Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (formerly inspector) is a
fictionalA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
detectiveA detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators...
in
Blake EdwardsWilliam Blake Crump , better known as Blake Edwards, is an Academy Award–winning American film director, screenwriter, and producer.-Career:...
's
Pink Panther series. In most of the films, he was played by
Peter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE, commonly known as Peter Sellers was a British comedian and actor best known for his roles in Dr...
, with one film in which he was played by
Alan ArkinAlan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, and musician. He is best-known for starring in such films as: Catch-22; The In-Laws; Edward Scissorhands; The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming; Glengarry Glen Ross; and Little Miss Sunshine, for which he won an Academy Award for Best...
and one in which he was played by an uncredited
Roger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE is a English actor and film producer. He is perhaps best known for portraying two British action heroes, Simon Templar in the television series The Saint from 1962 to 1969, and James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
. In the 2006
Pink Panther revival and its 2009 sequel, he is played by
Steve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician, and composer. He was raised in Southern California in a Baptist family, where his early influences were working at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm and working magic and comedy acts at these and...
. Sellers is widely regarded as the definitive Chief Inspector Clouseau of pop culture by fans and critics alike.
He is also the inspiration of the main character in a series of short
animated cartoonThe Inspector is a series of 1960s theatrical cartoons produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists.-Plot:...
s inspired by the titles of the feature films. Though the character in the animated late 1960s series was never given a name, he is clearly based on Clouseau. However, more recent animated depictions of Chief Inspector Clouseau since the 1970s on were redesigned to resemble Sellers, and later Martin, more closely.
The Pink Panther (1963)
Jacques Clouseau makes his first appearance as the Inspector in the film
The Pink PantherThe Pink Panther, directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, is a comedy film, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine and Claudia Cardinale....
, which was released in the United States in .
Clouseau is a bumbling and incompetent police inspector of the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
SûretéSûreté is a term used in French speaking countries or regions in the organizational title of a civil police force, especially the detective branch thereof.-France:...
, whose investigations are marked with chaos and destruction that he himself largely causes. His clumsy attempts at solving the case frequently lead to misfortune for himself and others; in the 1976 film
The Pink Panther Strikes AgainThe Pink Panther Strikes Again is the fifth film in the Pink Panther series and picks up where The Return of the Pink Panther leaves off...
, he cannot even interview witnesses to a crime without falling down stairs, getting his hand caught in first a medieval
knightA knight was a "gentleman soldier" or member of the warrior class of the Middle Ages in Europe. In other Indo-European languages, cognates of cavalier or rider are more prevalent suggesting a connection to the knight's mode of transport...
's glove and then a vase, knocking a witness senseless, destroying a priceless
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
or accidentally shooting another officer in the backside. Clouseau is also not particularly intelligent, and will frequently follow a completely idiotic theory of the crime, solving the case only by accident. His incompetence, clumsiness and stupidity, with the fact that he is usually right, are enough to eventually transform his direct superior (former Chief Inspector Dreyfus) into a homicidal psychopath – to such a degree that Dreyfus even goes so far as to construct a doomsday device and threatens to destroy the world in a desperate attempt to kill Clouseau.
Regardless of his rather limited ability, he successfully solves his cases and finds the correct culprits, even if this success is achieved entirely by accident. As such, he is even promoted to Chief Inspector over the course of the series, and is regarded by many other characters who presumably have not met him as
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
's greatest detective; those characters he actually encounters, nevertheless, are quick to realise his incompetence and limitations. He is immensely egocentric and pompous; despite his many failings, he is seemingly convinced that he is a brilliant police officer destined to succeed and rise through the ranks of the
SûretéSûreté is a term used in French speaking countries or regions in the organizational title of a civil police force, especially the detective branch thereof.-France:...
. Despite this, Clouseau does appear to show some awareness that he is not the most competent or intelligent person, as he is notably embarrassed by and quick to brush aside his more extreme acts of clumsiness with phrases such as "I know that," and attempts to appear elegant and refined regardless of what calamity he has just caused.
