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Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comic songs, and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Inspector Clouseau, Chief Inspector Clouseau in ''The Pink Panther'' series. Born in Southsea, Sellers made his stage debut at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, when he was two weeks old. He began accompanying his parents in a variety act that toured the provincial theatres. He first worked as a drummer and toured around England as a member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). He developed his mimicry and improvisational skills during a spell in Ralph Reader's wartime Gang Show entertainment troupe, which toured Britain and the Far East. After the war, Sellers made his radio debut in ''ShowTime'', and eventually became a regular perfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a fashionable 19th-century Victorian era, Victorian seaside resort named ''Croxton Town'', after a Mr Croxton who owned the land. As the resort grew, it adopted the name of nearby Southsea Castle, a seafront fort constructed in 1544 to help defend the Solent and approaches to Portsmouth Harbour. In 1879, South Parade Pier was opened by Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar in Southsea. The pier began operating a passenger steamer service across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. This service gave rise to the idea of linking Southsea and its pier to Portsmouth Direct Line, Portsmouth's railway line, and for tourists to bypass the busy town of Portsmouth and its crowded harbour. East Southsea railway station, along with the Southsea Railway and Fratton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, most notably Neddie Seagoon. An accomplished tenor, he also appeared in musicals and films – notably as Mr Bumble in ''Oliver!'' (1968) – and, in his later years, was a presenter of television shows incorporating hymns and other devotional songs. Early life Secombe was born in St Thomas, Swansea, the third of four children of Nellie Jane Gladys (née Davies), a shop manageress, and Frederick Ernest Secombe, a travelling salesperson and office worker for a Swansea wholesale grocery business. From the age of 11 he attended Dynevor School, a state grammar school in central Swansea. His family were regular churchgoers, belonging to the congregation of St Thomas Church. A member of the choir, from the age of 12 Secombe would perform a sket ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Live Action Short Film
The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, One-reel'' and ''Best Short Subject, Two-reel'', referring to the running time of eligible short films: a standard reel of 35 mm film is 1000 feet, or about 11 minutes of run time. A third category "Best Short Subject, color" was used only for 1936 and 1937. From the initiation of short subject awards for 1932 until 1935 the terms were "Best Short Subject, comedy" and "Best Short Subject, novelty". These categories were merged starting with the 1957 awards, under the name "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects", which was used until 1970. For the next three years after that, it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films". The current name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. Current Academy rules cal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actress winner. However, in recent years, it has shifted towards being presented by previous years’ Best Actor winners instead. The Best Actor award has been presented 97 times, to 86 actors. The first winner was German actor Emil Jannings for his roles in '' The Last Command'' (1928) and '' The Way of All Flesh'' (1927). The most recent winner is Adrien Brody for '' The Brutalist'' (2024); he previously won the award for '' The Pianist'' (2002) at the age of 29, making him the category's youngest winner. The record for most wins is three, held by Daniel Day-Lewis, and ten other actors have won twice. The record for most nominatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry. The major award categories, known as the Academy Awards of Merit, are presented during a live-televised Hollywood ceremony in February or March. It is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929. The second ceremony, in 1930, was the first one broadcast by radio. The 1953 ceremony was the first one televised. It is the oldest of the four major annual American entertainment awards. Its counterparts—the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music—are modeled after the Academy Aw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Comedy
Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discuss, aiming to provoke discomfort, serious thought, and amusement for their audience. Thus, in fiction, for example, the term ''black comedy'' can also refer to a genre in which dark humor is a core component. Black comedy differs from ribaldry#Blue comedy, blue comedy—which focuses more on topics such as nudity, Human sexual activity, sex, and body fluids—and from obscenity. Additionally, whereas the term ''black comedy'' is a relatively broad term covering humor relating to many serious subjects, ''gallows humor'' tends to be used more specifically in relation to death, or situations that are reminiscent of dying. Black humor can occasionally be related to the grotesque genre. Literary critics h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pink Panther
