630: A retired British army general in John Guillermin 's Waltz of the Toreadors , based on the play of the same name . The film was widely criticised for its slapstick cinematic adaption, and director Guillermin himself considered the film "amateurish". However, Sellers won the San Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best Actor and a BAFTA award nomination for his performance, and it
4250-709: A short entitled Ripe Earth (1938), about the village of Thaxted , Essex , narrated by Leo Genn . From January to November 1937, John served on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War as an ambulance driver with the Spanish Medical Aid Committee (not, as sometimes reported, with the International Brigades ), where — according to Richard Attenborough — he was nearly captured. John also served with
4375-439: A star of Anton Rodgers in a Peter Sellers-type role, playing multiple parts. It featured a young Charlotte Rampling . The Boultings directed and produced the northern comedy The Family Way (1966), starring John Mills and his teenage daughter Hayley. Roy Boulting and Hayley Mills began a relationship during the shoot despite a 33-year age difference; they married in 1971. Roy wrote and directed Twisted Nerve (1968),
4500-526: A straight villain part. In 1961, Sellers made his directorial debut with Mr. Topaze , in which he also starred. The film was based on the Marcel Pagnol play Topaze . Sellers portrayed an ex-schoolmaster in a small French town who turns to a life of crime to obtain wealth. The film and Sellers' directorial abilities received unenthusiastic responses from the public and critics, and Sellers rarely referred to it again. The same year, he starred in
4625-497: A strained evening, the newlyweds retire, only for their marital bed to collapse, the result of a practical joke by Arthur's boorish boss, Joe Thompson. Jenny is amused, but Arthur, believing she is laughing at him, is unable to consummate their marriage. Arthur assures Jenny that everything will be fine once they are on their honeymoon in Majorca, but the next day they discover that the travel agent absconded with their money, cancelling
4750-402: A strong friendship. Sellers' wife at the time, Anne, afterwards commented, "I don't know to this day whether he had an affair with her. Nobody does." Roger Lewis observed that Sellers immersed himself completely in the characters he enacted during productions, that "He'd play a role as an Indian doctor, and for the next six months, he'd be an Indian in his real [daily] life." The film inspired
4875-612: A strong influence on a number of later comedians. Sellers was nominated three times for an Academy Award , twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor , for his performances in Dr. Strangelove and Being There , and once for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1959). He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role in I'm All Right Jack and
5000-414: A teenager, Roy emigrated to Canada , working for a while as a shop assistant, but also writing dialogue for at least one Canadian film. He worked his passage home aboard a cattle freighter in about 1933, working first in film sales before moving into film production as assistant director on a 1936 comedy quickie Apron Fools . The money he made on his passage home went to finance the brothers' first work,
5125-412: A television play for ABC 's Armchair Theatre series titled Honeymoon Postponed , which was transmitted in 1961. The Observer described it as "a lively – almost Restoration – Lancashire working class comedy." Naughton adapted it into a theatre play that premiered in 1963 with Bernard Miles playing the father. It played for six weeks at London's experimental Mermaid Theatre , then transferred to
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5250-487: A television star with a talent for disguises in Mario Zampi 's offbeat black comedy The Naked Truth , opposite Terry-Thomas , Peggy Mount , Shirley Eaton and Dennis Price . Sellers' difficulties in getting his film career to take off and increasing problems in his personal life prompted him to seek periodic consultations with astrologer Maurice Woodruff , who held considerable sway over his later career. After
5375-589: A thriller starring Mills and Hywel Bennett . The brothers had a massive hit with There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) starring Sellers and Goldie Hawn . Roy was called in to replace the director on Mr. Forbush and the Penguins (1971), and he brought in Mills to star. The movie was not successful. Neither was the comedy Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974) made by the brothers starring Peter Sellers. Roy Boulting lost
5500-547: A trial tape entitled The Goons , and sent it to the BBC producer Pat Dixon, who eventually accepted it. The first Goon Show was broadcast on 28 May 1951. Against their wishes, they appeared under the name Crazy People . Sellers appeared until the last programme of the ten-series run, broadcast on 28 January 1960. Sellers played four main characters— Major Bloodnok , Hercules Grytpype-Thynne , Bluebottle and Henry Crun —and seventeen minor ones. Starting with 370,000 listeners,
