How Peter Sellers Changed the ‘Pink Panther’ Franchise Forever
Peter Sellers remains one of comedy’s great icons, best remembered for his role as the clumsy Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the Pink Panther films. It’s hard to imagine now, but Clouseau was originally written as a minor character, a dignified French detective, in the first Pink Panther movie. In fact, in the 1963 original The Pink Panther, Sellers only received second billing to David Niven, who played the suave jewel thief Sir Charles Lytton.
Sellers’ comic genius would soon steal the spotlight, transforming Clouseau from a supporting role into the heart of the franchise. His portrayal was so incredible that director Blake Edwards admitted they had to change the entire concept of Clouseau to best tap into Sellers’ talents. Instead of a competent inspector, Sellers made Clouseau a funny, bumbling and lovable character that audiences couldn’t get enough of.
By the time the sequel, A Shot in the Dark, was released, Clouseau was unmistakably the star, and Sellers leaned into the character’s quirks, notably adopting an exaggerated French accent and a talent for turning the most mundane situations into chaos. Audiences loved it, and so did the filmmakers. As the series went on, the plots increasingly revolved around Clouseau’s antics rather than the heist stories or other characters.
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After Sellers passed away unexpectedly on July 24, 1980, Edwards still wasn’t ready to let go of Clouseau. In 1982, he released Trail of the Pink Panther, a posthumous film made entirely from unused footage and deleted scenes from earlier movies. While Sellers hadn’t been filming at the time of his death, the studio stitched together the film in an attempt to preserve his presence on screen one last time. The result was met with mixed reviews and even sparked a lawsuit from Sellers’ widow, who objected to the use of his image without permission.
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It speaks volumes that, even after Sellers was gone, the studio tried to keep his spirit alive on screen. Without him, however, the magic was hard to recapture. The remaining films veered into gimmicks, recasting Clouseau with new actors or inventing new leads such as an American detective or Clouseau’s long-lost son, but none could match the charm of Sellers’ performances.
Even decades later, fans still love Sellers’ work. It’s no surprise that Elvis Presley was reportedly a huge fan. Elvis even kept Pink Panther films on hand to watch during his tours. Sellers’ influence ensured that the Pink Panther movies will always be remembered for the clueless detective’s outrageous misadventures, all brought to life by his incomparable talent and timing.
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