Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers

by Ed Sikov

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.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Film, Autobiography, Media Tie In, Ebooks, Biography Memoir

Hardcover

First published October 2, 2002

About the author

Ed Sikov has taught at Haverford College, Colorado College, and Columbia University. He is the author of seven books, including On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder, Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis, Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers, and Laughing Hysterically: American Screen Comedy of the 1950s. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"[Actor Peter Sellers] was a natural comedian whose intense insecurity was armored by the hide of [an elephant]. The child who'd gotten whatever he wanted had become an ambitious man who wrote the letters and made the phone calls and white-knuckled his way [.] in pursuit of the blazing career that he was convinced he was ordained to have . . . [He] became exceedingly persistent in seeking the work that would showcase his enormous talent, and he offended people all along the way." -- on page 42

I have to agree with one of the other top-rated GR reviews on Mr. Strangelove - author Sikov tends to get in the way of the narrative with his own voice (attempts at humor that land with a dull thud, the foreshadowing and/or judgement-like segments that rankled, etc.), but otherwise this was still a comprehensive biography that provided the required facts and details. Although now somewhat of a forgotten performer - he passed away in July 1980 at the terribly young age of 54 - Peter Sellers was once the one of the premiere comic actors from England who achieved international success. After a stint in the Royal Air Force during WWII and as a jazz drummer, Sellers first made a name for himself as a member of The Goon Show, a BBC radio series - which was beloved by John Lennon and George Harrison as teenagers, influencing their later humor-laced style as Beatles - that foretold the arrival of Monty Python's Flying Circus nearly 20 years later on television. Sellers then broke through to the movies in both supporting and starring roles - often playing multiple character parts, showcasing his acting and vocal / accent talent, such as his casting in two early Stanley Kubrick-directed films - before becoming a household name of sorts as hapless sleuth Inspector Clouseau in the successful Pink Panther series during the 1960's and 70's, and then scoring an Academy Award nomination for his sublime work in Being There. Sadly, Sellers' early death was presaged by a wave of severe heart attacks at age 39 - he was clinically dead (!) for about two minutes during one of the episodes - and his sometimes deplorable treatment of his three children, four spouses, and friends / professional acquaintances. So he was talented, yes, but he also was stubborn, difficult, and possibly affected by mental health issues. Sellers had remarked in interviews that he wasn't really a person so much as the fictional characters he created / inhabited on celluloid, and on that basis he was not wrong.

[Joslyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

terribly written, but full of facts, anecdotes, information. by 'terribly written,' i do not mean illiterate, but invasive. interjections, judgements, foreshadowing, the occasional attempt at humor - the author's voice was very much in the way of the story.

[Natalie Caudill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always appreciated his gifts but clearly he was a troubled man. While I am not a psychiatrist, it is obvious that he suffered from kind of personality disorder. The book goes into fantastic depth of detail and character but reading that Mr. Sellers abused his wives, children and even murdered pets will give even a hardcore fan pause. One wonders what intervention might have helped him but he is thoroughly a narcissist and probably the least likely person to have sought help. My heart goes out to his daughter, Victoria. I don't buy that genius always accompanies madness. His childhood isolation was unhealthy but was an opportunity for him to spend hours learning mimicry from the radio shows of that era. I confess I could not finish this book due to the discomfort of reading about his family.

[Ellen Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never been a big Sellers fan, thinking he was over the top most of the time, but he was good in some roles, and was gifted at impersonations and characterizations. As a member of the Goon radio show, he and his buddies were a great influence on British Humor, as evidenced by the Monty Python group, the Beatles, Richard Lester's movies, and perhaps on American humortoo such as the Laugh-In show. Peter Sellers as a person, though, seemed to be an unhappy, difficult person. He suffered from bipolar disorder, but worse, seemed to lack a sense of self. He was always buying things; cars, stereo equipment, cameras, to fill the void. Though he had a mother who doted on him, he was a terrible parent himself, even physically abusing his small children. He had four wives, none of which he treated well, and was always cheating on them. I really do not like this man though recognizing his achievements as a performer.

[Littlebrit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I've been a devoted fan of Peter Sellers ever since his early days on "The Goon Show" on the venerable BBC Radio. This is a fascinating look at the life of a brilliant comic and actor which holds nothing back. Sellers was not an easy man to get along with, personally and professionally and this detailed look at him certainly makes that very clear. The stories of his "run-ins" with other famous show business folks are riveting but also so are the sad details of his personal life, those of his troubled childhood and his many difficult marriages and love affairs. This was a very complicated and troubled man, with an astounding comic talent. This book brings all this out with a sometimes frightening clarity. If you want to understand more about this astounding character and the sources of his unique talent, "Mr. Strangelove" will not disappoint you.

[Thomas Amo]

If you love Peter Sellers, you won't by time you finish reading Mr. Strangelove.
Which is no surprise, Peter Sellers on his best day was a force to be handled with kid gloves. A very insecure genius who's comedy still makes me laugh regardless of his personal life.

