Blake Edwards - Biography

Blake Edwards' stepfather's father J. Gordon Edwards was a silent screen director, and his stepfather Jack McEdward was a stage director and movie production manager. Blake acted in a number films, beginning with Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942) and wrote a number of others, beginning with Le justicier de la sierra (1948) and including six for director Richard Quine. He created the popular TV series Peter Gunn (1958), Bonne chance M. Lucky (1959) and Dante (1960). He directed a diverse body of films, from comedies to dramas to war films to westerns, including such pictures as Opération jupons (1959), Diamants sur canapé (1961), Allô... brigade spéciale (1962), Le jour du vin et des roses (1962), La panthère rose (1963) and Quand l'inspecteur s'emmêle (1964). After La grande course autour du monde (1965) he began fighting with studios. In England he surfaced again with Le retour de la panthère rose (1975), then went back to Hollywood and a real hit, Elle (1979). Victor/Victoria (1982) won him French and Italian awards for Best Foreign Film.