5625-419: Is Enid's daughter from her first marriage, to Cornelius Munnik. Following his split with his third wife, Roy entered into a relationship with another fashion model, Victoria Vaughan. They had one son together. The relationship ended with his involvement with Hayley Mills . In 1971, Roy married, for the fourth time, Hayley Mills, 33 years his junior, whom he had met on the set of The Family Way . Their son
5750-551: Is musician and filmmaker Crispian Mills . The couple separated in 1975, and divorced in 1977. His fifth and final marriage, in October 1978, was to actress Sandra Payne . They divorced in 1984. John Boulting died on 17 June 1985 at his home in Sunningdale , Berkshire, and Roy Boulting 16 years later on 5 November 2001 in the Radcliffe Infirmary , Oxford ; both died of cancer. A still from The Family Way
5875-680: Is regarded as being on par with that of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton , according to biographer Peter Evans. Although the Clouseau character was in the script, Sellers created the personality, devising the costume, accent, make-up, moustache and trench coat. The Pink Panther was released in the UK in January 1964 and received a mixed reception from the critics, although Penelope Gilliatt , writing in The Observer , remarked that Sellers had
6000-565: The Miss Marple series for TV, The Moving Finger (1985). He was working on an adaptation of Terence Rattigan 's play Deja Vu when he died. When the National Film Theatre mounted its biggest retrospective to date of British cinema in the late 1980s, Roy who launched it, introduced Desert Victory . The Boulting Brother's films have been described as being "a sensitive barometer of the changing times". John Boulting
6125-464: The Pink Panther series (1963–1978). Sellers' 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, frequently with contrasting temperaments and styles. Satire and black humour were major features of many of his films, as they had been in his radio and record performances, and they had
6250-786: The 18th British Academy Film Awards . In 1963, Stanley Kubrick cast Sellers to appear in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb alongside George C. Scott , Sterling Hayden , Keenan Wynn and Slim Pickens . Sellers and Kubrick got along famously during the film's production and had the greatest of respect for each other, also sharing a love of photography. The director asked Sellers to play four roles: US President Merkin Muffley, Dr. Strangelove, US Air Force Major T. J. "King" Kong, and Group Captain Lionel Mandrake of
6375-636: The Boulting brothers described Sellers as "the greatest comic genius this country has produced since Charles Chaplin ". Sellers was born on 8 September 1925 in Southsea , a suburb of Portsmouth . His parents were Yorkshire -born William "Bill" Sellers and Agnes Doreen "Peg" (née Marks). Both were variety entertainers; Peg was in the Ray Sisters troupe. Although he was christened Richard Henry, his parents called him Peter, after his elder brother, who
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#17328013782296500-622: The British Film Unit as an officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War . Roy served as a captain in the British Army , first with a tank regiment for more than a year and then with the Army Film Unit , where he made several short documentaries. The brothers constituted a producer-director team. For most of their careers one produced while the other directed, but the product remained essentially
6625-549: The Kings Theatre, Southsea , when he was two weeks old. He began accompanying his parents in a variety act that toured the provincial theatres. He first worked as a drummer and toured around England as a member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). He developed his mimicry and improvisational skills during a spell in Ralph Reader 's wartime Gang Show entertainment troupe, which toured Britain and
6750-583: The RAF Film Unit , where he made Journey Together in 1945, a dramatised documentary about the training and combat experience of a bomber crew with Richard Attenborough in the lead part. Terence Rattigan worked on the script. After the war, the Boultings made the drama Fame Is the Spur (1947) with Redgrave. More successful at the box-office was Brighton Rock (1947), starring Attenborough as
6875-613: The Sidney Gilliat -directed Only Two Can Play , a film based on the novel That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis . He was nominated for the Best British Actor award at the 16th British Academy Film Awards for his role as John Lewis, a frustrated Welsh librarian whose affections swing between the glamorous Liz ( Mai Zetterling ) and his long-suffering wife Jean ( Virginia Maskell ). In 1962, Sellers played
7000-708: The Third Reich , the brothers made their film, Pastor Hall (1940), a biopic of Martin Niemöller , a German preacher who refused to kowtow to the Nazis. Roy directed and John produced. The film had to have its initial release delayed by the British Government, which was not yet ready to be openly critical of Nazism. Once released, the film was well received by the critics and the public. They followed up with Thunder Rock (1942) with Michael Redgrave ,
