Mr Strangelove

Peter Sellers is well known, not only as the star(s) of Dr Strangelove, but in many other films including the Pink Panther series. And of course there's also The Goon Show. In Mr Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers Ed Sikov tells his story.

We hear of Sellers' early life, bought up in the world of show business, and as such never staying in one place for any amount of time. With the coming of the Second World War, Sellers soon was soon working as an entertainer, and meeting people who would be important in his future career. At the start of the 1950's came the Goon Show, which BBC executives had trouble making sense of, but which soon had an impressive following. Sellers thus gained the opportunity to move into ever larger film parts, and in the 1960's and 1970's he was the lead role in many well known films. The main reason I read the book was to find out more about Dr Strangelove. As this is just one of Sellers many films there isn't a great deal about it, but it does include some interesting information on the origin of the characters of the film.

This is a well written book. It could all too easily have degenerated into a list of films made and people met, but Sikov gives a readable account of Sellers' life, giving the reader an insight into his professional success, but also into his problems in keeping his personal life on track.