Chief Inspector Clouseau is a patriotic Frenchman; his country is professedly his highest priority. He has been prone to infatuation (which is often reciprocated) ever since being cuckolded by Sir Charles Lytton. He is repeatedly perplexed by transvestites, to the extent that he addresses them as "Sir or Madam".
Sellers said in several interviews that the secret of Clouseau's character was his tremendous ego. His favourite example of Clouseau's ego was whenever someone said, "Phone call for Inspector Clouseau," Clouseau would reply, "Ah yes, that would be for ME." Sellers maintained that Clouseau's ego is what made the character's klutziness funnier because of his quest to remain elegant and refined while causing chaos everywhere he turned.
As portrayed by Sellers, Clouseau's French accent became steadily more exaggerated in successive films (for example, pronouncing "room" as "reum"; "
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
" as "Peup"; "
bombA bomb is any of a range of explosive devices that typically rely on the exothermic chemical reaction of an explosive material to produce an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. The word comes from the Greek word βόμβος , an onomatopoetic term with approximately the same meaning as...
" as "beumb"; and "bumps" as "beumps"), and a frequent running gag in the movies was that even French characters would have difficulty understanding what he was saying. The accent may originally have been inspired by a comment by a French film director, in which he pronounced "house" as "'arse," to Sellers's fellow
GoonThe Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
,
Michael BentineMichael Bentine CBE was a comedian, comic actor, and founding member of The Goons.-Biography:Bentine was born Michael James Bentin in Watford, Hertfordshire, of Anglo-Peruvian parentage. and grew up in Folkestone, Kent, one of his friends being the young David Tomlinson. He was educated at Eton...
, at a dinner party. Much of that humor was of course lost in the French dubbing: in order to keep some of Seller's characterization, the French post-synchronization gave Clouseau an odd-sounding, nasal voice.
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
In his earliest appearances, Clouseau is actually less inept and exaggerated; many of the above character elements were not added until the 1970s. Sellers stepped away from playing the character following 1964's
A Shot in the DarkA Shot in the Dark is a comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in the Pink Panther series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté...
(a film based upon a stage play into which the Clouseau character was inserted).
A Shot in the Dark marked the first appearance of Clouseau's Chinese house servant, Cato, played by
Burt KwoukBurt Kwouk is an English-born actor who was raised in Shanghai until he was about 17 years old....
. Clouseau has given Cato instructions to attack him without warning when it is least expected, so that Clouseau may sharpen his senses and martial arts skills. Unfortunately, Cato takes these instructions far too seriously, repeatedly ambushing Clouseau in his own house, with hilarious results.
Inspector Clouseau (1968)
When the character returned for the 1968 film
Inspector ClouseauInspector Clouseau is a United Artists feature film, the third in the popular Pink Panther movie series. It was directed by Bud Yorkin, written by Frank Waldman and Tom Waldman and stars Alan Arkin, who replaced Peter Sellers – Sellers had declined to return to play the lead role of...
, he was portrayed by American actor
Alan ArkinAlan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, and musician. He is best-known for starring in such films as: Catch-22; The In-Laws; Edward Scissorhands; The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming; Glengarry Glen Ross; and Little Miss Sunshine, for which he won an Academy Award for Best...
; Edwards was not involved in this production. The film's title credits, animated by
DePatie-Freleng EnterprisesDePatie-Freleng Enterprises was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. They produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, title sequences and television specials. Notable among these is a line of Dr. Seuss adaptations made for CBS including 1971's...
, feature their
InspectorThe Inspector is a series of 1960s theatrical cartoons produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists.-Plot:...
character from the series of short cartoons under that name.
The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
The 1968 film does appear to have had an impact on the character when Sellers returned to the role in 1975's
The Return of the Pink PantherThe Return of the Pink Panther is the fourth film in the Pink Panther series, released in . The film stars Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Clouseau in his third Panther appearance, after the original The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark.Herbert Lom also reprises his role as Chief...
