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<\/p>\nPETER Sellers is often regarded as one of the greatest comedians of all time. The actor's legacy long lives on after his untimely death aged 54 in 1980.<\/p>\n
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Peter Sellers was born September 8, 1925, in Portsmouth to parents who both worked as entertainers. Aged 15, he began working at a local theatre as a caretaker before slowly working his way up to performing the drums on stage. Peter continued to entertain troops while serving abroad in the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1946 during the Second World War. After the war, he moved to London where he started raising his profile performing music and impressions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He got his big break starring in BBC comedy radio programme The Goon Show from 1951 to 1960 alongside Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine. Peter became a global star thanks to his role as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther in 1963, for which he received an Oscar nomination. During the 1960s he was also praised for parts in Dr Strangelove (1964), A Shot In The Dark (1964) and The Party (1968). In the 1970s, he reprised the role of Inspector Clouseau for The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) and Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Peter was nominated for a second Oscar for 1979's Being There.<\/p>\n
During his life, Peter was married four times.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
His first marriage was to actress Anne Howe from 1951 to 1963.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This was followed by Bond girl Britt Ekland, who he wed in 1964 but split from in 1968.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Peter tied to the knot with his third wife, model Miranda Macmillan, in 1970, and they were married for four years.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The actor's last marriage was to Lynne Frederick, which was from 1977 until his death.<\/p>\n
Peter had three children, a boy and two girls, from two of his marriages. He welcomed son Michael and daughter Sarah during his first marriage to Anne. Peter then had daughter Victoria with his second wife Britt.<\/p>\n
On July 22, 1980, Peter suffered a heart attack in his room at the Dorchester Hotel and fell into a coma. He died two days later on July 24, 1980, aged 54, at Middlesex Hospital in London. Following Peter's death, fellow actor Richard Attenborough said that his friend "had the genius comparable to Chaplin".<\/p>\n<\/p>\n