7125-571: The 32-year-old actor as a 68-year-old projectionist in Basil Dearden 's The Smallest Show on Earth , supporting Bill Travers , Virginia McKenna and Margaret Rutherford . The film was a commercial success and is now thought of as a minor classic of post-war British screen comedy. Following this, Sellers provided the growling voice of Winston Churchill to the BAFTA award-winning film The Man Who Never Was . Later in 1957 Sellers portrayed
7250-401: The Boultings. In July 1963, it was announced that David Susskind would make a film of the play as a co-production with the Boulting brothers, with John producing and Roy directing. Roy Boulting was writing a script with Naughton and Susskind and was hopeful that Peter Sellers , who had made several films with the Boultings, would play the father. The Boultings then focused on making Rotten to
7375-456: The Core . The film was financed by British Lion Films and the Boultings. It was the only film made in Britain within a 12-month period financed completely with British capital. The Boultings contacted John Mills while the latter was making King Rat in Hollywood and offered him the role of the father. "I'd call it a comedy with serious intent," said Mills, who called his role "the best part I've had since Hobson's Choice ." Hayley Mills
7500-563: The Dark , an adaptation of a French play, L'Idiote by Marcel Achard . Sellers found the part and the director, Anatole Litvak , uninspiring; the producers brought in Blake Edwards to replace Litvak. Together with writer William Peter Blatty , they turned the script into a Clouseau comedy, also adding Herbert Lom as Commissioner Dreyfus and Burt Kwouk as Cato . During filming, Sellers' relationship with Edwards became strained;
7625-515: The Far East. After the war, Sellers made his radio debut in ShowTime , and eventually became a regular performer on various BBC Radio shows. During the early 1950s, Sellers, along with Spike Milligan , Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine , took part in the successful radio series The Goon Show , which ended in 1960. Sellers began his film career during the 1950s. Although the bulk of his work
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#17328013782297750-771: The George Martin-produced novelty hit single " Goodness Gracious Me ", with Sellers and Loren, which reached number four in the UK Singles Chart in November 1960. A follow-up single by the duo, "Bangers and Mash", reached number 22 in the UK chart. The songs were included on an album released by the couple, Peter & Sophia , which reached number five in the UK Albums Chart. That year he also appeared in Never Let Go (1960) playing
7875-433: The RAF. Sellers was initially hesitant about taking on these divergent characters, but Kubrick prevailed. According to some accounts, Sellers was also invited to play the part of General Buck Turgidson, but turned it down because it was too physically demanding. Kubrick later commented that the idea of having Sellers in so many of the film's key roles was that "everywhere you turn there is some version of Peter Sellers holding
8000-676: The Smiths' final album, Strangeways, Here We Come . John and Roy Boulting John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers , were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for their series of satirical comedies in the 1950s and 1960s. They produced many of their films through their own production company, Charter Film Productions , which they founded in 1937. The twin brothers were born to Arthur Boulting and his wife Rosetta (Rose) née Bennett in Bray , Berkshire , England, on 21 December 1913. John
8125-468: The UK. It was one of the twelve most popular films at the British box office in 1967. In October 1967, John Boulting claimed it was the most successful British film made over the past year. It was argued "the nude scene certainly didn’t hurt at the box-office, nor did the fact that Paul McCartney wrote the soundtrack." The nude scene led to the film receiving a "condemned" rating by the Catholic Film Office. The producer's receipts were over £500,000 meaning
8250-461: The United States. The film received high praise from critics. After completing I'm All Right Jack , Sellers returned to record a new series of The Goon Show . Over the course of two weekends, he took his 16mm cine-camera to Totteridge Lane in London and filmed himself, Spike Milligan, Mario Fabrizi , Leo McKern and Richard Lester . Originally intended as a private film, the eleven-minute short film The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film
8375-417: The appearance of both sensitivity and masculinity." The film was shot in Naughton's hometown of Bolton , as well as in Rochdale and Slough . Some interior scenes were filmed at Shepperton Studios . It was known during filming as All in Good Time . John Mills later wrote in his memoirs that "during the first half hour on the set on the first morning's shooting I knew that I was going to enjoy myself. Roy
