Peter Sellers

• Birth name: Richard Henry Sellers
• Born: 8th September 1925
• Died: 24th July 1980

Sellers was born in Southsea, Hampshire into a family of entertainers. Both his parents and eight uncles were all in show business.

During World War Two, he served in the Royal Air Force. After the war he got a job as a comedian at the Windmill Theatre and then at the BBC doing many different voices in radio plays. He had the most established radio career before the Goons (appearing in the radio show "Ray's a Laugh").

Peters ability to do impressions and characterisations was huge, allowing him to perform many characters in The Goon Show. By the late 1950s he was starring in a number of successful films including The Ladykillers and I'm All Right Jack.

He went on to have an illustrious movie career, being rated as among the top 100 movie actors of all time. Some of his best films include Doctor Strangelove and Being There, but most will remember him as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther films.

Sellers later stated that his time on The Goon Show was the happiest of his career.

He was nominated twice for an Academy Award and won a British Academy Award (BAFTA) for "I'm Alright Jack".

Sellers was married four times and had 3 children. The son of an overprotective and controlling mother, his behaviour was often unpredictable and demanding. He had many famous friends including The Beatles and Princess Margaret.

Peter died in London aged just 54. His ashes were buried Golders Green Crematorium, London. He had already suffered a near-fatal heart attack in 1964 and was due to undergo heart surgery at the time of his death.