He truly suffered the comedians curse which is long bouts of depression. When everyone wants you to be funny all the time. I got this book because I did want to know more about the man behind the laughter. I did find reading it though was a bit boring. So I did find myself skipping around looking for details on films like Casino Royale and What's New Pussycat.

But would I read it again? No, I'd just watch "The Life & Death of Peter Sellers" starring Geoffrey Rush.

[Ryan McArthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter sellers sounds like a bit of an a-hole. He was a terrible dad, husband and friend.

I had a student staying with me, and at one point she asked me what I was reading. I showed her this book and quoetd one of the Goodreads reviews which says "if you like peter sellers, you won't after reading this book" its totally true.

He was the original "man who wasn't there" always playing a role, until he got bored, and then playing another one. However, I did really like "The Party" and, as someone else around here said, I got some ideas for good movies to see.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Peter Sellers biography written as a black comedy is a very good idea. This is one of the most stylistically fun biographies I can recall reading, though I'll admit I very rarely read biographies. Extra sad bonus: now whenever I watch some of my favorite films, I'll have to think about Sellers beating on his wives/children/everybody.

[Chris Bartholomew · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disappointing book. I still think it would be interesting to read about Peter Sellers life, but this author sucked the life out of the story. I could have picked up a film atlas and found it equally as readable.

[Eric Bauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A disturbing portrait of a disturbed genius.

[Maurice Tougas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Sellers' star has dimmed since his premature death, but Ed Sikov brings this tremendously talented, deeply disturbed actor back to brilliant life.
It's easy to forget just how massively popular Sellers was at his peak; he was a superstar of the day, a friend to royalty and The Beatles, a man who made some great films (Dr. Strangelove, The Mouse that Roared, The Pink Panther, Being There) and many more duds. He was also manic depressive, capable of great kindness and extraordinary cruelty (he was an awful father, leaving his kids chump change in his will while giving his gold-digging last wife his vast estate). At his best, he was a joy to work with; at his worst, impossible.
Sikov isn't afraid to express his opinion of many of Sellers' films, which I'm OK with. Some of his views are a little weird, however. He describes the Beatles song A Hard Days Night as having "underlying filth", and the comedy in The Return of the Pink Panther as "grisly". Despite these occasional oddities, Mr. Strangelove is ultimately an excellent biography.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prose goes flat when the author deviates from a journalistic format. There's a lost opportunity, or failure to create a vivid impression of the 50s and 60s jet set. I was very disappointed to learn that Sellers left his three kids 2,000 dollars each, while absurdly leaving the city of Gstaad, Switzerland, one of the richest enclaves in the world, 50,000 Swiss francs. He left 10 million to his gold-digger 4th wife, that he didn't even love. I focus on that because, though there were other instances of swinish behavior, that one leaves a lifelong message to his children, whom he was supposed to protect, telling them that he is purposefully going to make their lives difficult - really almost as low as you can go as a human being; and this dick spent his whole adult life trying to study Eastern religions. His performance as the crippled Nazi mad scientist Dr Strangelove, is one of the greatest comedic and cinematic achievements.

[Margie Cammarano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the Pink Panther movies and wanted to know more about Peter Sellers as I don't know anything about him. After reading this book I'm still not sure of who he is. It started more like a history book then got a little more personal many pages in. It was difficult to follow and seemed to be a lot of repetition. I'm still not sure of who he is but perhaps that's the point. He seemed to be a strange, sad, reclusive man. I have more questions than answers.

[David Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not a great Peter Sellers fan, however this book is an easy and enjoyable read. The central question is how was someone who was quite obviously very funny and gifted turn into such an obnoxious, unhappy and spiteful character? I assume manic depression and a weird upbringing are part of the answer

[Germ · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUGH! i really liked this it wasn't completely comprehensive but its damn near close. includes a lot of stuff and quotes i never knew about...... also you can tell it comes from the heart i think.... ed sikov you really get it

[Monty Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Sellers was an exceedingly odd person, and it is fascinating to read about him. I do feel that too much of this book consists of summaries of all of his movies, though.

[jesse r lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jumped around a bit for no discernible reason...but very interesting look into Sellers' personality.

[Craig Adamson · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very detailed account of a talented but empty person's life. Only really knew him from the Pink Panther movies. Had quite a storied radio and movie career in England and later world-wide movie fame. I was not aware at all of his world-wide fame.

Sellers had quite a penchant for buying houses and cars and "stuff". Makes me wonder how many millions of dollars he blew through in 30 years. He died at Age 55 and supposedly left behind $10 million estate. But seemingly every chapter details him buying a house, renting a flat, buying a Rolls Royce, buying jewelry, flying to an exotic locales, and either dating or marrying someone new. Of course this also coincides with him making a movie or doing a radio or tv show seemingly every day of those years.

Busy guy. Surprised he had time to date, stalk, marry, and cheat on all these women. Which doesn't take into account all his drug use. Talented guy, screwed up personal life filled with poor choices.