, particularly in the character's mode of dress. The opening credits were animated by Richard Williams.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
The Pink Panther Strikes AgainThe Pink Panther Strikes Again is the fifth film in the Pink Panther series and picks up where The Return of the Pink Panther leaves off...
continues the story from the end of
The Return of the Pink Panther. Footage shot for this film was used to include Sellers in
Trail of the Pink PantherTrail of the Pink Panther is a comedy film starring Peter Sellers. It was the seventh film in the Pink Panther series, and the last in which Peter Sellers starred as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, although Sellers died before production began and the film thus contains no original material...
. The opening credits were again animated by Richard Williams.
Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
According to DVD liner notes for
Return of the Pink Panther, Sellers and Edwards originally planned to produce a British television series centered on Clouseau, but a film was made instead,
Revenge of the Pink PantherRevenge of the Pink Panther is the sixth film in the Pink Panther film series. Released in , Revenge of was the last entry featuring series star Peter Sellers, who died in 1980. Director Blake Edwards would attempt to keep the series alive with Trail of the Pink Panther by utilizing unused footage...
. The movie was a box office success and led to several more films before Sellers died in 1980; biographies of Sellers such as
Peter Sellers—A Celebration reveal that he was involved in the pre-production of another Clouseau film,
The Romance Of The Pink PantherThe Romance of the Pink Panther was to be the seventh film in the Pink Panther series, and would have starred Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Clouseau in his sixth Panther appearance. Herbert Lom would also probably have reprised his role as Charles Dreyfus; with the character now working as...
at the time of his death.
Trail of The Pink Panther (1982)
Blake Edwards attempted to continue telling Clouseau's story despite losing his lead actor. The 1982 film
Trail of the Pink PantherTrail of the Pink Panther is a comedy film starring Peter Sellers. It was the seventh film in the Pink Panther series, and the last in which Peter Sellers starred as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, although Sellers died before production began and the film thus contains no original material...
utilized outtakes and alternate footage of Sellers as Clouseau in a new storyline in which a reporter investigates Clouseau's disappearance. In the process, she interviews characters from past Clouseau films, and also meets Clouseau's equally inept father (played by
Richard MulliganRichard Mulligan was an American television and film actor.-Early life:He was born in New York City, the younger brother of director Robert Mulligan. After attending Columbia University, Mulligan began working in theatre, making his debut as a stage manager and performer on Broadway in All the Way...
).
Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)
The immediate sequel to
Trail,
Curse of the Pink PantherCurse of the Pink Panther is a comedy film, the eighth installment of the Pink Panther series of films started by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s.The film was one of two produced concurrently following the death of the series' star, Peter Sellers...
reveals that Clouseau underwent
plastic surgeryPlastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. While famous for aesthetic surgery, plastic surgery also includes two main fields: body modification and reconstructive surgery...
to change his appearance; the character appears on screen briefly in the form of a joke
cameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television. Short appearances by film directors, politicians, athletes, musicians, and other celebrities are common. These roles are generally small, and...
by
Roger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE is a English actor and film producer. He is perhaps best known for portraying two British action heroes, Simon Templar in the television series The Saint from 1962 to 1969, and James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
, billed as "Turk Thrust II". Neither film was a box office success, and the series (and the character) were retired.
Son of the Pink Panther (1993)
Despite the failure of
Curse, Edwards attempted to revive the series a decade later with
Son of the Pink PantherSon of the Pink Panther is the ninth entry in the 30-year-old Pink Panther film series. Directed by Blake Edwards, it stars Roberto Benigni as Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son. Also in this film are Panther regulars Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Graham Stark...
, in which it is revealed that Clouseau had illegitimate children by
Maria GambrelliMaria Gambrelli was a character in Blake Edwards' Pink Panther series.She plays the role of Inspector Clouseau's lover and later on the mother of his illegitimate children - Jacques Gambrelli and Jacqueline....
(a character who first appeared in
A Shot in the Dark). Clouseau's son, Jacques Jr., was portrayed by
Roberto BenigniRoberto Remigio Benigni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director of film, theatre and television...
