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Peter Sellers Cause of Death: The Comedian Dies of Heart Attack at 54

peter sellers cause of death

Hollywood legend Peter Sellers was born in the United Kingdom on September 8, 1925. The British actor who played four different parts in “Dr. Strangelove” or “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” In The Pink Panther, he played the role of the French investigator with a sense of humor. Virgo is Peter Sellers’ star sign, according to horoscope experts.

Both of his parents, William and Agnes Doreen Sellers, were performers. He had three kids, all named Victoria, Sarah, and Michael, and four wives.

Peter Sellers’s Money

When he passed away in 1980, British actor, comedian, singer, writer, and director Peter Sellers CBE had a net worth of $10 million. Inspector Clouseau from “The Pink Panther” films is probably his most recognizable role (1963–1976).

Among Sellers’ more than 80 acting credits are roles in the films “Lolita” (1962), “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1964), and “Being There” (1979) as well as the television programs “And So to Bentley” (1954) and “The Telegoons” (1958). (1963–1964).

Aside from directing and producing (uncredited) 1959 Oscar-nominated short “The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film,” Peter released the albums “The Best of Sellers” (1958), “Songs for Swingin’ Sellers” (1959), “Peter & Sophia” (1960), “He’s Innocent of Watergate” (1974), and “Sellers Market” (1979).

In addition to directing “I Like Money,” Sellers wrote and directed the 1964 short film “I Say I Say I Say,” as well as the 1980 feature film “The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu” (1961). In 1966, Peter was honored by being named a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He suffered a heart attack and went away in July of 1980, at the age of 54.

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A Brief History

Richard Henry Sellers (later shortened to Peter Sellers) was born on September 8, 1925, in Portsmouth, England. Peter Sellers was given the name by his entertainer parents, Agnes (often known as Peg) and William, in remembrance of their stillborn older brother.

Sellers first appeared on stage at the King’s Theatre in Southsea when he was just two days old, brought onstage by Dick Henderson. Peter’s family joined the vaudeville tour when he was a child, and the family eventually settled in North London in 1935. Despite having a Jewish mother and a Protestant father, Sellers decided to enroll in St. Aloysius’ College, a Roman Catholic institution.

Academically, he was successful, particularly in the art class. Peter took dance classes with Miss Whitney and Madame Vacani when he was young. Following the outbreak of World War II, the students of St. Aloysius College were evacuated to Cambridgeshire, but Peg refused to release Peter.

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Career

Once back in England, Sellers tried out for “New To You,” a BBC variety show, and made his debut on the air in 1948. At a later time, he called BBC radio producer Roy Speer, introducing himself as “Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh” star Kenneth Horne.

Peter’s acting impressed Speer enough that he gave Sellers a spot on “Show Time,” and he soon became a regular on the radio. Peter voiced several characters on “The Goon Show,” which has been called “perhaps the most influential comedy show of all time,” for a decade, from 1951 to 1960. In 1951, “Penny Points to Paradise” introduced the world to the Goons, and in 1952, “Down Among the Z Men” featured the gang again.

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Why People Die

Although Sellers was only 54 years old when he passed away, he had been experiencing health issues, especially heart problems, for quite sometime before his death. In 1964, Sellers suffered the first of what would be many heart attacks, ultimately leading to the heart disease he would live with for the rest of his life.

In July of 1980, while vacationing at the Dorchester, the star suddenly fainted and went into a coma. A spokeswoman at the time said, “his heart just went away” after he was brought to the hospital. A fast decline in his health was seen. Sellers had been scheduled for heart surgery in Los Angeles in the days leading up to his death.

Susan Wood, the last person to talk to the actor before he passed away, claimed in 2020, before the 40th anniversary of his death, that it was “heartbreaking” that the actor died alone because he never liked being alone.

She described how the group had left that night after a frantic trip to Middlesex Hospital. Nothing is going to change overnight, he’s stable, they said; you can go home and rest easy. Everyone abandoned the ship as a result. They called me as soon as I came home to tell me that he had died; I was shocked.

An awful event has happened. The thought of doing this fills me with dread. Tragically, he was ultimately left alone because he was the kind of person who vowed he’d never be without company.

Sellers reportedly tried to prevent his whole fortune from going to his estranged fourth wife, Lynne Frederick, on the day of his heart attack, but finally failed to do so, so that by the time of his death, each of his children only received £800.

The combination of medicines Sellers was using regularly was the cause, or at least a contributing factor, to his poor heart health. He reportedly used medicines to improve his performance in bed with his wife Britt Ekland in 1964, a full year before he suffered his first heart attack.

Ekland, however, recalled a specific evening in which Sellers was suffering a heart attack and she returned from the bathroom to find him lying in a pool of spilled champagne on the bed.

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