8500-488: The comedy series Third Division , which starred, among others, Harry Secombe , Michael Bentine and Sellers. One evening, Sellers and Bentine visited the Hackney Empire , where Secombe was performing, and Bentine introduced Sellers to Spike Milligan. The four would meet up at Grafton's public house near Victoria, owned by Jimmy Grafton , who was also a BBC script writer. The four comedians dubbed him KOGVOS (Keeper of Goons and Voice of Sanity) Grafton later edited some of
8625-408: The critic from The Guardian thought his portrayal of the RAF officer alone was, "worth the price of an admission ticket". For his performance in all three roles, Sellers was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor at the 37th Academy Awards , and the Best British Actor award at the 18th British Academy Film Awards. Between November 1963 and February 1964, Sellers began filming A Shot in
8750-430: The crowd sang " For He's a Jolly Good Fellow ", which caused the infant to cry. The family constantly toured, causing much upheaval and unhappiness in the young Sellers' life. Sellers maintained a very close relationship with his mother, which his friend Spike Milligan later considered unhealthy for a grown man. Sellers' agent, Dennis Selinger, recalled his first meeting with Peg and Peter Sellers, noting that "Sellers
8875-402: The duration of his stay in Asia is unknown, and Sellers may have exaggerated its length. He also served in Germany and France after the war. According to David Lodge , who became friends with Sellers, he was "one of the best performers ever" on the drums and developed a fine ability to impersonate military officers during this period. In 1946, Sellers made his final show with ENSA starring in
9000-534: The earliest film to showcase Sellers' ability to portray a series of different characters within the same film, and he made another appearance opposite his Goons co-stars in the 1952 flop, Down Among the Z Men . In 1954, Sellers was cast opposite Sid James , Tony Hancock , Raymond Huntley , Donald Pleasence and Eric Sykes in the British Lion Film Corporation comedy production, Orders Are Orders . John Grierson believes that this
9125-556: The end of 1962, Sellers appeared in The Dock Brief , a legal satire directed by James Hill and co-starring Richard Attenborough . Sellers' behaviour towards his family worsened in 1962; according to his son Michael, Sellers asked him and his sister Sarah "who we love more, our mother or him. Sarah, to keep the peace, said, 'I love you both equally'. I said, 'No, I love my mum.'" This prompted Sellers to throw both children out, saying that he never wanted to see them again. At
9250-563: The end of 1962, his marriage to Anne broke down. In 1963, Sellers starred as gang leader "Pearly Gates" in Cliff Owen 's The Wrong Arm of the Law , followed by his portrayal of a vicar in Heavens Above! "I'll play Clouseau with great dignity, because he thinks of himself as one of the world's best detectives. Even when he comes a cropper, he must pick himself up with that notion intact. The original script makes him out to be
9375-406: The entertainment field, even suggesting that his son's talents were only enough to become a road sweeper, while Sellers' mother encouraged him continuously. While at St Aloysius College, Sellers began to develop his improvisational skills. He and his closest friend at the time, Bryan Connon, both enjoyed listening to early radio comedy shows. Connon remembers that "Peter got endless pleasure imitating
9500-618: The family moved to the north Devon town of Ilfracombe , where Sellers' maternal uncle managed the Victoria Palace Theatre; Sellers got his first job at the theatre, aged fifteen, starting as a caretaker. He was steadily promoted, becoming a box office clerk, usher, assistant stage manager and lighting operator. He was also offered some small acting parts. Working backstage gave him a chance to study actors such as Paul Scofield . He became close friends with Derek Altman, and together they launched Sellers' first stage act under
9625-415: The fate of the world in his hands". Sellers was especially anxious about believably portraying Kong; he was unsure of his ability to speak in a Texan accent . Kubrick requested screenwriter Terry Southern to record in his natural accent a tape of Kong's lines. After practising with Southern's recording, Sellers got sufficient control of the accent, and started shooting the scenes in the aeroplane. After
9750-491: The father. Susskind produced it with Daniel Melnick and Joseph E. Levine in association with the Boulting brothers, who were to make the film version. It closed after only 21 performances. John Mills attended the opening night of the play at the Mermaid Theatre. After the performance, he went backstage to seek film rights as a vehicle for himself and his daughter Hayley, but discovered that they had been promised to
