His "Goon Show" records, and other comedy recordings from the 1950s and early 1960s, were produced by George Martin, before he worked with The Beatles.
His father was Protestant and his mother was Jewish. He attended St. Aloysius College, a Roman Catholic School.
His performance as Chance the Gardener in Being There (1979) is ranked #49 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
His performance as Dr. Strangelove in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) is ranked #75 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
His performance as Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the "Pink Panther" franchise is ranked #67 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
His third wife, Miranda Quarry, is now "The Countess of Stockton."
In addition to dubbing Alfonso Bedoya in "The Black Rose", Sellers also dubs the Chinese actor Ley On. In addition to providing the voice of an off-screen Winston Churchill in "The Man Who Never Was", he also provides at least two other briefly-heard voices in that film. An oft-repeated rumor suggest that he also dubbed a few lines for Humphrey Bogart in "Beat The Devil", but this is harder to confirm.
Interred at Golders Green Crematorium, London, England, UK.
Is portrayed by Geoffrey Rush in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004).
Late one night, following a disappointing day wrestling with a troublesome scene in one of the Pink Panther films, director Blake Edwards was roused by a call from Sellers. "I just talked to God!" he exclaimed, "and he told me how to do it!" The next day Edwards humored Sellers - and the result was an unmitigated disaster. "Peter," Edwards suggested, "next time you talk to God, tell him to stay out of show business!".
Left the bulk of his estate--cash, cars, houses and art amounting to £4.5 million--to fourth wife Lynne Frederick. He left his son Michael and his daughter Sarah from his first marriage to actress Anne Howe only £800 each. "It was a calculated and considered act. Even his lawyers blushed when they told me," Michael said. Sellers had married Frederick, who was known primarily as David Frost's girlfriend (and subsequently his wife after Sellers' death), in 1977. Reportedly Sellers was in the process of excluding her from his will in the time immediately preceding his death by heart attack in 1980. A drug addict and an alcoholic, Frederick died at aged 39 and all income from Sellers' estate, including royalties from movie profit-sharing deals, was inherited by her daughter with third husband Barry Unger.
One afternoon the doorbell rang in Sellers' London flat. As he was busy in his study, his wife Anne went to the door, where she was handed a telegram. The message: "Bring me a cup of coffee. Peter".
Ranked #84 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Recorded a comedic rendition of "Unchained Melody" which wasn't released until years afterwards.
Sellers also enjoyed success in the UK music charts, with "Any Old Iron" reaching 17 in 1957 and a cover of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" released in 1965 and reaching 14.
Sellers was the first male to appear on the cover of Playboy Magazine, in April 1964
Sellers, Spike Milligan, Michael Bentine and Harry Secombe performed on BBC Radio as "The Goon Show" in the early 1950s.
Served in the Royal Air Force during World War II.
Together with Nicolas Cage (Adaptation. (2002)) and Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou (1965)), and José Ferrer (Moulin Rouge (1952) Sellers is the only actor with an Oscar nomination for playing multiple characters in a film (in (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), he plays three characters, Group Captain (G/C) Lionel Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley and Dr. Strangelove). Marvin is the only one who actually won one for a double role.
Turned down the role of George Webber in Blake Edwards' 10 (1979) (George Segal was cast instead but eventually replaced by Dudley Moore). Sellers made a cameo appearance but it wound up being cut out.