Peter Sellers
It's the end of the world as we know it ... 'Dr. Strangelove' on the big screen again
From its unruly title (“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”) to its brilliant black humor approach to the apocalypse, this 1964 Stanley Kubrick film had the nerve to turn the end of the world into a sophisticated entertainment.
Nominated for four Oscars, including best picture and lead actor, this wacked-out story of how deranged military folks and mad scientists nudge us toward nuclear annihilation is both completely timeless and the kind of picture a major studio would never make today.
Though Peter Sellers was the actor nominated for his double role as the titular Dr. Strangelove and the American president, others were just as...
Related "Peter Sellers" Articles
It's the end of the world as we know it ... 'Dr. Strangelove' on the big screen again
From its unruly title (“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”) to its brilliant black humor approach to the apocalypse, this 1964 Stanley Kubrick film had the nerve to turn the end of the world into a sophisticated...
Michael Gambon is the Churchill of all Churchills in 'Masterpiece's' powerful 'Secret'
Albert Finney, Richard Burton, Bob Hoskins, Timothy Spall, Peter Sellers, Ian McNeice — these are just a few of the actors who have played Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill on film and television. Two upcoming feature films will add Gary...
Burt Kwouk dies at 85; played Clouseau's 'Pink Panther' manservant Cato
Burt Kwouk, an actor who played martial arts expert Cato in the comic “Pink Panther” films, has died. He was 85.
Kwouk's agent, Jean Diamond, said in a statement that he “passed peacefully” on Tuesday. She didn't give a cause of death.
...
Hollywood's glaring problem: White actors playing Asian characters
Two images released last week from upcoming films highlight one glaring Hollywood problem.
The first was the visage of Tilda Swinton in the debut trailer for Marvel's "Doctor Strange," in which the actress — shorn and wearing the white robes of...
Published in Los Angeles Times on April 19, 2016 — Print headline: "Racial erasure a troubling trend in Hollywood Whites have history of playing Asians - COMMENTARY"
Three essential (and non-Beatles) productions by George Martin
Producer George Martin, who died Tuesday at age 90, was best known for his work bringing the Beatles to the masses. First as a kind of taskmaster and then as a collaborator, Martin helped prime the Beatles for success by capturing their energy and musical...
Published in Los Angeles Times on March 13, 2016 — Print headline: "ESSENTIAL TRACKS - Martin was a busy man"
How George Martin created rock 'n' roll magic with the Beatles
George Martin was a music producer in London, on the prowl for rock ’n’ roll acts in the early 1960s, when he came across a band that had been turned down by every record company in town.
He wasn’t bowled over by the demo tapes, but, as he later...
'Ghostbusters,' 'Top Gun' and 'L.A. Confidential' among titles joining National Film Registry
The 1984 Ivan Reitman blockbuster "Ghostbusters" is one of 25 films being named Wednesday to the 2015 National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Joining the comedy are the 1986 Tom Cruise high-flying "Top Gun" and 1894's...
Published in Los Angeles Times on December 18, 2015 — Print headline: "Thumbs up from Film Registry - `Ghostbusters,' `L.A. Confidential,' `Mark of Zorro' are among titles joining Library of Congress roster."
Jason Segel's career influences and inspirations
Jason Segel's tastes are eclectic, to say the least (or as he says, "weird and interesting and unique"). So The Envelope asked him about his influences and inspirations:
Peter Sellers
"Well, Peter Sellers is the big one for me. I carry...
Published in Los Angeles Times on November 24, 2015 — Print headline: "His muses"
Illeana Douglas' 'great bunch of stories' includes one about Brando
Illeana Douglas was a teenager when she visited the set of the 1979 film classic "Being There," starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine and her beloved grandfather Melvyn Douglas, who would win his second supporting actor Oscar for the satire....
Published in Los Angeles Times on November 08, 2015 — Print headline: "That time she made Brando cry - Illeana Douglas has collected `a great bunch of stories' over her long career."
John Guillermin dies at 89; directed 'The Towering Inferno,' 'King Kong' remake
John Guillermin, the veteran British director best known for star-laden, special effects-driven action epics — most notably “The Towering Inferno” and the 1976 remake of “King Kong”— has died at 89.Guillermin, who made more than 30 movies during his...
'70s all-star rockers Hollywood Vampires reconvene for charity
The Los Angeles music scene of the 1970s was often analogous to late 19th century London as characterized by Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
That duality was personified by the Hollywood Vampires, an ad...
Monday's TV Highlights: 'Big Blue Live' on PBS
Customized TV Listings are available here: www.latimes.com/tvtimes
Click here to download
TV listings for the week of Aug. 30 - Sept. 5, 2015 in PDF format
This week's TV Movies
SERIES
Big Blue Live
Even before 'Ant-Man,' Hollywood has loved to shrink its stars
In the new Marvel superhero fantasy "Ant-Man," Paul Rudd plays a man who shrinks to insect size and battles evildoers with the help of his ant army.
But this isn't the first time Hollywood has made a star tiny for the big screen.
...
Patrick Stewart enters 'a new world' of comedy with 'Blunt Talk' on Starz
"I've done things in the last three weeks," Patrick Stewart was saying, "I've never thought in my life I would do on-camera."
Coming from Stewart, that statement demands attention. On "Star Trek: The Next Generation" — the...
Richard Dysart dies at 86; actor best known for 'L.A. Law' role
Richard Dysart, an actor whose quiet air of authority helped him play presidents, generals, corporate executives and his best-known character, low-key senior partner Leland McKenzie of "L.A. Law", has died. He was 86.
Dysart's death Sunday at...
Wayne Federman's film fest lets comedians run the show
Wayne Federman is a comic, actor and writer who has performed on "The Tonight Show" and appeared in such films and TV series as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
And...
The Rolling Stones, David Bailey and Taschen's big, pricey book
The names on the walls outside the Taschen Gallery on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles are freshly painted in bold, rosy shades of pink. “The Rolling Stones,” they declare, and: “David Bailey.” Just as bold are the photographs inside, including many by...
'Arguendo' puts a deft, audacious spin on a Supreme Court argument
It seems safe to say that when the U.S. Supreme Court heard Barnes v. Glen Theatre in 1991, it couldn't have foreseen the rampant hilarity, intellectual heft and kinetic amazement of "Arguendo," now at REDCAT through Sunday.
By applying the...
What's really going on in North Korea
It was a news story that read like the plot of a Peter Sellers or Mike Myers picture: Vertically challenged dictator of a starving populace, overweight and addicted to imported Swiss cheese, falls off his high heels and breaks both ankles. He is sent...
'Mortdecai' trailer: Johnny Depp gets into mustached mischief
After a dark, dramatic turn in the sci-fi thriller "Transcendence," Johnny Depp is back to oddball characters and wacky high jinks in the first trailer for "Mortdecai," which Lionsgate unveiled Tuesday.
The teaser, which you can watch...