George Harrison talks about his friendship with Peter Sellers and their shared interest in yoga, meditation and the music of Ravi Shankar. Peter Sellers also talks about spirits and spirituality.
I read once that George, Peter, and Spike Milligan used to have jam sessions at George's house. George would play guitar, Peter would play drums, I think, and Spike would play piano or guitar. One time, Spike was playing one of George's old Strats, and playing all this Django Rheinhardt type stuff. George was so impressed he gave Spike the Strat and the amp that he was playing through.
George also said about Peter: „When Peter was up, he was the funniest person you could ever imagine; so many voices and characters. But that was his problem: When he wasn’t up, he didn’t know who he was supposed to be.” Also, George said Peter had a huge influence on him to get into producing films.
Being a Beatle and part of around 500 wonderfully innovative songs for themselves and others gives him a free pass with me though I HATED g=his "mystic Eastern" music I must admit
You're right. Peter Sellers always reminds me a lot of John Lennon, especially in the Cynthia years. Like Peter he could be a real little shit and hard to live with...like a child with special needs. Then I watch something like A Hard Days Night or listen to Revolver and I remember why I love them so much. It always comes back to their art in the end. There has been a sort of mini industry of parasites since that Albert Goldman book on Lennon. As you say...His work was great. That'll do for me.
Sellers is Lennon. The actor who played Sellers played Lennon, Robin Gibb, Michael Cain, Steve Jobs. Apple Records Apple Computers. Georhe is the dame actor as Barry Gibb, Tom Petty, Ringo plays Maurice Gibb, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Paul is Fred Travalems, Bob Crain
I never knew peter sellers the man, but love his vast comedic talents; he probably would have despised me, but that's neither here nor there. love every single Beatle, too, but can accept them all as fallible human beings. sometimes too much talent drives a person a bit [or a lot] batty. the talent keeps pumping out of them at all sorts of inopportune moments, and sometimes it goes into hibernation, leaving them feeling empty and bereft. glad i got to live in the same time they did.
Asked about playing the various characters he did, etc., the great comedian said, "All I know is that I am not the real Peter Sellers." He was a tortured soul; may he rest now in peace forever. God bless Peter Sellers.
Understood. I just view it as a separate issue. I don't approve of the personal lives and/or political views of most of my favourite entertainers but I still enjoy and appreciate the fun that they bring to the world.
But he gave so much happiness to millions of total strangers that it would be nice to cut him a bit of slack in memoriam. When he died, my hometown newspaper put a black border around the front page of the "Entertainment" section and that whole page was devoted to the tragic news of Sellers' death. At my university, many students wore black armbands in mourning. When Cerf passes I wonder how many millions will miss HIM?
Sad that the Oscars have ignored some of the greatest actors of all time. Peter Sellers-The uncanny Lon Chaney man of a thousand faces (no Oscar???) and now Gary Oldman. Sad
Hi there! Good for you! Check out "Sellers On Sellers" written by Peter's son Michael (who sadly died recently) and co-written with Gary Morecambe (son of the late great Eric). It is a great insight and was written to put the record straight after the Roger Lewis hatchet job.
Peter had his character assasinated by all these people after he died by cowards cashing in on his name much like happened with Elvis after he passed. The Sellers On Seller book puts the record straight.
Anybody wondering what this small clip was taken from, the programme is called ARENA, it was I think in three parts, but well worth watching that's if you can find it on YT.
I do get annoyed at the lack-loves who roam RU-vid dissing on other peoples heroes. I'd never dream of doing that, they must have too much free time or something. You seem like a decent chap though. Check out "Sellers On Sellers" written by Peter's son Michael (who sadly died recently) and co-written with Gary Morecambe (son of the late great Eric). It is a great insight and was written to put the record straight after the Roger Lewis hatchet job.
Fabulous clip. many thanks. Am constantly intrigued by the fact that both these two gifted, spiritual yogis got so heavily into cocaine. the most unspiritual, self centred substance on the planet.
Peter Sellers brought the wonderful gift of laughter to millions of people. There are few greater contributions one can make to society. Few comedians are successful as husbands and fathers, sadly, Jonathan Winters being an exception to the rule.
I was gently taking the rise in Comprehensive School bog-house poet fashion of yore. My girlfriend bought that Peter Sellers home movie DVD = pretty interesting. I think Sellers gets detrimentally over-psychoanalised. The main thing = Is the work good? John Lennon was a confused wife-beater. Richard Wagner was a number of things. Joe Meek killed his landlady, but that doesn't stop Telstar being a fantastic record. Not that there should be an excuse for such stuff, but the work is the thing.
To anyone who watches the DVD of "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," do what I did, watch it with the audio commentary on. You'll be surprised. You'd see a scene where Peter Sellers is behaving like a complete ass, and you'd hear something like, "This never happened." Geoffrey Rush does an incredible acting job, but, if you watch it with the commentary off you'd think Sellers was a complete waste of humanity. With the commentary on you realize most of the events were fabrications.
Well, Peter Sellers did a lot of Amyl Nitrate which subsequently fucked up his heart and killed him. As an actor and comedienne however, he was a genius.