One thing I didn't care for is in one of the later chapters like 20 or 21, the author takes a pot shot at Ronald Reagan. Unless I misread it, and the author was quoting Sellers or someone else, but if I remember it correctly the author made fun of Reagan being an actor and then President of the US. Not sure what the author's problem is, but the book editor did a piss poor job of editing that out. Reagan fan or not, it was unnecessary, out of place, and detracted from the remainder of the book which quickly trailed off into brief snippets of gossip. Almost if the author was tired or writing the book and needed to wrap up in under 400 pages.

Won't read again. Might pick up one of the Sellers biographies he mentioned, but don't enjoy reading about people who are cruel and unusual. Ayn Rand, despite being a fine writer, had a cruel and unusual life that I couldn't wait to close the book on... much like Peter Sellers. Too bad for his ex-wives and his kids. They were really cheated by not having a present and loving father figure. Seems that all had personal problems resulting from his cruel form of emotional and verbal abuse (and physical abuse of beating his son).

[Tabatha · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers" gives a good overview of the benchmarks of Peter Sellers' life, however it seems to be a biography written by someone who doesn't care for the work of Peter Sellers. Beyond giving the facts of Peter's life, Ed Sikov also gives synopses and opinions on the various films Peter Sellers appeared in throughout his career. Although I will readily admit that quite a few of them weren't up to par, the author is unnecessarily harsh and critical of each one he was in with only a few obvious exceptions, namely films like "Dr. Strangelove", "Being There", and "Lolita". Reading the author's opinions of his films would lead one to wonder why they should even bother watching films such as "Hoffman", "Only Two Can Play", and "The Dock Brief" for a few examples, which is a great disservice to not only Peter Sellers but also anyone who enjoys films.

Furthermore, there are quite a few discrepancies and what appear to be inaccuracies. Many of this author's accounts do not match up with what has been reported by other reputable sources- friends, family, and so forth. I would therefore recommend anyone who reads this to do so with a healthy skepticism.

[Irene B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm taking my time reading this bio as it is full of great tips about music and film I've never heard about before. Well, most of the clips and tunes are on Youtube. I've discovered The early Goon Show, Peter Sellers "records", and watched some scenes of movies I've never seen such as The Magic Christian and also The Party. Fabulous. I've ordered my own "used" copy of this book so I can take my time and make notes. What an outstanding performer he was!!! Nov 2012: Still reading the book and watching his earlier movies or getting a hold of audio. There's a great boxed set of older movies where you can see the beginning of genius, as well as later films (but pre-Clouseau) in which he becomes the character he is playing (pre Being There). What an amazing actor. I also, with some searching of ebay, found a copy of a hysterical collection of audio comedy called "How to Win an Election", which, although about British Parliament, was extremely funny and appropriate in this 2012 US election year.

[Patrick Moody · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was never a dull moment reading this highly detailed account of the life of the legendary actor, who comes off as a chameleon and enigma. So detailed, in fact, that it begins with stories of his family several generations before he was born. Once it moves past that background information it starts to become very engaging, painting an often unflattering account of a selfish, temperamental mama's boy who stayed that way until his death in his 50s. It's no surprise his direct relatives did not assist in the creation of the book, but the author interviewed people close to Sellers and also drew from previously published interviews with some of the major players in Sellers' life.

Oddly, the one aspect of his life that is far less detailed than you might expect is his work on the Pink Panther movie franchise. I expect that the author either wanted to stay away from the obvious, or perhaps discovered that the topic had already been well covered in print by other authors.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well researched and easy ro read book. It took me awhile to read it because I was constantly going to google articles or watch interviews and even movies on YouTube which were mentioned. That being said, I came away feeling sad that I will probably no longer be able to look at a Peter Sellers movie again the same way. He was a disturbed individual who treated his wives and children brutally. His bizarre behavior towards friends and co-workers all seemed to be forgiven because he was 'so funny and excellent on camera'. Nothing new, I guess, in the celebrity culture.

[Jim Berkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sikov's very thorough bio of Peter Sellers didn't surprise me since I'd already read a lot about how Sellers was an oddball offscreen, but I had no idea how cruel he could be, especially to his wives and family. Granted, the man's work on screen is often hilarious (although he certainly made his share of real drek), but Sikov's grand tour through a lot of the dirty laundry was interesting even if somewhat depressing. Compared to other Hollywood bios in the same spirit, this one is very good.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. Peter Sellers had many quirks, but was also a genius at his craft. His children and wife's had a hard time dealing with the many faces of Peter. I thought the book was a bit slow at the beginning, but by the middle on was very entertaining. Amazing how many characters he could be in one movie and keep track of what he was doing. Interesting about how he did not like the color purple and thought it was bad luck.

[Scoobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to read this book about the legendary Mr. Sellers. Tosh will have to burn me a copy of his comedy stuff to keep me laughing until I get a chance to read the book on his wild and crazy life.

[Melissa Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a strange man.

[Rajesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating man. Typical neurotic artist; truly there must be a biochemical basis for this common stereotype.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me a lengthy list of movies I should see.

[Paul Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a bit clunky in places, but a solid read for all that and a more-than-decent account of one of the least pleasant men in showbiz.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sellers was a fascinating, troubled and troubling man. His life is almost as interesting as his best work, in "Lolita," "Dr. Strangelove" and "Being There."