Mr. Strangelove_ A Biography of Peter Sellers - Ed Sikov [230]
Greg Meyer is the best, most thorough, and most responsible research assistant any writer could have, let alone an egocentric and anxious biographer like me. I owe him more gratitude than I could possibly afford. Adam Orman, Michael Kaniecki, and John Freed provided equally reliable research assistance as well, but it’s easier for me to thank them because they worked fewer hours.
For making their extraordinary knowledge available, let alone their facilities, I thank Sandra Archer, Barbara Hall, and the other librarians and staff at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library; the librarians and staff of American Film Institute’s Louis B. Mayer Library; the special collections librarians at the University of Southern California and the University of California at Los Angeles; the New York Public Library; the librarians and film archivists at the British Film Institute; the librarians at the Theatre Museum in London; Fred Zentner and Dejan Zamurovic at the Cinema Bookshop in London; and, as always, Ron Mandelbaum and the guys at Photofest in New York.
Any contest for the title “World’s Greatest Peter Sellers Fan” must result in a tie between Maxine Ventham and Dimitris Verionis. Both of these marvelous and appreciative people provided access to rare materials and important contacts. They gave me support and solid friendship when I needed it most, not to mention critical observations about their favorite performer. Maxine and Dimitris are devoted to the life and work of Peter Sellers, and they each helped me to understand him much better than I could have on my own. There may be observations in this book that will upset those with whom they put me in contact. I can only say that I never meant this book to be mean.
I trusted my friends Christopher Bram and Matthew Mirapaul enough to let them read my first draft. They gently steered me away from my worst impulses; they suggested improvements kindly; and they told me they thought the book was funny, which is what I hope Peter Sellers himself would have appreciated. It was Chris who kicked me out of my writer’s block by suggesting that I write Peter’s life story as a sympathetic black comedy; Matthew suggested the title.
I love my agent, Edward Hibbert, as well I should, since I owe him my career. What could be better than to have a brilliant actor as your agent? Fans of Frasier know Edward as Gil Chesterton, the British food critic; I, however, am most fond of his stage performances as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest and Frederick Fellowes in the Broadway smash Noises Off. Edward’s associates at Donadio and Olson—Neil Olson, Ira Silverberg, and Jesse Dorris—are kind enough to advise me, take my phone calls when Edward is out of town or in rehearsal, and hold my hand as often as I beg them to do so.
This book’s genesis occurred in the offices of Hyperion when Jennifer Barth, the editor of my earlier biography on Billy Wilder, and Alison Lowenstein, her assistant, were discussing ideas for my next book. They, not I, came up with Peter Sellers, and I think they made a very good decision.
Peternelle van Arsdale edited this book with a fine eye and a sharp pencil, two things every