Excerpt from a 1980 interview with Sellers from NBC’s Today show, from Criterion Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Blu-Ray.
Peter Sellers. Married 4 times, he was interviewed here in 1980 by Shalit. In real life he was erratic, compulsive, depressed, and insecure. He died of a heart attack in 1980. Shortly after this entertaining interview. A genius of an actor, with a troubled private life. He would clash with directors and co-actors on set. But he was a genius nevertheless. His role as inspector Clouseau stood out the most for me. Absolutely humorous. And brilliant.
Very true. I've read two biographies on Sellers over the years. He was a terrible man who treated his wives and children horribly. Just a wreck of a paranoid, insecure human being who had no discernible identity of his own. But he was an absolute genius as an actor and performer, without a doubt.
Peter Sellers was unique, irreplaceable, brilliant and a comedian of chameleonic qualities. We shall never see the likes of him again and the world was lucky to have had him.
Peter Sellers was a miracle. If you ever get a chance to hear his comedy albums the man had NO limits. He could do every know accent, be a man or a woman, his humor was very sophisticated and hilarious, and he was a true chameleon, he could become anybody. I wish he had lived longer.
He died a few years after I was born but his films had an influence, Dr Strangelove is still one of my favorite film because of Peter and Being There had such an emotional impact despite being old by the time I watched it. Definitely broke the mould when they made him.
So many classic scenes. Cluseau to Old Man on bench: Does your dog bite? Old Man: No, my dog does not bite. Dog bite's Cluseau's hand. Cluseau: You said your dog does not bite. Old Man: That is not my dog. hahahahahaha
My favorite of his films is "Being There" and I only just learned through this interview how important it was to Peter Sellers, himself. I recommend it to all.
Peter Sellers was a brilliant actor. Great in comedy and drama. Him not getting an academy award for Dr. Strangelove is a CRIME! His performances in Pink Panther, Lolita and Being There were brilliant. Died tooooooo young and shortly after this interview (The same year, 1980)! Only 55 years old. Sad:-(
mike bond, It’s perfectly ironic. Some mistake that for humor. And my entire life I’ve had to hear people quote that line and expect me to LOL or something. Clap my hands together like a toy monkey. Sad boomers.
One of the greatest actors of all time. Interview was just a month before his death on July 24, 1980 at age 54 from a heart attack. So many great movies: Dr. Strangelove (he should’ve won the Oscar), Being There (another Oscar denied), The Party & the Pink Panther movies.
John Cleese said he once visited Peter at his house first thing in the morning, and when Peter appeared, he (Peter) had to go through several voices before "finding" his own.
You could tell Sellers was having a grand time playing Strangelove. It's one of the reasons I find it so fun to watch personally. Gone but not forgotten ❤
But do you think Peter could tell he was having a good time? The balls on the interviewer telling him he doesn't exist as a person. Peter should have stood up and pissed on his feet.
As someone who is old enough to remember Sellers in his prime, I have to say that it is the most unusual thing imaginable to hear him in his own voice. It borders on the bizarre and surreal... Almost as if one doesn't expect him to sound like himself.
The accent he did in that interview would have been RP as expected from civilised British people, not his original voice. Then again so many actors learn to affect RP when off stage.
My family came to the US from India in the 1960s and as a kid then he looked, walked and talked like my uncle who visited us from India in the early 70s. I told my friends at school about my uncle who was visiting from India and everyone wanted to meet him. America was a different place in the 1970s
Wow! It's odd how time alters our perception. If you've ever seen Peter Sellers in the original version of The Ladykillers and realise the date it was made, his being 54 in this interview somehow boggles the mind.
Sellers was a tortured genius. He actually adlibbed the best scenes as the Dr Strangelove character. I re-watch it often . He was also brilliant as Fred Kite, the Shop Steward in ' I'm alright, Jack ' . He should have got an Oscar for Dr. Strangelove
Is amazing how Peter TOTALLY changes when doing the accents. Not just the voice, but body language and thought process as well. Hard enough to do when doing a celebrity impersonation. But to suddenly act like a particular cockney or upper class person, and it's like Peter has all the history of that particular character within him. Amazing!
I read he avoided any potentially life-saving surgeries to mend his heart. Possibly pursued Eastern-type medical alternatives. Much like Steve Jobs and his pancreatic cancer.
