[_____V_____]

Yet another legend of a genre falls...


Blake Edwards 1922–2010


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Edwards, the veteran writer and director behind the Pink Panther movies, has sadly died at the age of 88.

Edwards died from complications of pneumonia at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, said publicist Gene Schwam. Blake's wife, Julie Andrews, and other family members were at his side. He had been hospitalized for about two weeks.

In a career that stretched back to the mid-50s, Edwards was oversaw the creation of more than 30 films, including the seafaring comedy Operation Petticoat, starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis, and the classic Breakfast At Tiffany’s, which starred Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard.

He then went on to write and direct the enormously successful The Pink Panther in 1963, the comedy starring David Niven as the suave thief attempting to steal the gigantic diamond of the title, and Peter Sellers as the bumbling French inspector Jacques Clouseau.

The success of The Pink Panther saw Edwards return to direct seven sequels, including A Shot In The Dark (1964), The Return Of The Pink Panther (1975) and Son Of The Pink Panther (1993).

Outside the Pink Panther films, Edwards found success with the 1979 comedy, 10, starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek, and Blind Date, a pre-Die Hard hit for Bruce Willis.

Despite his inarguable brilliance behind the camera, Edwards never won an Oscar himself, though he was presented with an Honorary Award in 2004.

Both versatile and prolific, Blake Edwards will be remembered as one of Hollywood’s great comedy directors, and will be greatly missed.

R.I.P.