Sadly, despite the various efforts that Peter made in this area, most of what he called sensitivity was essentially delusional. Peter put great store in certain 'magical' thinking, and, given that he was a movie star, there was no end to the line of charlatans whose only 'supernatural' abilities were predicated on the idea that a mercurial, more than slightly dippy and conspicuously wealthy movie star could be easily parted from his £.
Everything you say here is just a barrage of "assumptions". You never knew Peter Sellers, you never were inside his head, and you obviously have very conditioned perceptions on what a "movie star" is. Of course if they believe in anything outside the normal status quo think tank process they MUST be dippy. Your comment comes from the land of a "thousand yawns" and that is not a land Peter Sellers resided in.
Yup, I'd agree with that. The Roger Lewis bio of PS is absolute bollocks and has a lot to answer for. 2 bit nobodies writing about extraordinary artists. I always get pissed off at them and go back to the art.
If chanting mantras and the Krishna spiritualist movement genuinely worked, as it ought to if it had any basis in fact, the philosophy would have swept the world and replaced Christianity almost overnight. But it's complete bollocks, so it didn't.
This piece of music, written i think by Dave Grusin features in the film 'Candy' and is nothing to do with George or Peter. Though Ringo did appear in the film....
eh, acid, sixties, rampant narcissism, cult of genius, magical thinking with him at the center of it being "clairvoyant" . . just his flippant manner and tone of voice is so deluded and ego drenched. I say this as a huge fan of Seller's comic genius *and that he undoubtedly was) and as a liberal yogi myself but god how this reminds me of all the stuff I had to eject from that era, not eject wholly but surgically. Seller's judgement was off and he seemed mentally adrift late in life - far from the spiritual superman he must have envisioned at this time
I presume you are reffering to "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" by Roger Lewis (there are other PS bios, you know). A disgraceful book by a disgraceful man. Its and his reputation have since been rightfully trashed. His hack job on Anthony Burgess forced him into critical and physical exile. Ravi, George and Peter were all great artists and you are not fit to lick their boots. Now gofuckyourCerf!
It's sad. This man was looking for inner peace and happiness but he would never find it even if he had lived 1000 years. In order to have inner peace and happiness, you have to know and understand who you are in Christ and be happy with that person. This man never could have that because he was NOT Peter Sellers. This man was Richard Sellers. The real Peter Sellers (his brother) died at birth, but because their mother was so distraught over the loss of her first son she used this boy as his replacement, which is why she spoiled him. Therefore, on screen or off, he was always Peter Sellers. He never had a real sense of self and never would, and that was very sad.
Even George missed what was right before his eyes- Jesus. I don't think John missed that, though it wasn't hip to 'do a Cliff'. Jesus had a great sense of humour. "The poor in spirit [ i.e the seekers after the spirit ] will get to Heaven... The meek will inherit the earth." hallo. What does meek mean? Why would a spiritual person want the earth? "The humbled, mutated, will get the scorched earth," seems to be the interpretation. That's humour. Taking a boat to the other side of lake Gallilee, to escape the crowd, is funny. The character Chauncey Gardner may be Peter getting there; or being there, in the zone.
Surely "The meek shall inherit the Earth" means "Shut up you plebs and stop complaining about us powerful people at the top. Just be meek and mild and don't rock the boat." It reminds me of the John Cleese line from Life of Brian, "...it's the meek who are the problem."
bin don - It's all about population density. If there are too many people in a too-small place, unless they are dancing with one another, some people's toes are gonna get stepped on. So, in today's world, if you are meek, you are at a disadvantage. As Frank Zappa said, "The Meek shall inherit Shit." The world that Jesus of Nazareth lived in had lots less people in it, but his teachings, all about people getting along, are still good today. Churches and Religions are, of course, not concerned with people at all. Just another type of business - you pay your money and take your chances. Spirituality has nothing to do with it, except to put you at risk from con men(like churches).
Tommy, you would probably class me as one of those lack-loves, but I am not. Some of us just don't have to romanticize our great artists. We love them as they are. To hear GH talk about PS is to listen one one nut job loser talking about another. But George was a Beatle, the greatest rock band ever. And Peter had a sublime, indescribable sense of comedy. There is no lack of love here - but man, they were idiots!
it's a sort of scapegoating thing. The same sort of accolades and accusations that the ancient Greeks made against their gods. Guilty characters yet also capable of great transcendence.
How come we don't hear that much from George Harrison anymore. ? We see Paul McCartney pop up on TV now and again, but nothing from George Harrison. ? ?
Janetta Martin Well actually Miss Clever-Clogs. I saw him being interviewed on the BBC's. 'The One Show' the other evening. He's got a art exhibition coming up soon, in central London.
George, the overrated Beatle. A moralyzing hypocrit. A materialist who pushed mumbo jumbo and who despised John Lennon after John rightly renounced the phony creep Maharishi. Sellers was a tortured soul but unlike George he was brilliant perhaps the greatest British comedian of the 20th century even if unhappy and lost. John was the real thing who did great good for humanity but even he was imperfect (poor father to Julian). Lennon and Sellers were true geniuses!
MegaRaven100 what are you talking about? George remains awesome as a guitar player, performer, entertainer, songwriter, singer, and loved by a wide array of family, friends, fans all over this planet! What’s your contribution...
George was a great talent and a very lovely person to work with and know. I never ever heard a bad word said against him from the people who knew him. I take it you never knew him and yet you bad mouth him
