Synopses & Reviews
Peter Sellers is a Hugely Popular Figure--with both a cult and a mainstream following for such dark masterpieces as "Dr. Strangelove" and "Lolita, " as well as his rollicking farces including the wildly popular Pink Panther films. Amazing Celebrity Anecdotes--Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Sophia Loren, Maggie Smith, Goldie Hawn, Shelley Winters, Ringo Starr, Elke Sommer, Dudley Moore, John Cleese, and many more luminaries add accounts of their diverse accounts with Sellers. There is No More Fascinating Celebrity Figure For a Serious Bio--As Blake Edwards once described him, "Peter was a mercurial clown who could get you laughing one minute and cut your heart out with a bloody axe the next." When the director of "Casino Royale" informed Orson Welles that Sellers refused to film any more scenes with him, Welles was so overjoyed that he kissed the director square on the face. The first American biography of one of film's greatest comedians, Mr. Strangelove is the story of a screamingly funny, desperately unhappy soul--a man who thought he was empty. Sellers, who could mimic anyone and don any mask at will, was privately convinced that his personality had no core--that there was no personal substance under the put-on characters he so readily and hilariously assumed. "The Goon Show" made him famous; "I Love You, Alice B. Toklas" and "What's New, Pussycat?" turned him into a 60s flower-power icon that still resonates today. And yet Sellers, whose blistering improvisations could ruin takes by sending the casts and crews of his films into peals of uncontrollable laughter while the camera was running--remained confused and lonely, difficult to work with, volatile one minute andhopelessly lethargic the next. In this exhaustively researched book based on tons of interviews, Dudley Moore, John Cleese, Christopher Plummer, Goldie Hawn, Shirley MacLaine, Sophia Loren and many others recount colorful stories of working with this comic genius. From his adolescence in Catholic school (Sellers was Jewish), through his joining up with the Royal Air force, and his catapulting to fame due at least in part to one of the most fiercely driven stage mothers in the history of performing arts, Mr. Strangelove traces the development of Seller's unique humor. Perhaps most valuable to his rabid fans are the in-depth behind-the-scenes accounts of his work with Stanley Kubrick, Blake Edwards, and Billy Wilder, among others. And endlessly fascinating are the women Sellers chose to fall in love with, marry and divorce. No film comedian has had more influence over today's comic stars than Peter Sellers, the man who broke all the rules of comedy. Thanks to him, those rules have never been reassembled. Written by Ed Sikov, respected film historian and highly praised author of On Sunset Boulevard, this is a riveting look at Peter Sellers's work and his mysterious inner life, a portrait that will engross his endlessly renewing legions of fans.
Synopsis
Peter Sellers's explosive talent made him a beloved figure in world cinema and continues to attract new audiences. With his darkly comic performances in Dr. Strangelove and Lolita and his outrageously funny appearances as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films, he became one of the most popular movie stars of his time. Sellers himself identified most personally with the character he played in Being There -- an utterly empty man on whom others projected what they wanted, or needed, to see.
In this lively and exhaustively researched biography, Ed Sikov offers unique insight into Sellers's comedy style. Beginning with Sellers' lonely childhood with a mother who wouldn't let go of him, through his service in the Royal Air Force and his success on BBC Radio's The Goon Show, Sikov goes on to detail his relationships with co-stars such as Alec Guinness, Sophia Loren, and Shirley MacLaine; his work with such directors as Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder, and Blake Edwards; his four failed marriages; his ridiculously short engagement to Liza Minnelli; and all the other peculiarities of this eccentric man's unpredictable life.
The most insightful biography ever written of this endlessly fascinating star, Mr. Strangelove is as comic and tragic as Peter Sellers was himself.
Synopsis
The first American biography of one of film's greatest comedians, Peter Sellers, "Mr. Strangelove" is the story of a screamingly funny, desperately unhappy soul--a man who thought he was empty.
Synopsis
Now in paperback: "An authoritative biography and a compulsive page-turner." (Michael Palin, New York Times Book Review)
Peter Sellers' explosive talent made him a beloved figure in world cinema and continues to attract new audiences. With his darkly comic performances in Dr. Strangelove and Lolita and his outrageously funny appearances as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films, he became one of the most popular movie stars of his time.
In this lively and exhaustively researched biography, Ed Sikov offers unique insight into Sellers' comedic style. Beginning with Sellers' lonely childhood dominated by a mother who wouldn't let go, through his service in the Royal Air Force, and his success on BBC Radio's The Goon Show, Sikov goes on to detail the actor's relationships with his family, costars, directors, and admirers--a portrait that is as comic and tragic as Peter Sellers himself.
About the Author
Ed Sikov is the author of On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder, Screwball, Laughing Hysterically, and Study Guide for American Cinema. He earned a doctorate in film studies at Columbia University and has taught film courses at Haverford and Colorado colleges. He lives in New York City.