Blake Edwards Biography

It is too easy to label Blake Edwards - most famous for his Pink Panther films - as a director of light entertainment. His films contain both invention and cliché with a twist. He moulds scenes together in a way that subverts and satirizes the conventions of story telling.

'A Shot in the Dark' was, in many ways, the genuine start to the Pink Panther series. It contains the seed of all the ideas for the comedies, and it is in this film that the audience is introduced to Inspector Clouseau and his karate chopping assistant, Kato.

From his first feature 'Bring Your Smile Along', in 1955, until 'The Son of the Pink Panther' in 1993, Edwards made 39 films. His work includes highly commercial and popular successes, as well as drastic failures. The lowest point in his career was in the 1970s, when he argued with the Hollywood studios and left America to direct in Europe.

After 1980, Edwards' films become increasingly autobiographical. They are often presented as cheap sex comedies, and yet they tenderly explore the subjects of diminishing artistic creativity, virility, ageing and ultimately death.

He won an Honorary Award at the 2004 Oscars.