Celebrity Graveland

September 08, 1925 – July 24, 1980

“There is no me. I do not exist. There was a me once, but I had it surgically removed.” -Peter Sellers, The Muppet Show (1978)

The backlots and back alleys of the entertainment industry are full of funny people who are quietly battling demons. Occasionally, a generational talent comes along that consistently delights audiences…all the while dealing with internal struggles like depression or substance abuse. The funny façade is oftentimes just that: a façade. You saw it with superstars like Chris Farley, Robin Williams, John Belushi, Richard Pryor…and Peter Sellers.

Peter Sellers embarked on a legendary career within weeks of the start of his life. As an infant, he was brought onstage at a local performance in his native England – both of his parents were entertainers as well – and a star was (almost literally) born. Leaning on his uncanny ability to mimic and conjure voices, he found purpose in creating characters and making people laugh. After several years on England’s pantomime and club circuit, Sellers’ first professional hit came by way of the now-beloved 1950s BBC radio program The Goon Show, a comedy show he created with Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. The Goons parlayed their success onto the screen where industry big wigs started to take notice of Sellers’ astounding abilities. More film roles followed and soon he was stealing scenes from bigger stars and creating iconic characters like Inspector Jacques Clouseau (The Pink Panther movie franchise), President Muffley, Dr. Strangelove and Captain Mandrake (all from Dr. Strangelove) and Dr. Fritz Fassbender (What’s New Pussycat?).

Sellers completely disappeared into his characters. This was, of course, no accident. He struggled with depression and bipolar disorder most of his life. He was debilitatingly insecure and often commented that “he” didn’t exist outside of his character. He was widely known to be difficult to work with on set. His personal life was a mess. He was married 4 times and had 3 children, and all of those relationships were, at minimum, strained. He suffered from a chronic heart condition that may or may not have stemmed from drug use, but most certainly was made worse by a sustained, irresponsibly unhealthy lifestyle. Despite all of the internal turmoil, Sellers earned great international praise as an artist. He was nominated for multiple Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Academy Awards as well as numerous other accolades. He influenced generations of comedic actors. Through it all, he suffered his demons relentlessly. In his final years, Sellers refused to listen to doctors. He died following a heart attack at the age of 54. The tortured genius was finally at rest, but the world had lost one of its greatest comedic voices.

Burial

Golders Green Crematorium – London, UK

Specific Location

Peter’s plaque is located in the Cloister Garden section in Bay 8, on the left, above the brick arch. His ashes were scattered under a rose bush in the nearby Kathleen Ferrer Rose Bed.

This entry was posted on August 7, 2023 at 8:22 am and is filed under Golders Green Crematorium with tags Actors, Cremated, Golders Green Crematorium. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.