Mr Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers

Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers [Ed Sikov] on leondumoulin.nl *FREE * shipping on qualifying offers. Peter Sellers was a genius, whose unique.
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Please enter your name. The E-mail message field is required. Please enter the message. Please verify that you are not a robot. Would you also like to submit a review for this item? You already recently rated this item. His childhood isolation was unhealthy but was an opportunity for him to spend hours learning mimicry from the radio shows of that era. I confess I could not finish this book due to the discomfort of reading about his family.

May 01, Allie rated it really liked it. A Peter Sellers biography written as a black comedy is a very good idea. This is one of the most stylistically fun biographies I can recall reading, though I'll admit I very rarely read biographies. Dec 09, Monty Ashley rated it liked it. Peter Sellers was an exceedingly odd person, and it is fascinating to read about him. I do feel that too much of this book consists of summaries of all of his movies, though. Feb 28, jesse lewis rated it liked it.

Jumped around a bit for no discernible reason A very detailed account of a talented but empty person's life. Only really knew him from the Pink Panther movies. Had quite a storied radio and movie career in England and later world-wide movie fame. I was not aware at all of his world-wide fame. Sellers had quite a penchant for buying houses and cars and "stuff". Makes me wonder how many millions of dollars he blew through in 30 years. But seemingly every chapter details him buyin A very detailed account of a talented but empty person's life.


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But seemingly every chapter details him buying a house, renting a flat, buying a Rolls Royce, buying jewelry, flying to an exotic locales, and either dating or marrying someone new. Of course this also coincides with him making a movie or doing a radio or tv show seemingly every day of those years. Surprised he had time to date, stalk, marry, and cheat on all these women. Which doesn't take into account all his drug use. Talented guy, screwed up personal life filled with poor choices. One thing I didn't care for is in one of the later chapters like 20 or 21, the author takes a pot shot at Ronald Reagan.

Unless I misread it, and the author was quoting Sellers or someone else, but if I remember it correctly the author made fun of Reagan being an actor and then President of the US. Not sure what the author's problem is, but the book editor did a piss poor job of editing that out. Reagan fan or not, it was unnecessary, out of place, and detracted from the remainder of the book which quickly trailed off into brief snippets of gossip. Almost if the author was tired or writing the book and needed to wrap up in under pages. Might pick up one of the Sellers biographies he mentioned, but don't enjoy reading about people who are cruel and unusual.

Ayn Rand, despite being a fine writer, had a cruel and unusual life that I couldn't wait to close the book on Too bad for his ex-wives and his kids.

Mr Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers - Ed Sikov - Google Книги

They were really cheated by not having a present and loving father figure. Seems that all had personal problems resulting from his cruel form of emotional and verbal abuse and physical abuse of beating his son. Jan 31, Craig Adamson rated it did not like it. A Biography of Peter Sellers" gives a good overview of the benchmarks of Peter Sellers' life, however it seems to be a biography written by someone who doesn't care for the work of Peter Sellers. Beyond giving the facts of Peter's life, Ed Sikov also gives synopses and opinions on the various films Peter Sellers appeared in throughout his career.

Although I will readily admit that quite a few of them weren't up to par, the author is unnecessarily harsh and critical of each one "Mr. Although I will readily admit that quite a few of them weren't up to par, the author is unnecessarily harsh and critical of each one he was in with only a few obvious exceptions, namely films like "Dr. Strangelove", "Being There", and "Lolita". Reading the author's opinions of his films would lead one to wonder why they should even bother watching films such as "Hoffman", "Only Two Can Play", and "The Dock Brief" for a few examples, which is a great disservice to not only Peter Sellers but also anyone who enjoys films.

Furthermore, there are quite a few discrepancies and what appear to be inaccuracies. Many of this author's accounts do not match up with what has been reported by other reputable sources- friends, family, and so forth. I would therefore recommend anyone who reads this to do so with a healthy skepticism. Dec 24, Irene B. I'm taking my time reading this bio as it is full of great tips about music and film I've never heard about before. Well, most of the clips and tunes are on Youtube. I've ordered my own "used" copy of this book so I can take my time and make notes. What an outstanding performer he was!!!

