Blake Edwards, director of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Pink Panther film series starring Peter Sellers, has died. He was 88 years old.
Edwards began his career as a scriptwriter of private detective stories for radio. Later, he wrote and directed the 1959 television series Peter Gunn, for which he collaborated with Henry Mancini. He then moved on to directing movies and in 1961, he directed Breakfast at Tiffany’s staring Audrey Hepburn, based on the novella written by Truman Capote. In 1962 he directed Days of Wine and Roses, starring Jack Lemmon, and in in 1963 marked the beginning of the Pink Panther movies. In 2004, Edwards was awarded the Honorary Academy Award for his achievements, but it was peculiar that his acceptance speech did not mention the name of his longtime collaborator, Peter Sellers.
Edwards’ second wife, Julie Andrews, had parts in a number of his films, like Darling Lili, 10, Victor/Victoria, and S.O.B. Edwards and Andrews had no biological children. Instead, they raised Edwards’ two children from his first marriage, Andrews’ daughter from her first marriage, and two adopted children from Vietnam.