He is only 54-years-old here - this is shortly before he died. He did not look well for his age. And he did not take care of himself - smoking, drinking, drugs, etc. Such a brilliant actor and one of the greatest comedic actors of all-time. A shame he had to battle inner demons, while trying to have a successful life and career - despite what went on in his personal life, he still managed to leave great work on the screen for eternity.
Watching this interview makes me really, really miss Peter Sellers and his incredible talent! Imagine all of his incredibly diverse rolls, from his Dr. Strangelove rolls to his Pink Panther Inspector Clouseau persona, his genius is undeniable. I can't think of anyone today who even approaches his level of talent.
Sellers was simply on another level. His characters were entirely separate from his own identity. He did not like interviews, but Gene here, made it enjoyable enough for him that he opened up and spoke forthrightly and humorously. Gene was very good at what he did. And back in 1980, you would be hard-pressed to find anybody who didn’t instantly recognize him.
Amazing how simple and straightforward Sellers was offscreen, in contrast to the panoply of personas he projected onscreen. A real testament to this extraordinary talent. Too bad he had to die so soon after this interview. Rest in peace, Peter.
The many biographies of this man, not least one by his own son, reveal him to be anything but 'simple and straight forward'. No-one who knew him would describe him as simple and straight forward.
I have a small story for people who take an interest in Peter Sellers. I work in maintenance at a private school in Melbourne, Australia and one day during a term break as I walked out into the side street named for the schools first headmaster, I spotted a 1970s two tone, Rolls Royce convertible parked with the owner hanging around the bonnet. I asked him if the vehicle was "failing to proceed", which the owner confirmed that was the case. We got chatting and he informed me that the car had originally been owned by Peter Sellers, which seemed amazing to me, but he confirmed that he could prove the provenance of the vehicle. He also said that he will never clean the front passenger seat given some of the famous ladies that Sellers had sit in that seat. At the end of the street we were standing in, on St Kilda Rd, is The Royce Hotel, which was originally built as the first Rolls Royce showroom in Melbourne and strangely enough I met an elderly couple walking down the street one day and it turned out that the lady was the daughter of the architect who designed the original showroom. All of this just goes to show you that it pays to say hello to people and learn a little bit about their stories.
Sellers owned over 200 cars in his short life, some for only a matter of days before growing bored of them and buying another. It may have been that no-one sat in the passenger seat of this Roller. (no-one other than Graham Stark or Kenneth Griffiths.....)
When people say Peter Sellers has no self, it is a brilliant complement isn’t it? He has the ability to become any number of characters. What an amazing actor and comedian. What memorable moments he has created for us.
The word and spelling for this sentence is compliment. "Complement" has another meaning. He gave someone a compliment. He complimented his performance. The spelling is complement, for something like "the color of her scarf complements her complexion."
Well he was married to Britt Ekland and had an affair with Sofia Loren (not at the same time, I don't think), so clearly he had some really good times. Amazingly, both of those two ladies are still with us (aged 74 and 82 respectively). Edit: After checking, it seems that the "affair" with Loren was likely just a "delusional fantasy". He was besotted with her and left his first wife as a result.
Wow! He so easily goes through those accents and they sound authentic. They aren’t forced or snarky, though he says funny comments in the accents. He really was so talented.
Love it. You can hear the crew laughing toward the end of this. When you can make a TV crew crack-up during filming, that means you've got HUGE talent.
I think his actual voice would sound closer to London Cockney. He came into a more posh accent after years of playing upper class characters, but he sounded more like Bluebottle in the Goon Show, who hailed from Sellers' own East Finchley neighborhood (according to Wikipedia).
My late Mom, whom was French, was always impressed at Sellers's French accent in his performances as Inspector Clouseau. She marveled how convincing he sounding speaking English with a French accent . . . and trust me, if the accent was anything but convincing, I can hear her chastising any actor failing to convincingly do a French accent. xD
My father was a young grad student who was invited to speak over at the Royal Academy of Science in the mid 70's. He was given first class tickets both ways and ended up sitting next to Peter Sellers for the entire flight. To say he was Gobsmacked was putting it lightly. He was a HUGE Strangelove fan(as am I) as well as of course the Pink Panthers. He said that he was quiet but very nice and they conversed for quite some time. He said Sellers was more interested in my fathers work in chemistry than he was in him and they spent more time talking science and such than "boring old Hollywood"! If this were today I'm sure they would have exchanged numbers and had a few "selfies". He didn't even ask for an autograph because he thought it rude....just the man he was.
