The Book, Cat, & Cat Book Lovers Almanac

of historical trivia regarding books, cats, and other animals. Actually this blog has evolved so that it is described better as a blog about cats in history and culture. And we take as a theme the advice of Aldous Huxley: If you want to be a writer, get some cats. Don't forget to see the archived articles linked at the bottom of the page.

July 24, 2016

July 24, 1980

According to an IMDB note, Peter Sellers (September 8, 1925 to July 24, 1980) is often
"credited as the greatest comedian of all time..."

There is something unsettling and fascinating about genius, and the way such phenomena elude explanation. Perhaps if we tried to look away, the situation of  genius would gain clarity. Here are some notes about the will and children of Peter Sellers.

Peter Sellers tried to change his will just hours before he died to prevent his entire fortune passing to his estranged fourth wife...

[He did not succeed and the]...comedian’s three children were left with paltry sums [800 pounds each] after Lynne Frederick received the bulk of his £5 million fortune following his death in 1980.

[There is evidence] Sellers wanted his youngest daughter, Victoria Sellers, to inherit £20,000 upon turning 21. But the ...[will papers] , signed on the day he died of a heart attack aged 54, were never filed and were therefore not made official.

Although Sellers is said to have been trying to cut Frederick out of his will, all but a tiny fraction of his estate was handed to her as their bitter divorce was never finalised. [The divorce papers were]
 not binding because their decree absolute had not been granted, so they were still married when Sellers died......

The fortune is now in the hands of Frederick’s daughter Cassie Unger....who was born four years after the actor's death.
.....

Sellers reportedly had a strained relationship with his three children Michael, Sarah and Victoria....

Victoria, who was aged 15 at the time, [of her father's death] went on to lead a troubled life. She became addicted to drugs and even posed nude for Playboy magazine in 1986. She is now a jewellery designer in California.

Michael Sellers died of heart failure in 2006 aged 52. Sarah runs an antique teddy bear shop in London......

Frederick, who subsequently married and then divorced Sir David Frost... died in 1994 after fighting an alcohol problem. The estate ... passed to Unger included properties around the world and rights to Sellers’s films.


Sellers' staggering talent is recalled with just these names:
Claire Quilty (1962)
Inspector Clouseau (1963)
Doctor Strangelove (1964)
Chauncey Gardiner (1979)

and Dr. Pratt. Dr. Pratt, is his character in The Wrong Box (1966). That movie is the source of this line:

"Don't sit on that moggy, sir, she's the finest ratter in the East End."

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