Matinee Classics - Blake Edwards Biography & Filmography

Blake Edwards DIRECTOR

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BLAKE EDWARDS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Blake Edwards was born William Blake Crump on July 26, 1922 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When he was only three, his parents divorced and his mother married production manager Jack McEdward, son of silent film director J. Gordon Edwards. They moved to Los Angeles, and after attending grammar and high school, Edwards began taking jobs as an extra in pictures such as “Ten Gentlemen From West Point” (1942), “A Guy Named Joe” (1943), and “See Here, Private Hargrove” (1944). He then advanced to supporting roles, and eventually signed a contract with Fox to appear in nearly twenty five films, including the Bill Elliott and George Hayes flick “Marshal of Reno” (1944) and romantic westerner “Panhandle” (1946). With the latter, Edwards began his production and screenwriting career, too.

He then went on to co-produce and write “Stampede” (1949), as well as compose the scripts for a few other films and television shows before adding director to his repertoire with his TV series “Four Star Playhouse” (1954). Edwards made his big screen directorial debut the following year, with the musical “Bring Your Smile Along” (1955). He continued with directing, putting out box office successes such as Tony Curtis’ “Mister Cory” (1957) and Cary Grant’s “Operation Petticoat” (1959). The director put out a number more films, all while persisting in the writing process for a good amount of other projects, like the pictures “Operation Mad Ball” (1957) and “This Happy Feeling” (1958) and television shows “Mr. Lucky” (1959-60) and “Peter Gunn” (1958-61).

In 1961 Edwards put out another box office smash, the Audrey Hepburn classic “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. He released another hit, “Days of Wine and Roses” (1962), before writing and directing his most remembered accomplishment, the hilarious Peter Sellers crime spoof “The Pink Panther” (1963). Edwards remained down this path of comedy, writing, producing, and directing the highly successful “A Shot in the Dark” in 1964. Then he continued with “The Great Race” (1965) and “The Party” (1968).

In 1969, “The Pink Panther Show” was run on TV, although it was not directed by Edwards. In the same year, the director hit a snag in his career by directing the World War II musical drama “Darling Lili” (1969), which starred his wife, Julie Andrews. He also put out the failed “Wild Rovers” (1971) and “The Carey Treatment” (1972). Due to his faltering success in Hollywood, Edwards and Andrews moved to Europe where they collaborated on the spy romance “The Tamarind Seed” (1974) before deciding to add some new segments to the Pink Panther series out of financial necessity. Therefore, 1975 saw “The Return of the Pink Panther”, 1976 “The Pink Panther Strikes Again”, and 1978 “The Revenge of the Pink Panther”. Box office sales rose and Edwards was once again a force to be reckoned with in the film industry.

Upon his return to Hollywood, he wrote, directed, and produced the acclaimed comedy piece “10” (1979), followed by the satirical autobiography “S.O.B.” (1981). Both boasted his wife as the lead. She was again put center stage in his subsequent musical “Victor Victoria” (1982). Next, Edwards created two more of his famous detective films, “Trail of the Pink Panther” (1982) and “Curse of the Pink Panther” (1983), but they failed to attract audiences.

In the remainder of the 1980's and 1990's, the director’s work seemed to be inconsistent and unpopular. “The Man Who Loved Women” (1983), starring Burt Reynolds and Julie Andrews, won indifference from audiences and mixed criticism. The Laurel and Hardy remake, “A Fine Mess” (1986), turned out to be just that. Edwards found a bit of light with his comedy “Skin Deep” (1989), but was slammed by critics with his next feature, “Switch” (1991). 1993 brought another Pink Panther picture, “Son of the Pink Panther”. However, like the former two, it sank as well. His last directorial effort after that was a Broadway production-turned TV movie of a prior work, called “Victor/Victoria” (1995).

The director passed away on December 15, 2010 in Santa Monica, California from pneumonia complications. He left behind a legend, though. For his great work in the motion picture industry, he was awarded with an Honorary Award from the Academy Awards, Life Career Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, Preston Surges Award from the Directors Guild of America, Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement from the Writers Guild of America, and Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, among numerous others. As well, his Pink Panther legacy has lived on, and two movies, “The Pink Panther” (2006) and “The Pink Panther 2” (2009), and a TV series, “Pink Panther & Pals” (2010), have been constructed since the creator’s death.

Filmography

2010 Pink Panther & Pals

2009 The Pink Panther 2

2006 The Pink Panther

1995 Victor/Victoria

1993 Son of the Pink Panther

1992 Julie

1991 Switch

1989 Peter Gunn

1989 Skin Deep

1988 Justin Case

1988 Sunset