Happy Birthday, Blake Edwards! Born today in 1922 as William Blake Crump, this American filmmaker began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but soon began writing screenplays and radio scripts before turning to producing and directing in television and films.
Often thought of as primarily a director of comedies, he also directed several dramas, musical, and detective films. Late in his career, he transitioned to writing, producing, and directing for theater.
According to Edward's personal life, he married his first wife, American actress, costume designer and set decorator Patricia Edwards in 1953. Walker had appeared in the 1953 American Technicolor musical/comedy film 'All Ashore', of which Edwards had co-written the screenplay.
In the late 1950s, Edwards' first big-budget feature as a director and of which he is known. The was the 1959 American Eastman Color World War II submarine comedy film 'Operation Petticoat'.
The film starred Tony Curtis and Cary Grant. It was also produced by Grant's own production company, Granart Company.
'Operation Petticoat' went on to become the "greatest box-office success of the decade for Universal [Studios]" and made Edwards a recognized director.
Two years later, Edwards directed the film of which he is best-known. This was the 1961 American Technicolor romance/comedy film 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. The feature was loosely based on Truman Capote's 1958 fiction novella of the same name.
The following year, 'Breakfast at Tiffany's won an Oscar for Best Original Song (Henry Mancini [music] and Johnny Mercer [lyrics]) for the song "Moon River". This occurred at the 34th Academy Awards in early April 1962.
Later that same year, Edwards directed another film of which he is known. This was the 1962 American black and white drama/romance film 'Days of Wine and Roses'.
In 1967, Edwards and his first wife were divorced. They had two children together.
Two years later after his divorce, Edwards married his second wife, Julie Andrews, in 1969. They had two children together.
Andrews had a daughter, British children's book author, theatrical director and actress Emma Katherine Walton Hamilton, from a previous marriage.
Edwards is also best known for directing most of the British-American media franchise 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 gelled. 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."
Of the 1980s, Edwards is known for directing the 1981 American comedy/satire film 'S.O.B.' and the 1982 British-American musical/comedy film 'Victor/Victoria'. Both of these films starred Andrews.
In the early 2000s, Edwards received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his writing, directing, and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen. This occurred at the 76th Academy Awards in late February 2004.
Edwards tased of complications of pneumonia at the Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California on December 15, 2010. His wife and children were at his side. Edwards was 88.
'Breakfast at Tiffany's' is credited with establishing him as a "cult figure" with many critics. American film critic Andrew Sarris called it the "directorial surprise of 1961", and it became a "romantic touchstone" for college students in the early 1960s.
In 2012, 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
In 2018, 'Days of Wine and Roses' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Edwards's most popular films were comedies, his 'Days of Wine and Roses' being a notable exception. His most dynamic and successful collaboration was with Peter Sellers in six of the features in the Pink Panther series.
Edwards was greatly admired, and criticized, as a filmmaker. His critics are alluded to by American film author George Morris:
"It has been difficult for many critics to accept Blake Edwards as anything more than a popular entertainer. Edwards' detractors acknowledge his formal skill, but deplore the absence of profundity in his movies.
Edwards' movies are slick and glossy, but their shiny surfaces reflect all too accurately the disposable values of contemporary life."
Others, however, recognized him more for his significant achievements at different periods of his career.
British film critic Peter Lloyd, for example, described Edwards, in 1971, as "the finest director working in the American commercial cinema at the present time".
Edwards' biographers, American film author and professor William Luhr and American author Peter Lehman, 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".
Noted American film 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.
Edwards himself described one of the secrets to success in the film industry:
"For someone who wants to practice his art in this business, all you can hope to do, as S.O.B. says, is stick to your guns, make the compromises you must, and hope that somewhere along the way you acquire a few good friends who understand. And keep half a conscience."
In the mid-2000s, the 2006 American comedy/mystery film 'The Pink Panther' was released, starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau.
The tenth installment in The Pink Panther film series. It is also the first Pink Panther film to be released since Edwards' 1993 Italian/American comedy/parody film 'Son of the Pink Panther'.
In the late 2000s, the 2009 American comedy/mystery film 'The Pink Panther 2' was released. The film was the eleventh installment of The Pink Panther film series, again starring Martin as Clouseau.
Also known as Sam O. Brown and nicknamed Blackie, Edwards had been active from 1942–1995.