''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the film ''The Pink Panther'' in 1963. The role of Clouseau was originated by and is most closely associated with Peter Sellers. Most of the films were written and directed by Blake Edwards, with theme music composed by Henry Mancini. Elements and characters inspired by the films were adapted into other media, including books, comic books, video games and animated series. The first film in the series derives its title from a pink diamond that has enormous size and value. The diamond is called the "Pink Panther" because the flaw at its center, when viewed closely, is said to resemble a leaping pink panther. The phrase reappears in the title of the fourth film, ''The Return of the Pink Panther'' (1975), in which the theft of the diamond is again the center of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Being There
''Being There'' is a 1979 American satirical comedy-drama film starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Hal Ashby, it is based on the 1971 novel '' Being There'' by Jerzy Kosiński, and adapted for the screen by Kosiński and the uncredited Robert C. Jones. Jack Warden, Richard Dysart, and Richard Basehart are featured in support. Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Sellers was nominated for Best Actor. The screenplay won the British Academy Film Award for Best Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay. In 2015, the Library of Congress selected ''Being There'' for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It has since developed a strong cult following and is a favorite among many filmmakers. Plot Middle-aged, simple-mind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Party (1968 Film)
''The Party'' is a 1968 American comedy film, produced, co-written and directed by Blake Edwards. Based on a fish-out-of-water premise, the film stars Peter Sellers as a bungling actor from India, who accidentally gets invited to a lavish Hollywood dinner party. The film is a farce with a very loose structure; it essentially serves as a series of set pieces for Sellers's improvisational comedy talents. The protagonist Hrundi Bakshi was influenced by two of Sellers' earlier characters: the Indian doctor Ahmed el Kabir in ''The Millionairess'' (1960) and Inspector Clouseau in ''The Pink Panther'' series. Bakshi went on to inspire popular characters such as Amitabh Bachchan's role in '' Namak Halaal'' (1982) and Apu in ''The Simpsons''. However, ''The Party'' has been criticized as having perpetuated brown stereotypes and using " brownface" with an exaggerated accent. Plot The production of a costume epic film is ruined when Indian actor Hrundi V. Bakshi accidentally blows up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casino Royale (1967 Film)
''Casino Royale'' is a 1967 spy parody film originally distributed by Columbia Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, the first novel to feature the character James Bond. The film stars David Niven as the "original" Bond, Sir James Bond 007. Forced out of retirement to investigate the deaths and disappearances of international spies, he soon battles the mysterious Dr. Noah and the ruthless counter-intelligence agency SMERSH, inspired by actual organizations in the USSR. The film's tagline: "Casino Royale is too much... for one James Bond!" refers to Bond's plan to mislead SMERSH in which six other agents are pretending to be "James Bond", namely, baccarat master Evelyn Tremble ( Peter Sellers); millionaire spy Vesper Lynd ( Ursula Andress); Bond's secretary Miss Moneypenny ( Barbara Bouchet); Bond's daughter with Mata Hari, Mata Bond ( Joanna Pettet); and British agents Cooper ( Terence Cooper) and the Detainer ( Daliah Lavi). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
What's New Pussycat?
''What's New Pussycat?'' is a 1965 screwball comedy film directed by Clive Donner, written by Woody Allen in his first produced screenplay, and starring Allen in his acting debut, along with Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss, and Ursula Andress. The Academy Award-nominated title song by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) is sung by Tom Jones. The film poster was painted by Frank Frazetta, and the animated title sequence was directed by Richard Williams. The expression "what's new pussycat?" arose from Charles K. Feldman, the producer, overhearing Warren Beatty, who was original choice for the lead role, answering the phone to a girlfriend and saying "what's up pussycat". In the film, Michael (O'Toole) calls all women "Pussycat" to avoid having to remember their names. Plot Notorious womanizer Michael James wants to be faithful to his fiancée Carole Werner, but most women he meets become attracted to him, including neuroti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lolita (1962 Film)
''Lolita'' is a 1962 black comedy-psychological drama, psychological drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1955 Lolita, novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov. The black-and-white film follows a middle-aged literature lecturer who writes as "Humbert" and has hebephilia. He is sexually infatuated with young, adolescent Dolores Haze (whom he calls "Lolita"). It stars James Mason as Humbert, Shelley Winters as Mrs. Haze, Peter Sellers as Quilty, and Sue Lyon (in her film debut) as Dolores "Lolita" Haze. The novel was considered "unfilmable" when Kubrick acquired the rights around the time of its U.S. publication. Owing to restrictions imposed by the Motion Picture Production Code, Hays Code (1934–68), Kubrick and producer James B. Harris were compelled to tone down the paedophilic elements that were central to the novel’s narrative. Sue Lyon was 14-years-old at the time of filming began and played a 13-year-old girl at the time of Humbert Humbert's seduction. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