Still reading the book and watc I'm taking my time reading this bio as it is full of great tips about music and film I've never heard about before. Still reading the book and watching his earlier movies or getting a hold of audio. There's a great boxed set of older movies where you can see the beginning of genius, as well as later films but pre-Clouseau in which he becomes the character he is playing pre Being There. What an amazing actor. I also, with some searching of ebay, found a copy of a hysterical collection of audio comedy called "How to Win an Election", which, although about British Parliament, was extremely funny and appropriate in this US election year.

Aug 07, Ellen Snyder rated it really liked it. I have never been a big Sellers fan, thinking he was over the top most of the time, but he was good in some roles, and was gifted at impersonations and characterizations. As a member of the Goon radio show, he and his buddies were a great influence on British Humor, as evidenced by the Monty Python group, the Beatles, Richard Lester's movies, and perhaps on American humortoo such as the Laugh-In show.

Peter Sellers as a person, though, seemed to be an unhappy, difficult person. He suffered from I have never been a big Sellers fan, thinking he was over the top most of the time, but he was good in some roles, and was gifted at impersonations and characterizations. He suffered from bipolar disorder, but worse, seemed to lack a sense of self. He was always buying things; cars, stereo equipment, cameras, to fill the void. Though he had a mother who doted on him, he was a terrible parent himself, even physically abusing his small children.

He had four wives, none of which he treated well, and was always cheating on them. I really do not like this man though recognizing his achievements as a performer. Feb 02, Patrick Moody rated it really liked it Recommends it for: There was never a dull moment reading this highly detailed account of the life of the legendary actor, who comes off as a chameleon and enigma.

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So detailed, in fact, that it begins with stories of his family several generations before he was born. Once it moves past that background information it starts to become very engaging, painting an often unflattering account of a selfish, temperamental mama's boy who stayed that way until his death in his 50s. It's no surprise his direct relatives did no There was never a dull moment reading this highly detailed account of the life of the legendary actor, who comes off as a chameleon and enigma.

It's no surprise his direct relatives did not assist in the creation of the book, but the author interviewed people close to Sellers and also drew from previously published interviews with some of the major players in Sellers' life. Oddly, the one aspect of his life that is far less detailed than you might expect is his work on the Pink Panther movie franchise. I expect that the author either wanted to stay away from the obvious, or perhaps discovered that the topic had already been well covered in print by other authors.

Dec 19, Littlebrit rated it it was amazing. This is a fascinating look at the life of a brilliant comic and actor which holds nothing back. Sellers was not an easy man to get along with, personally and professionally and this detailed look at him certainly makes that very clear.

Here, there and everywhere

The stories of his "run-ins" with other famous show business folks are riveting but also so are the sad details of his personal life, Full disclosure: The stories of his "run-ins" with other famous show business folks are riveting but also so are the sad details of his personal life, those of his troubled childhood and his many difficult marriages and love affairs.

This was a very complicated and troubled man, with an astounding comic talent.

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This book brings all this out with a sometimes frightening clarity. If you want to understand more about this astounding character and the sources of his unique talent, "Mr. Strangelove" will not disappoint you. Aug 14, Alice rated it really liked it. This is a very well researched and easy ro read book. It took me awhile to read it because I was constantly going to google articles or watch interviews and even movies on YouTube which were mentioned.

That being said, I came away feeling sad that I will probably no longer be able to look at a Peter Sellers movie again the same way. He was a disturbed individual who treated his wives and children brutally. His bizarre behavior towards friends and co-workers all seemed to be forgiven because he w This is a very well researched and easy ro read book.

His bizarre behavior towards friends and co-workers all seemed to be forgiven because he was 'so funny and excellent on camera'. Nothing new, I guess, in the celebrity culture.