Peter Sellers: life, career, and comedic legacy

Peter Sellers

If it were to choose among best entertainers of the past century, the most pertinent answer should refer to a personality with a constant and remarkable presence in the industry of entertaining, with a strong impact on his auditory, and mostly, with achievements that would remain alive and unexcelled long after his physical existence. It is true, by all means, that it is difficult to choose among so many great personalities which fit the above mentioned description. Yet, there is a man whose performance is and will remain unique and therefore, the purpose of this essay is to demonstrate, on the ground of solid arguments and evidences, that Peter Sellers is the best entertainer of the last 100 years.

In an industry that "never sleeps," with a permanent change of background and characters, with a multitude of talents and a constant appearance of new ones and replacement of the olds, Peter Sellers' image remains unadulterated by the irreversible pass of time. His unrivalled charisma and creativity, his comic genius and fascinating talent for mime made Seller a first-class star and recommend him as a bench-mark of the universal comic culture.

The great talent of this personality is obvious from the very beginning career of the star. Back in 1957, in London, Peter Seller was fascinating the listeners of BBC radio with his hilarious and original inventions. Once entering the entertainment industry, he was easily remarked due to his qualities and therefore, the road from radio to television was predictable.

The fact that Sellers' performances are impressive and have marked the era of a genius is not based on a subjective opinion, although personally, there is a huge appreciation and respect for this actor's notable work. Numerous awards and international recognition sustain this idea. He was the first actor to be nominated for a single Academy Award (best actor) for the film "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" in 1964. For this role, Sellers has successfully managed to portrait three different characters in the same film. Generally, one can say that the actor often played multiple characters, due to his native easiness in performing these types of roles and his ability to change his voice and appearance. (three characters in "The Mouse that Roared," for example).

His awards also include a Golden Globe for "Being There" and an award for "I'm All Right Jack," as he was considered "Best British Actor." Along with these, Sellers also received numerous nominalizations to different categories for movies like "The Pink Panther" and "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" ("Best Actor in a Leading Role"), "The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film" ("Best Short Film"), "Lolita" ("Best Actor in Supporting Role") etc. As one can see, his work was highly appreciated and rewarded, which strengthens the hypothesis of him being the best entertainer of the past period, as one can see its talent being recognized by experts in the area.

Another argument which also regards this consideration is related to the fact that, even after his tragic disappearance, Peter Sellers' work still remains valuable and has not vanished from the public's consciousness. He is still present in classifications and constantly receives high scores. He was voted the 41st Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine and was also ranked in Empire's Magazine- "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. In 2005, he was voted 14 in the list of the top 20 greatest comedians of all time, a classification realized by comedy insiders.

Also, a movie focusing on his life was recently released, which is another evidence that the world wide interest for this great actor remained the same, an interest that could only be provided for a personality of "the best."

That Peter Sellers is the best entertainer of the past period is stated not only by his great success in the movie industry. The complexity of this man also stands in his multi-talented nature, as he was not only a prolific actor, but pleased the public with his singles. He had a famous duet with Sophia Loren, "Goodness Gracious Me," which reached top four in 1960. He released comedy records and LP's of great success in the UK and all over the world.

Peter Sellers means a little of everything: he was the tumultuous and complicated individual, with a fussy personal life that continues to fascinate and to become the subject of current film productions. He was the genius comedian, who gave comedy a whole new sense. And more than that, he was every character that he ever interpreted, from Dr. Strangelove, to Quilty and the famous Inspector Clouseau, as he gave eternal life to these fictive people. He performed in more than seventy movies, more than enough for him to be considered extremely prolific.