Blake Edwards

Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter. Often thought of as primarily a director of comedies, he also directed several drama, musical, and detective films. Late in his career, he took up writing, producing and directing for theater. He received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen.

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio scripts before turning to producing and directing in television and films. His best-known films include Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), A Shot in the Dark (1964), The Great Race (1965), 10 (1979), Victor/Victoria (1982), Blind Date (1987), and the hugely successful Pink Panther film series with British actor Peter Sellers.

Early life and education Born William Blake Crump July 26, 1922, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he was the son of Donald and Lillian (née Grommett) Crump (1897–1992). In an interview with André Previn, Blake Edwards claimed to be a descendant of William Blake. His father reportedly left the family before he was born. His mother married again, to Jack McEdward, who became his stepfather. McEdward was the son of J. Gordon Edwards, a director of silent movies, and in 1925, he moved the family to Los Angeles and became a film production manager. In an interview with The Village Voice in 1971, Blake Edwards said that he had "always felt alienated, estranged from my own father, Jack McEdward". After graduating from Beverly Hills High School in the class of Winter 1941, Blake began taking jobs as an actor during World War II.

Edwards describes this period: I worked with the best directors – Ford, Wyler, Preminger – and learned a lot from them. But I wasn't a very cooperative actor. I was a spunky, smart-assed kid. Maybe even I was indicating that I wanted to give, not take, direction.

In the 1954–1955 television season, Edwards joined with Richard Quine to create Mickey Rooney's first television series, The Mickey Rooney Show: Hey, Mulligan. Edwards's hard-boiled private detective scripts for Richard Diamond, Private Detective became NBC's answer to Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, reflecting Edwards's unique humor. Edwards also created, wrote, and directed the 1958–61 TV detective series Peter Gunn, which starred Craig Stevens, with music by Henry Mancini. The following year, Edwards produced Mr. Lucky, an adventure series on CBS starring John Vivyan and Ross Martin. Mancini's association with Edwards continued in his film work, significantly contributing to their success.

Edwards's most popular films were comedies, the melodrama Days of Wine and Roses being a notable exception. His most dynamic and successful collaboration was with Peter Sellers in six of the movies in the Pink Panther series. Edwards later directed the comedy film 10 with Dudley Moore and Bo Derek.

Pink Panther film series Edwards also directed most of the comedy film series The Pink Panther, the majority of installments starring Peter Sellers as the inept Inspector Clouseau. The relationship between the director and the lead actor was considered a fruitful yet complicated one with many disagreements during production. At various times in their film relationship, "he more than once swore off Sellers" as too hard to direct. However, in his later years, he admitted that working with Sellers was often irresistible: "We clicked on comedy and we were lucky we found each other because we both had so much respect for it. We also had an ability to come up with funny things and great situations that had to be explored. But in that exploration there would often times be disagreement. But I couldn't resist those moments when we jelled. And if you ask me who contributed most to those things, it couldn't have happened unless both of us were involved, even though it wasn't always happy."

Five of those films involved Edwards and Sellers in original material; those films being The Pink Panther (1963), A Shot in the Dark (1964), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), and Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978). (1968's Inspector Clouseau, the third film in the series, was made without the involvement of Edwards or Sellers.) The films were all highly profitable: The Return of the Pink Panther, for example, cost just $2.5 million to make but grossed $100 million, while The Pink Panther Strikes Again did even better.

Personal life

Marriages Edwards married his first wife, actress Patricia Walker, in 1953; they divorced in 1967. Edwards and Walker had two children, including Jennifer Edwards. Walker appeared in the comedy All Ashore (1953), for which Edwards was one of the screenwriters. Edwards also named one of his film production companies, Patricia Productions, Incorporated, after her.

Edwards's second marriage, from 1969 until his death in 2010, was to Julie Andrews. They were married for 41 years. He was the stepfather to Emma, from Andrews's previous marriage. In the 1970s, Edwards and Andrews adopted two Vietnamese girls.

Health

Edwards described his struggle for 15 years with the illness myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in the documentary I Remember Me (2000).

Death and legacy On December 15, 2010, Edwards died at the Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California from complications of pneumonia. He was 88. in an interview in 1974, called him "the finest American director working at this time". They refer especially to the Pink Panther's Clouseau, developed with the comedic skills of Peter Sellers as a character "perfectly consistent" with his "absurdist view of the world, because he has no faith in anything and constantly adapts". Critic Stuart Byron calls his first two Pink Panther films "two of the best comedies an American has ever made". Polls taken at the time showed that his name, as a director, was a rare "marketable commodity" in Hollywood. 1966 What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?

