Blake Edwards

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Blake Edwards (actually William Blake Crump ; born July 26, 1922 in Tulsa , † December 15, 2010 in Santa Monica ) was an American film director and producer , actor and screenwriter . He became famous with turbulent comedies, which were characterized by numerous gags and punch lines. In 2004 he received the Oscar for his life's work. He became internationally known primarily for the feature films in the Pink Panther series , mostly starring Peter Sellers , and the classic Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn .

Live and act

Career

Edwards started out as an actor in 1942. However, his appearances were limited to small supporting roles, with a few exceptions his name was not even mentioned in the credits. So he decided to work as a screenwriter and director. He first directed episodes of the television show Four Star Playhouse in 1954 .

His first major success was the 1959 film Company Petticoat with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in the lead roles. The following year, the later classic, Breakfast at Tiffany's , which won two Academy Awards , cemented Audrey Hepburn's image as a fashion icon of the 1960s.

For once, there was no comedy with The Days of Wine and Roses . Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick each received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for the drama . In 1963 Edwards made the first film in the Pink Panther series that would make him famous. The late 1960s was followed by the comedy Der Partyschreck with his favorite actor Peter Sellers .

He co-wrote the script for most of his films. For several films he worked with the author William Peter Blatty , who wrote the scripts for Ein Schuß im Dunkeln and Gunn .

Edwards and Mancini

As early as the mid-1950s, Blake Edwards got to know and appreciate the composer Henry Mancini through his wife Ginny . The two men developed a close friendship that would last until Mancini's death in 1994. Edwards also regularly commissioned his friend with the soundtracks for his films, and the joint projects have been extremely successful for both parties. So for the films of Edward's classics like Moon River , the song The Days of Wine and Roses for the film of the same name and of course the well-known theme tune for the Pink Panther films were created . The Edwards / Mancini team most recently worked on the Broadway version of the musical Victor / Victoria . But Henry Mancini did not live to see the world premiere, he died during rehearsals.

Working method

Since Edwards wrote the script and directed most of his films himself, he had a great influence on the development of his projects.

Like many of his colleagues, the director had a regular cast of actors who kept showing up on the set; in his case it was mainly family members and close friends. He used his second wife Julie Andrews as the leading actress no less than seven times, and his children and stepchildren also had supporting roles in their father's films again and again.

An example of one of these family productions is the film That's Life! . Here Andrews and Jack Lemmon played the parents, and Jennifer and Geoffrey Edwards together with Chris Lemmon the children of the family. Lemmon's wife, Felicia Farr , also had a supporting role, and some of the filming took place at the Edwards family estate in Los Angeles .

Private life

Blake Edwards was born into a family of filmmakers. His grandfather was a director, his father an assistant director and production manager . So he came into contact with the film business early on.

Edwards was married to actress Patricia Walker for the first time, from 1953 until the divorce in 1967 . From this marriage there were two biological children, Jennifer and Geoffrey , who also work in show business . In 1969 Edwards remarried an actress with Julie Andrews . The couple adopted two children from Vietnam and lived together until Edwards' death. Andrews also brought their daughter Emma Walton into the family from his first marriage .

The family has one residence in Switzerland and one in Los Angeles .

Awards (selection)

In 1983 Blake Edwards was awarded the César for best foreign film for his film Victor / Victoria . However, in 1989 he also received a Golden Raspberry in the Worst Director category for Sunset in Hollywood . In recognition of his work as a producer, director and screenwriter, he was in 2004 with the honorary Oscar awarded (Honorary Award) for lifetime achievement. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his services in the film business .

Filmography

literature

  • Peter Lehman, William Luhr: Blake Edwards . Ohio University Press, Athens 1981, ISBN 0-8214-0616-7

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Master of farce and slapstick, Blake Edwards, this AP dated December 16, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Edwards, Blake
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Crump, William Blake
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH July 26, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Tulsa , Oklahoma
DATE OF DEATH December 15, 2010
Place of death Santa Monica , California