9875-467: The film made a profit. The film is rated M in Australia and New Zealand for nudity and sexual references. Variety wrote: "Hayley Mills gets away from her Disney image as the young bride, even essaying an undressed scene. Bennett is excellent as the sensitive young bridegroom. But it is the older hands who keep the film floating on a wave of fun, sentiment and sympathy. John Mills is firstclass in
10000-415: The film's lead, Terry-Thomas. Before the release of that film, the Boultings, along with Sellers and Thomas in the cast, started filming I'm All Right Jack , which became the highest-grossing film at the British box office in 1960. In preparation for his role as Fred Kite, Sellers watched footage of union officials. The role earned him a BAFTA , and the critic for The Manchester Guardian believed it
10125-521: The film. Edwards later recalled his feelings as "desperately unhappy and ready to kill, but as fate would have it, I got Mr. Sellers instead of Mr. Ustinov—thank God!" Sellers accepted a fee of £90,000 (£900,000 in 2023 pounds) for five weeks' work on location in Rome and Cortina. The film starred David Niven in the principal role, with two other actors— Capucine and Claudia Cardinale —having more prominent roles than Sellers. However, Sellers' performance
10250-629: The first Goon Shows . In 1949, Sellers started to date Anne Howe, an Australian actress who lived in London. He proposed to her in April 1950 and the couple were married in London on 15 September 1951; their son, Michael , was born on 2 April 1954, and their daughter, Sarah, followed in 1958. Sellers' introduction to film work came in 1950, where he dubbed the voice of Alfonso Bedoya in The Black Rose . He continued to work with Bentine, Milligan, and Secombe. On 3 February 1951, they made
10375-416: The first day's shooting, Sellers sprained his ankle while leaving a restaurant and could no longer work in the cramped cockpit set. Kubrick then re-cast Slim Pickens as Kong. The three roles Sellers undertook were distinct, "variegated, complex and refined", and critic Alexander Walker considered that these roles "showed his genius at full stretch". Sellers played Muffley as a bland, placid intellectual in
10500-471: The gangster "Pinkie" from the novel by Graham Greene . Also well liked was The Guinea Pig (1948), starring Richard Attenborough as a young working-class boy sent to a public school. It was made for Pilgrim Pictures who the Boultings left shortly afterwards. The Boultings co-directed the thriller Seven Days to Noon (1950), which won an Oscar for Best Story. It led to a less popular sequel, High Treason (1951). John directed The Magic Box (1951),
10625-488: The gossip, mocks Arthur and scornfully "volunteers" to satisfy Jenny. An enraged Arthur batters him, then quits his job. Returning home, he berates Jenny for disclosing their private matters. Their quarrel leads to them finally having sex. The gossipy neighbours overhear them and spread the news. Meanwhile, the Association of British Travel Agents bond has covered the couple's stolen honeymoon money, and they prepare for
10750-622: The heart attacks, saying that "you have to have a heart before you can have an attack". After some time recovering, Sellers returned to filming in October 1964, playing King of the Individualists alongside Ekland in A Carol for Another Christmas , a feature-length United Nations special broadcast in the United States on the ABC channel on 28 December 1964. Sellers had been concerned that his heart attacks might have caused brain damage and that he would be unable to remember his lines, but he
10875-482: The last of whom, Lucy Boulting Hill, has become a successful casting director . John's grandson, Jordan Stephens (son of Emma), is one half of British hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks . Roy Boulting was married five times. He had seven children, all sons: two by his second marriage; three by his third; one through his relationship with Victoria Vaughan; and one by his fourth. With his second wife, Jean Capon (née Gamage), he had sons Jonathan (b. 1944) and Laurence (b. 1945),
11000-582: The latter becoming a successful film producer and director in his own right. With his second marriage, in March 1951, to Enid Munnik (née Groenewald/Grünewald), he had three children: first, Fitzroy (b. 1951); then identical twins Edmund and Rupert (b. 1952). The couple divorced in 1964. Enid, an established fashion model and later fashion editor at the French magazine Elle , married the 9th Earl of Hardwicke in April 1970. The model and actress Ingrid Boulting
11125-546: The legal profession. They had a break from satirising institutions with Happy Is the Bride (1958), an adaptation of Quiet Wedding , then returned to it with Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959), focusing on diplomacy. The Boultings took on increasingly powerful trade unions and ever corrupt board room power with I'm All Right Jack (1959), a sequel to Private's Progress with Carmichael, Thomas and Attenborough reprising their roles, and Harvey co-writing. The film featured
