Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers [Hardcover]

Ed Sikov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2002

In this revealing look at the short, eventful life of the gifted but troubled comic genius, Sikov offers unique insight into his unusual comedy style, his lonely childhood, his four marriages, his many films, and more. 16-page photo insert.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

How do you write the biography of a cipher? That's the daunting challenge veteran Hollywood biographer Ed Sikov tackles in exploring the life of one of the 20th century's most acclaimed comic actors. Peter Sellers' uncanny talents as a mimic would inform everything from English radio's Goon Show and the highly profitable--if increasingly broad--cycle of Inspector Clouseau Pink Panther films to his brilliant turn as Chauncey Gardiner in Being There, a role that had all too many discomforting parallels to Sellers' own cryptic personality. Sikov reveals that the man long hailed as comedy's greatest chameleon was in fact a tragic, troubled personal vacuum, the only child of a literal stage mother who indulged his every whim, yet left him a distinct void for a soul. Sikov interviews many of the relatives, intimates, and survivors of Sellers that filled his alternately strange and spectacular life, while thoroughly chronicling every professional triumph and more than a few missteps. Sikov's straightforward reporting, seasoned by his own dry wit, details the parts that made up the man, but the sum remains an ever compelling enigma. As Lolita and Dr. Strangelove director Stanley Kubrick, no slouch in the personal riddle sweepstakes himself, once said of Sellers: "There is no such person." --Jerry McCulley

From Publishers Weekly

Sellers was undoubtedly one of the 20th century's funniest people. From his first star-making turns in Lolita and Dr. Strangelove (in which he played three different characters), to the bumbling but strangely dignified Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther movies, Sellers never failed to send audiences rolling in the aisles. But as Sikov shows in this hip, unblinking biography, there was a downside to his genius. Sellers abused drugs, beat his wives and neglected his children. On set, he was a nightmare prima donna, insisting on special treatment and embroiling himself in ridiculous feuds with costars and directors. Moreover, his compulsive need to do impressions verged at times on multiple personality disorder (his first wife said, "It's like being married to the United Nations"). Sikov shows that no one, not even his friends, really knew Sellers. The actor was, in Sikov's estimation, a comic tabula rasa on which he could inscribe any character or personality. This mutability gave Sellers his first break, as he bluffed his way onto radio by impersonating a BBC star on the telephone. He later became the star of the hugely influential radio program The Goon Show, whose eccentric, Dadaist humor predated Monty Python by a decade. An avid party-goer (jet-setting friends included Roman Polanski and the Beatles), Sellers enjoyed a go-go lifestyle finally that caught up with him in 1980, when he suffered a massive heart attack. Sikov, whose previous work includes a Billy Wilder biography, treats Sellers with just the right mix of awe, irritation and sympathy, giving readers a clear-headed, respectful tribute to a disturbed genius.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (October 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786866640
• ISBN-13: 978-0786866649
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #677,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, June 19, 2004

By 

Sapphire "tomdoctress" (Morton, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers (Paperback)

Peter Sellers has been the subject of more than a few books, some significantly better than others. Aside from Graham Stark's beautiful memoir "Remembering Peter Sellers" (still only available in the U.K., unfortunately), this is the best. Certainly it is the most comprehensive, in part because it works from, and builds upon, the many books that came before it.

In more ways than one, "Mr. Strangelove" is not a light read. Sikov's research is extensive and detail is heavy, but his writing is surprisingly nimble over the 300+ page length.

The life of Sellers was fraught with private and public turmoil, and a significant career dry spell. Some previous studies of him and his work treated both with almost cruel insensitivity (and I haven't even read Roger Lewis' much-pilloried "Life and Death of..."), emphasizing the pain he brought into the lives of others. Meanwhile, memoirs like his son Michael Sellers' "P.S. I Love You" and Stark's book, while certainly willing to admit to Peter's faults, made a case for his personal pain and his virtues.

Happily Sikov understands Sellers' good side as well as his bad one. Though this is definitely a warts-and-all portrait of the man - his bad behavior on sets and his unhappy relationships with wives and children are not spared us - and sometimes painful to read, it is also sensitive, careful to stress Peter's humanity. (His fresh interviews with some of Sellers' colleagues do much to acheive this end.) In the end, this is the story of a man who, in Sikov's words, had an "essentially good heart".

Understandably some will be (and have been, to judge from other reviews) frustrated by the extremely detailed coverage Sellers' work, especially his films, are given. But to do justice to the life of such a gifted performer requires a close look at his work, and "Mr. Strangelove" covers his work more compellingly than any previous biography has, particularly where his more obscure films are concerned.

"Mr. Strangelove" is a full, rich portrait of a tragicomic life, one that will be compelling reading for those with even a mild interest in its subject...though once it's been read, "mild" may well turn to "major".

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Interesting, Will Permanently Change Your View, November 9, 2005

By 

J. Reynolds (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers (Paperback)

If all you know about Peter Sellers consists of what you've seen in his films, and you want to keep things that way, then stay away from this biography. It will permanently alter your regard for him, when after reading it you see him onscreen -- conceptually similar to the way you can't truly concentrate on a movie, any more, when Woody Allen or O.J. Simpson or (for wholly different reasons) Christopher Reeve appears. Sellers' childhood life, monstrously mismanaged by his mother, gave rise to both his immense talent and atrocious immaturity/impropriety as an adult. He comprehensively lived a child's life during his childhood, wholly unstructured and unorganized and undisciplined, propagating a glorious sense of fun, imagination and mimicry which formed the foundation of his adult career. Simultaneously, as the author points out, he never developed the "inhibitors" that prevent normal grown-ups from losing emotional control and/or unpredictably launching into violent behavior. Sellers' sporadically terrible behavior toward his first wife and children, were it to occur today and become public knowledge, would completely taint his career. He behaved abominably toward them and, objectively speaking, should have been brought to justice as an abusive husband and father.

This is a good bio to read, but be aware it will add another, and not too pleasant, layer to your thoughts about its subject.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, someone got it right, September 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers (Hardcover)

I'm a HUGE fan of Peter Sellers, so I've read everything I could find on him over the years. But this is the first biography that really captures the comedic genius of Sellers' legendary radio broadcasts and classic film work while delving equally deeply into the actor's tragic personal life. The author unearthed all sorts of tidbits that were new to this fan, too. What really surprised me, though, was how much information was transmitted without bogging down in the usual mire of biographical facts and dates. It's really a lively read that's true to Sellers' spirit. Sikov is a new name to me, but once I finish buying all of Seller's movies on DVD, I'm going to check out his book on Billy Wilder.