Gunn Also executive producer (Uncredited) Waterhole No. 3 1968 The Party 1970 Darling Lili 1971 Wild Rovers

The Carey Treatment Julie Documentary film 1974 The Tamarind Seed 1975 The Return of the Pink Panther 1976 The Pink Panther Strikes Again 1978 Revenge of the Pink Panther 1979 10 1981 S.O.B.

Victor/Victoria Trail of the Pink Panther

Curse of the Pink Panther The Man Who Loved Women

City Heat Micki & Maude

A Fine Mess That's Life! 1987 Blind Date 1988 Sunset 1989 Skin Deep 1991 Switch 1993 Son of the Pink Panther Radio YearTitleDirectorWriterCreator 1948 Hollywood Star Theatre 1949–1953 Richard Diamond, Private Detective 1949–1962 Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 1950–1952 The Lineup 1951 Broadway is My Beat Suspense

Television YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerCreatorNotes 1952 Invitation Playhouse: Mind Over Murder Episode "The Long Night" 1952–1954 Four Star Playhouse Directed 5 episodes, wrote 9 episodes 1954 The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse Episode "Death, The Hard Way" City Detective Episode "Midnight Supper" The Lineup Episode "Cop Killer" 1955 The Mickey Rooney Show 33 episodes The Star and the Story Episode "Safe Journey" The Jane Wyman Show Directed episode "Big Joe's Comin' Home";Wrote episode "The Smuggler" 1956 Ford Television Theatre Episode "The Payoff" 1957 Studio 57 Directed episode "Big Joe's Comin' Home";Wrote episode "The Smuggler" Meet McGraw Episode "Tycoon" 1957–1960 Richard Diamond, Private Detective 4 episodes 1958–1961 Peter Gunn Directed 10 episodes;Wrote 11 episodes 1959–1960 Mr. Lucky Wrote and directed episode "The Magnificent Bribe" 1960–1961 Dante 1962 The Dick Powell Show Episode "The Boston Terrier" 1992 Julie 7 episodes

TV movies YearTitleDirectorWriterExecutiveProducer 1954 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer 1962 Johnny Dollar 1969 The Monk 1984 The Ferret 1988 Justin Case 1989 Peter Gunn

Theater YearTitleDirectorWriterExecutiveProducerNotes 1995–1999 Victor/Victoria Broadway production and Broadway tour 1999 Big Rosemary Off-Broadway production, 2004 theatrical workshop, 2008 Broadway preview 2003 Scapegoat Theatrical workshop

Awards and honors Year Association Category Nominated work Result1982 Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay Victor/Victoria 2003 Academy Honorary Award 1962 Golden Globe Awards Best Director The Days of Wine and Roses 1959 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Peter Gunn Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series In 2004, Edwards received an Honorary Academy Award for cumulative achievements over the course of his film career. As Entertainment Weekly reported, "Honorary Oscar winner Blake Edwards made an entrance worthy of Peter Sellers in one of Edwards' Pink Panther films: A stuntman who looked just like Edwards rode a speeding wheelchair past a podium and crashed through a wall. When the octogenarian director entered and dusted himself off as if he had crashed, he told presenter Jim Carrey, 'Don't touch my Oscar.'" Also in 2004, Edwards received The Life Career Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, during that year's Saturn Award ceremony.

In 1983, Edwards was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Victor/Victoria as well as winning Best Foreign Film and Best Foreign Screenplay in France and Italy, respectively for Victor/Victoria. In 1988, Edwards received the Creative Achievement Award from the American Comedy Awards. In 1991, Edwards received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1993, Edwards received the Preston Sturges Award jointly from the Directors Guild and the Writers Guild. In 2000, Edwards received the Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award from the Art Directors Guild. In 2002, Edwards received the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from the Writers Guild as well as the Special Edgar from The Mystery Writers of America for career achievement.

Between 1962 and 1968, Edwards was nominated six times for a Golden Laurel Award as Best Director by Motion Picture Exhibitors. In 1963, Edwards was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Director for Days of Wine and Roses. In 1962, Edwards was nominated for Outstanding Achievement by the Directors Guild for Breakfast at Tiffany's. In 1960, Edwards was nominated for an Edgar for Best Teleplay by the Mystery Writers of America for Peter Gunn. In 1959, Edwards was nominated for two Primetime Emmys as Best Director and Best Teleplay for Peter Gunn Between 1958 and 1983, Edwards was nominated eight times for Best Screenplay by the Writers Guild and won twice, for The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Victor/Victoria.

Directed Academy Award performancesUnder Edwards' direction, these actors have received Academy Award nominations for their performances in their respective roles.