11250-577: The management to reinstate him. Sellers also continued his drumming and was billed on his appearance at The Hippodrome in Aldershot as "Britain's answer to Gene Krupa ". In March 1948 Sellers gained a six-week run at the Windmill Theatre in London, which predominantly staged revue acts: he provided the comedy turns in between the nude shows on offer. Sellers wrote to the BBC in 1948, and
11375-485: The mould of Adlai Stevenson ; he played Mandrake as an unflappable Englishman; and Dr. Strangelove, a character influenced by pre-war German cinema, as a wheelchair-using fanatic. The critic for The Times wrote that the film includes, "three remarkable performances from Mr. Peter Sellers, masterly as the President, diverting as a revue-sketch ex-Nazi US Scientist ... and acceptable as an RAF officer," although
11500-409: The name "Altman and Sellers", consisting of playing ukuleles , singing, and telling jokes. During his backstage theatre job, Sellers began practising on a set of drums that belonged to the band Joe Daniels and his Hot Shots. Daniels noticed his efforts and gave him practical instructions. The instrument greatly suited Sellers' temperament and artistic skills. Spike Milligan later noted that Sellers
11625-707: The pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris. He was posted back to England shortly afterwards to work at the Air Ministry , and demobilised later that year. On resuming his theatrical career, Sellers could get only sporadic work. He was dismissed after one performance of a comedy routine in Peterborough ; the headline act, Welsh vocalist Dorothy Squires , however, persuaded
11750-437: The part of a flamboyant American television playwright who was, according to Sellers, "a fantastic nightmare, part homosexual, part drug addict, part sadist". Kubrick encouraged Sellers to improvise and stated that he often reached a "state of comic ecstasy". Kubrick had American jazz producer Norman Granz record portions of the script for Sellers to listen to, so he could study the voice and develop confidence, granting Sellers
11875-524: The people in Monday Night at Eight . He had a gift for improvising dialogue. Sketches, too. I'd be the 'straight man', the 'feed', ... I'd cue Peter and he'd do all the radio personalities and chuck in a few voices of his own invention as well." With the outbreak of the Second World War , St. Aloysius College was evacuated to Cambridgeshire . Because his mother did not allow Sellers to go, his formal education ended at fourteen. Early in 1940,
12000-414: The roles that he played. His behaviour was often erratic and compulsive, and he frequently clashed with his directors and co-stars, especially in the mid-1970s, when his physical and mental health, together with his alcohol and drug problems, were at their worst. Sellers was married four times and had three children from his first two marriages. He died from a heart attack, aged 54, in 1980. English filmmakers
12125-460: The set. Sellers also became unhappy with his wife's performance, straining their relationship and triggering open arguments during one of which Sellers threw a chair at Ekland. Despite these conflicts, the script was praised for its wit. Following the commercial success of What's New Pussycat? , Charles Feldman again brought together Sellers and Woody Allen for his next project, Casino Royale , which also starred Orson Welles ; Sellers signed
12250-525: The show eventually reached up to seven million people in Britain, and was described by one newspaper as "probably the most influential comedy show of all time". For Sellers, the BBC considers it had the effect of launching his career "on the road to stardom". In 1951 the Goons made their feature film debut in Penny Points to Paradise . Sellers and Milligan then penned the script to Let's Go Crazy ,
12375-419: The show with a splendid study in working-class cantankerousness." The cover sleeve of " Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before ", a single by English rock band The Smiths , features Murray Head (as Arthur's brother Geoffrey) in a still photo from the film. The Smiths single " I Started Something I Couldn't Finish " features by a still of Avril Angers from the same film. Both songs were released from
12500-478: The trip. Unable to afford their own home, Jenny and Arthur live with Arthur's parents and adult brother Geoffrey. The thin walls and lack of privacy exacerbate Arthur's discomfort. As days pass into weeks, the marriage remains unconsummated, straining the couple's relationship. Making matters worse, Arthur works at night while Jenny has a day job. Jenny begins socializing with Geoffrey, who is attracted to her, but she rebuffs his advances. At Jenny's urging, Arthur sees
12625-434: The two would often stop speaking to each other during filming, communicating only by the passing of notes. Sellers' personality was described by others as difficult and demanding, and he often clashed with fellow actors and directors. Upon its release in late June 1964, Bosley Crowther noted the "joyously free and facile way" in which Sellers had developed his comedy technique. "I feel extremely vulnerable, and I need help
