Blake Edwards
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Blake Edwards (July 26, 1922 - December 15, 2010) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. In 2004, he received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen.
Edwards's distinguished career began in the 1940s as an actor but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures. He used his writing skills to begin producing and directing, with some of his best films including: Experiment in Terror, The Great Race, and the hugely successful Pink Panther film series with the British comedian Peter Sellers. Often thought of as primarily a director of comedies, he was also renowned for his dramatic work, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Days of Wine and Roses.
Born William Blake Crump in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Edwards was the son of a stage director. He began his career as an actor and script-writer, including seven screenplays for Richard Quine. His early career as a script-writer was for radio. His hard-boiled private detective scripts for Richard Diamond, Private Detective became NBC's answer to Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, reflecting Edwards' unique humor. Edwards also created, wrote and directed the 1959 TV series Peter Gunn, with music by Henry Mancini. Mancini's association with Edwards continued in his film work, significantly contributing to their success.
Edwards' most popular films have been comedies, the alcoholism-themed melodrama Days of Wine and Roses being a notable exception. His most fruitful collaboration has been with Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther movies. Efforts to revive the Panther franchise after the death of Sellers in 1980 met with little critical or commercial success, with the exception of the 2006 film (which Edwards did not direct), which has spawned a 2008 sequel.
In 2004 Edwards received an Academy Honorary Award for cumulative achievements over the course of his film career. He was also portrayed by John Lithgow in the film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, documenting comic actor Sellers' life and his friendship with Edwards.
Edwards' second wife (from 1969) is Julie Andrews, who has appeared in a number of his films including Darling Lili, 10, Victor/Victoria and the autobiographical satire S.O.B., in which Andrews played a character who was a caricature of herself. In 1995, he wrote the book for the stage musical adaptation of Victor/Victoria, also starring Andrews.
Edwards and Andrews have five children together, including two daughters: Joanna and Amy. Edwards also has two children from a previous marriage: actress Jennifer Edwards, and music video director Geoffrey Edwards.
Filmography
- Bring Your Smile Along (1955)
- He Laughed Last (1956)
- Mister Cory (1957)
- This Happy Feeling (1958)
- Operation Petticoat (1959)
- High Time (1960)
- Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
- Experiment in Terror (1962)
- The Grip Of Fear (1962)
- Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
- The Pink Panther (1963)
- A Shot in the Dark (1964)
- The Great Race (1965)
- What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)
- Gunn (1967)
- The Party (1968)
- Darling Lili (1969)
- Wild Rovers (1971)
- The Carey Treatment (1972)
- The Tamarind Seed (1974)
- The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
- The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
- Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
- 10 (1979)
- S.O.B. (1981)
- Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)
- Victor/Victoria (1982)
- Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)
- The Man Who Loved Women (1983)
- Micki and Maude (1984)
- A Fine Mess (1986),
- That's Life (1986)
- Blind Date (1987)
- Sunset (1988)
- Skin Deep (1989)
- Switch (1991)
- Son of the Pink Panther (1993)