, and has a twin sister, Jacqueline, played by
Nicoletta BraschiNicoletta Braschi is an Italian actress, best known for her work with her husband, actor and director Roberto Benigni.She has also collaborated with American director Jim Jarmusch....
. Jacques Jr. attempts to follow in his father's police footsteps, but is revealed to have inherited the same ineptness as his father.
The Pink Panther (2006)
Steve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician, and composer. He was raised in Southern California in a Baptist family, where his early influences were working at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm and working magic and comedy acts at these and...
's rendition of Clouseau in the
2006 filmThe Pink Panther is a family comedy feature film released in 2006. It is a reboot of the The Pink Panther film series. In this film, Inspector Jacques Clouseau is assigned to solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and the theft of the famous Pink Panther diamond. The film also stars Kevin...
is considered to be a
rebootingReboot, in serial fiction, means a discarding of much or even all previous continuity in the series, to start anew. Effectively, all previously-known fictive history is declared by the writer to be null and void, or at least irrelevant to the current storyline, and the series starts over as if...
of the character. The film gives an origin to his role as an inspector: originally an inept police officer, he is hired by Chief Inspector Dreyfus to look bad and give Dreyfus the glory of solving the case himself. However, the new film is set in a different continuity: Martin's Clouseau is considerably older than Sellers', and although the 2006 film was promoted as taking place prior to the events of the first
Pink Panther film, the time frame has been advanced to the present day.
Also, in this film, although clueless, Martin's Clouseau does not seem entirely incompetent, being able to locate the Pink Panther diamond and solve the case on his own. He has limited detecting skills, but is good deal more street smart than Sellers's Clouseau.
The Pink Panther 2 (2009)
When a series of rare and historical artifacts are stolen by the mysterious
El Tornado, Clouseau is assigned to a "dream team" of international investigators to recover the artifacts and the Pink Panther.
Peter Sellers
- The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther, directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, is a comedy film, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine and Claudia Cardinale....
- A Shot in the Dark
A Shot in the Dark is a comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in the Pink Panther series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté...
- The Return of the Pink Panther
The Return of the Pink Panther is the fourth film in the Pink Panther series, released in . The film stars Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Clouseau in his third Panther appearance, after the original The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark.Herbert Lom also reprises his role as Chief...
- The Pink Panther Strikes Again
The Pink Panther Strikes Again is the fifth film in the Pink Panther series and picks up where The Return of the Pink Panther leaves off...
- Revenge of the Pink Panther
Revenge of the Pink Panther is the sixth film in the Pink Panther film series. Released in , Revenge of was the last entry featuring series star Peter Sellers, who died in 1980. Director Blake Edwards would attempt to keep the series alive with Trail of the Pink Panther by utilizing unused footage...
- Trail of the Pink Panther
Trail of the Pink Panther is a comedy film starring Peter Sellers. It was the seventh film in the Pink Panther series, and the last in which Peter Sellers starred as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, although Sellers died before production began and the film thus contains no original material...
- utilized unused footage from previous films
Alan Arkin
- Inspector Clouseau
Inspector Clouseau is a United Artists feature film, the third in the popular Pink Panther movie series. It was directed by Bud Yorkin, written by Frank Waldman and Tom Waldman and stars Alan Arkin, who replaced Peter Sellers – Sellers had declined to return to play the lead role of...
- the third film chronologically
Steve Martin
- The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther is a family comedy feature film released in 2006. It is a reboot of the The Pink Panther film series. In this film, Inspector Jacques Clouseau is assigned to solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and the theft of the famous Pink Panther diamond. The film also stars Kevin...
- The Pink Panther 2
Other films
- Romance of the Pink Panther - only two script drafts; scrapped after Sellers's death
- Son of the Pink Panther
Son of the Pink Panther is the ninth entry in the 30-year-old Pink Panther film series. Directed by Blake Edwards, it stars Roberto Benigni as Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son. Also in this film are Panther regulars Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Graham Stark...
- centered on Clouseau's son
External links
- Inspector Clouseau character at the Internet Movie Database
The Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, video games, and most recently, fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media...
.