12750-601: Was The Battle of the Sexes , a comedy directed by Charles Crichton . In 1960, Sellers portrayed an Indian doctor, Dr Ahmed el Kabir, in Anthony Asquith 's romantic comedy The Millionairess , a film based on a George Bernard Shaw play of the same name . Sellers was not interested in the role until he learned that Sophia Loren would be his co-star. When asked about Loren, he explained to reporters, "I don't normally act with romantic, glamorous women ... She's
12875-470: Was stillborn . Sellers had no other siblings. Peg Sellers was related to the pugilist Daniel Mendoza (1764–1836), whom Sellers greatly revered and whose engraving later hung in his office. At one time Sellers planned to use Mendoza's image for his production company's logo. Sellers was two weeks old when he was carried on stage by Dick Henderson , the headline act at the Kings Theatre in Southsea:
13000-474: Was Sellers' best screen performance to date. In between Carlton-Browne of the F.O. and I'm All Right Jack , Sellers starred in The Mouse That Roared , a film in which Jean Seberg also appeared, and was directed by Jack Arnold . He played three distinct leading roles: the elderly Grand Duchess, the ambitious Prime Minister and the innocent and clumsy farm boy selected to lead an invasion of
13125-428: Was Sellers' breakthrough role on screen and credits this film with launching the film careers of both Sellers and Hancock. "The first real film I made was The Ladykillers . I used to watch Alec Guinness, who is an absolute idol of mine, do everything, his rehearsals, his scenes, everything. He is my ideal... and my idol." —Sellers on studying Sir Alec Guinness during filming The Ladykillers . Sellers pursued
13250-529: Was a success in both the UK and the US, and the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay . The following year Sellers appeared in a further three television series based on The Goons : The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d ; A Show Called Fred ; and Son of Fred . The shows aired on Britain's new ITV channel. In 1957 film producer Michael Relph , impressed with Sellers' portrayal of an elderly character in Idiot Weekly , cast
13375-493: Was according to the Church of England , his mother was Jewish, "and Jews take the faith of their mother ." According to Milligan, Sellers held a guilt complex about being Jewish and recalls that Sellers was once reduced to tears when he presented him with a candlestick from a synagogue for Christmas, believing the gesture to be an anti-Jewish slur. Sellers became a top student at the school, excelling in drawing in particular. He
13500-615: Was an immensely shy young man, inclined to be dominated by his mother, but without resentment or objection". As an only child, he spent much time alone. In 1935 the Sellers family moved to North London and settled in Muswell Hill . Although Bill Sellers was Protestant and Peg was Jewish , Sellers attended the nearby Roman Catholic school St Aloysius' College in Highgate , run by the Brothers of Our Lady of Mercy . The family
13625-413: Was cast as the bride. She called her role "a most marvellous departure... no more school girl parts for me unless the character happens to be absolutely fascinating." Mills called the film "an answer to Britain's kook generation." Hywel Bennett was cast after John Boulting saw him in the play A Smashing Time . "We weren't purposely looking for an unknown," said Roy Boulting, "but mostly for someone who had
13750-412: Was comedic, often parodying characters of authority such as military officers or policemen, he also performed in other film genres and roles. Films demonstrating his artistic range include I'm All Right Jack (1959), Stanley Kubrick 's Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove (1964), What's New Pussycat? (1965), Casino Royale (1967), The Party (1968), Being There (1979) and five films of
13875-556: Was complete. A further agent's part was then written for Terence Cooper , to cover Sellers' departure. Shortly after leaving Casino Royale , Sellers was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in honour of his career achievements. The day before the investiture at Buckingham Palace , Sellers and Ekland argued, with Ekland scratching his face in the process; Sellers had
14000-451: Was conscripted; his mother unsuccessfully tried to have him deferred on medical grounds. Sellers wanted to become a pilot, but his poor eyesight restricted him to ground staff duties. He found these duties dull, so auditioned for Squadron Leader Ralph Reader 's RAF Gang Show entertainment troupe: Reader accepted him and Sellers toured the UK before the troupe was transferred to India. His tour also included Ceylon and Burma , although
14125-409: Was handled with great taste." Mills also fell in love with Roy Boulting, but he was married. The two later became a couple and married. The soundtrack was scored by Paul McCartney , still a Beatle at the time, and producer George Martin . The film premiered in London on 18 December 1966. It was released on video on 24 February 1989. The movie became a notable critical and financial success in