I was reading peoples comments stating that Gary Oldman was the master of accents. Peter Sellers was a genius. He could flawlessly do any accent and was talented in ways other actors simply could not match. He fused together the comedic absurdity of Milligan, the Chameleon like character acting of Guinness and added his own genius for mimicry, his was a rare talent indeed. Dr. Strangelove is proof of that immense talent, I don’t think his career is a fair reflection of just how gifted he was.
This was one of his last interviews. I was devastated when I learned that he died. There are people who are just naturally funny, no matter what they say, and Peter Sellers was one of them. I remember him as a funny actor and a great talent. Not just Inspector Clouseau.
A genius and like many of his type, close to insanity. He was a complex man who treated his family very badly. His son disowned him. He left us too soon. RIP Peter Sellers
Yeah v close to insanity and unfortunately treated his family like crap. My mate knows one of his daughter and none of his kids were arsed with him and he them. Still that aside 10/10 for artistic talent
So what? His job was acting. Connecting a person's ability to make a living/contribute to society to their family life leads down a bad path, assuming they aren't a criminal. It's puritanism
Peter Sellers is a gem of a human being. Just looking at him in an interview is hysterical because the anticipation is overwhelming that any moment he'll say something really hilarious or erudite.
Peter Sellers is without question. But Gene Shalit was a true lover of Cinema and a warm smart interviewer. As natural as natural can be. What a treasure both these men in their fields were. I love that the time machine, the Tube of You, can bring us back for a visit.
Peter sellers is one of the greatest, intelligent, intuitive and spontaneous minds we have ever seen. He is not the aggressive witty responder nor the over bearing sarcastic twit. He's is imaginative and far sharper than the plethora of comedians today that rely on 'sarky put downs' ,, just like the boorish late night hosts of today. The world is a much much sadder place without the likes of men like Peter.
Not only a genius comedic actor, but a genius actor, who was only ever truly relaxed, comfortable and happy making everybody laugh, including himself, but he also communicated something beyond human absurdity, which went right to one's soul: a deep, childlike yearning for love.
Time has shown us that Sellers is "One of the all time Greats of comedy" THANKS for that - A great gift to all of us, who value the importance of humor. Beautyful and greatly missed.
There something surreal to his presence... the voice and how he seems so intelligent, calm, almost to great to be there while getting asked stupid questions.
I was in Canada when he died and as a tribute,the TV channels showed a lot of his movies back to back. Peed myself watching the "Birdie Num Num" sketch from "The Party".
The delicate fragility of the real Peter Sellers is there in all his personifications: so much for the idea he himself was an empty suit full of other people. What an artist
I saw Dr. Strangelove when I was 14 and laughed so hard at Peter Sellers that I actually fell out of my seat into the aisle and my sides ached. I have never laughed so hard.
It's easy to think of impressionists as being a quick comedic fix. Obviously Peter Sellers did more than just impressions and accents. But when someone does accents and impersonations so well, it's pure joy and a real talent. Peter Ustinov was another. And we now have Peter Serafinowicz. Any of the Peters really.
Amazing talent,and dr.strangelove was just fantastic.he really became the character he played.i still keep laughing my ass off,when I see his movies.thank you,PeterSellers,you were a true artist and a great performer
Peter was so cool -- despite some hairy and almost insulting questions, Peter stayed friendly, charming & witty. So many 'post-Modern' stars would've walked off even half way in.
Unhappy people make the best comics. Genius, unique, and special do more of a dishonor to their work than their efforts at searching for something they don’t posses from the the rest of us. Appreciated and missed. Not merely for their forced joy but for the effort in concealing their pain.
Peter Sellers is so awesome. Gone way too soon. He looks great here, apparently just weeks before his death. Quick-witted and hilarious. So nice to see. I wonder if he was promoting "Being There."
Because the "Today Show" was a huge ratings hit, the #1 morning show, three national networks, there was no internet, not that much cable penetration, and Shallot's movie reviews carried weight. Gene was different but basically a very good man.
In retrospect you can see Sellers being kind of corralled into comedy even after he was ready to do other things. Being There was one of his most serious roles and he sounds like he wants to talk about it here, but the interviewer just wants him to be a ventriloquist.
I think it was because of radio. Sellers started out in radio so different voices were the norm and he could do half a dozen in the same show. Different times breed different talents.
It's great to hear he loved his performance. It's certainly one of the most memorable movies I've ever watched and I'm not even into comedies myself. RIP