IMDb on iPhone and iPod touch Learn more Learn more Download from the App Store
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips
  • After Britt tells Peter in the bathroom that she's pregnant, Peter spins the toilet paper and it doesn't stop rolling out. This same gag happens in Peter Sellers's film The Party (1968).

  • The cartoon character of Peter Sellers in the opening animated title sequence went through over 40 changes until the final character was settled upon. The character was based on Geoffrey Rush's performance/performances of Sellers and was created by Irish animator Paul Donnellon of VooDooDog.

  • When Peter Sellers is in the car having sex with Sophia Loren's body double, the song being played is "Goodness Gracious Me". This particular song was performed as a duet between the real-life Sellers and Loren, and was a hit in the late-1960s in the UK and throughout Europe.

  • Won the most Emmys for a made for television movie without winning the actual made for television movie award.

  • Scenes were filmed with Emilia Fox as Lynne Frederick, Peter Sellers's fourth wife, but these were omitted from the final print. However they are featured on the DVD.

  • The motorcycle Peter Sellers gives to Sarah Sellers as a gift is a 1959 Triumph Bonneville, the first year of production of that iconic motorcycle.

  • Rob Brydon played Dustin Hoffman in a deleted scene, which took place at the 1980 Academy Awards and involved Sellers losing the Oscar for Best Actor (for his performance in Being There (1979)) to Hoffman (for his performance in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)), during his acceptance speech Hoffman declared "I refuse to believe that I beat Peter Sellers". Though the Academy Awards scene was deleted, the framing scene of Sellers watching it on TV is still in the picture. It has merely been reedited so what's playing on the TV has been changed to the scene from Being There (1979) that he filmed. The look on Sellers' face as he watches was originally his expression while rewinding the tape of Hoffman saying "I beat Peter Sellers" and playing it over and over again. Stephen Hopkins says on the DVD commentary that the scene was altered because his dramatic point got lost in the exposition of showing Sellers lose the Oscar.

  • Geoffrey Rush initially turned down the film, feeling he didn't possess the mental capacity to play Peter Sellers. But after finishing _Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)_, Rush changed his mind and decided to do the film, feeling that the previous film had put him in the right mindset.

  • Steve Coogan was at one point considered to play Peter Sellers.

  • Robin Williams was the original choice for the role of Peter Sellers but he was too busy with other projects. Robin said it would have been a great honor to play Peter Sellers.

  • Michael Sellers had a turbulent relationship with his father, but he always tried to defend his legacy. When the film was released, Michael scolded director Stephen Hopkins. He didn't enjoy the way his father was portrayed as clinically insane in the book the film is based upon. He described the book as "400 pages of rubbish." This forced Hopkins to go to Cannes in an attempt to appease Michael.

  • The voice of the waiter that Peter tells to "stick his fresh fruit up his arse" is based on Malcolm McDowell's performance as Alex in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). Kubrick directed Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).

  • Although the scenes featuring Emilia Fox's performance as Sellers' fourth wife Lynn Frederick were left out of the final cut, Fox is still visible in the background of the scene showing the filming of a scene from Being There. She is the blonde woman standing behind the cameraman, when we see the crew behind Peter Sellers/Geoffrey Rush. In a deleted scene on the DVD we see a continuation of this scene, after the take is over Lynn tries to talk to Sellers but he remains in character of the simpleton Chance.

  • Geoffrey Rush was only one year younger than Peter Sellers was when he died, and here plays him over the course of thirty years.

  • The characters that come to haunt Peter Sellers in his dream (while he is being resuscitated in hospital) are Mr Robinson (The Ladykillers), Grand Duchess Gloriana XII (The Mouse that Roared), Aldo Vanucci (After the Fox), Lionel Meadows (Never Let Go), President Merkin Muffley and Dr Strangelove (Dr Strangelove), and Inspector Clouseau (Pink Panther series). The voice of Fred Kite (I'm Alright Jack) is also heard, but the character does not appear.


Related Links

Quotes Goofs Plot summary
Soundtrack listing Crazy credits Movie connections
Main details IMDb daily poll IMDb trivia browser
Search trivia section
Browse titles with trivia by letter
   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Other

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.