14250-439: Was married four times. He had six children: two sons by his first marriage; three daughters by his second. He also had a third son. With his first wife, Veronica, daughter of Irish barrister, John Craig Nelson Davidson, he had sons Norris (b. 1941) and Nicholas (b. 1943). Norris is the father of TV presenter and journalist Ned Boulting . With his second wife, Jacqueline (Jackie), he had three daughters: Jody, Emma & Lucy;
14375-607: Was nominated an additional three times for the previous two films and the satire Only Two Can Play . In 1980 he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role in Being There , having previously been nominated three times in the same category. Turner Classic Movies calls Sellers "one of the most accomplished comic actors of the late 20th century". In his personal life, Sellers struggled with depression and insecurities. An enigmatic figure, he often claimed to have no identity outside
14500-399: Was not only a superb technician but because he was pro- and not anti-actor, his direction was helpful and sensitive. We all felt perfectly safe in his hands and I personally owe a great deal to him for the final success of Ezra and indeed the whole film." Hayley Mills did a nude scene in the film, which received much publicity. She called it "a very integral part of the film... the whole thing
14625-442: Was not rich, but Peg insisted on an expensive private schooling for her son. According to biographer Peter Evans , Sellers was fascinated, puzzled, and worried by religion from a young age, particularly Catholicism; Roger Lewis believed that soon after entering Catholic school, Sellers "discovered he was a Jew—he was someone on the outside of the mysteries of faith". Later in his life, Sellers observed that while his father's faith
14750-476: Was prone to laziness, but his natural talents shielded him from criticism by his teachers. Sellers recalled that a teacher scolded the other boys for not studying, saying: "The Jewish boy knows his catechism better than the rest of you!" Accompanying his family on the variety show circuit, Sellers learned stagecraft , but received conflicting encouragement from his parents and developed mixed feelings about show business. His father doubted Sellers' abilities in
14875-502: Was reassured that his memory and abilities were unimpaired after the experience of filming. Sellers followed this with the role of the perverted Austrian psychoanalyst Doctor Fritz Fassbender in Clive Donner 's What's New Pussycat? , appearing alongside Peter O'Toole , Romy Schneider , Capucine, Paula Prentiss and Ursula Andress . The film was the first screenwriting and acting credit for Woody Allen , and featured Sellers in
15000-402: Was screened at the 1959 Edinburgh and San Francisco film festivals. It won the award for best fiction short in the latter festival, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Subject (Live Action) . In 1959 Sellers released his second album, Songs for Swingin' Sellers , which—like his first record—reached number three in the UK Albums Chart. Sellers' last film of the fifties
15125-460: Was subsequently auditioned. As a result, he made his television debut on 18 March 1948 in New To You . His act, largely based on impressions, was well received, and he returned the following week. Frustrated with the slow pace of his career, Sellers telephoned BBC radio producer Roy Speer, pretending to be Kenneth Horne , star of the radio show Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh . Speer called Sellers
15250-488: Was the elder by half an hour. John was named Joseph Edward John Boulting and Roy was named Alfred Fitzroy Clarence Boulting. Their elder brother Sydney Boulting became an actor and stage producer as Peter Cotes ; he was the original director of The Mousetrap . A younger brother, Guy, died aged eight. Both twins were educated at Reading School , where they formed a film society. They were extras in Anthony Asquith 's 1931 film Tell England while still at school. As
15375-613: Was used for The Smiths single " I Started Something I Couldn't Finish ". Peter Sellers Peter Sellers CBE (born Richard Henry Sellers ; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show . Sellers featured on a number of hit comic songs, and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series. Born in Southsea , Sellers made his stage debut at
15500-407: Was very proficient on the drums and might have remained a jazz drummer, had he lacked his skills in mimicry and improvisation. As the war progressed, Sellers continued to develop his drumming skills, and played with a series of touring bands, including those of Oscar Rabin , Henry Hall and Waldini , as well as his father's quartet, before he left and joined a band from Blackpool . Sellers became
15625-502: Was well received by the critics. Stanley Kubrick asked Sellers to play the role of Clare Quilty in the 1962 film Lolita , opposite James Mason and Shelley Winters . Kubrick had seen Sellers in The Battle of the Sexes and listened to the album The Best of Sellers , and was impressed by the range of characters he could portray. Sellers was apprehensive about accepting the role, doubting his ability to successfully portray
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