The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
Just finished reading The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. Wow. What a tragic life. The man was, unfortunately for those who worship at his shrine, a Karmic black whole of negativity. Roger Lewis basically just sums the book up by saying he was evil. After 1200 pages of evidence supporting this claim, it’s hard to argue with him. Isn’t it ironic (to quote Alanis), that a man who brought so much misery and heartbreak to those he loved, was also the same man who brought so much laughter and happiness to millions of people all over the planet! (Including the Prince of Wales, and the 7 year old Daniel Tashian!)
I was riveted by this book, however, as it contains desciptions of the making of so many films I love. The anecdotes would be interesting to anyone who loves comedy and specifically, comic films. It’s sad that he never recieved an Oscar (he was nominated for one of the Panthers, and for Hal Ashby’s Being There, although my mom seems to think it’s because he misbehaved so much, nobody felt like honoring him). When I told John Deadrick I was reading “The Life and Death”, and that I would be happy to pass it on to him when I was finished, he recoiled, saying “I don’t think I want to read it, he’s one of my heros!”
I understand the desire to leave the glossy sheen of one’s idols “un-sullied”, but this was too riveting to pass up. So what happened? Am I unable, now that I know so much about the man’s negligence as a human, actor, parent, spouse, or friend, to still enjoy watching his films? I was worried this would be the case, but fear not, brave biography hounds! The book has only made these films more interesting! One looks for traces of humanity in his beady eyes…and wonders:”Is he really that evil? Or is there some kind of soul in there?” Of course there is! All the anecdotes of his cruelty and unprofessionalism sort of meld into a blurry portrait of a haunted man, a man unable to be still or kind. This nervous cruelty, he brought to his films, and this is precisely why he is so fascinating to watch! The overall result this book had on me, was to make me feel sorry for a man who, despite what happened to his family, ultimately hurt himself more than anyone.