Blake Edwards, author-director a latter-day master of slapstick, died Dec. 15 in Santa Monica, Calif., at the age of 88.
Even though, Blake Edwards was born in Oklahoma, his well-known on-screen alter egos were British: Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series, Dudley Moore besotted by a slo-mo Bo Derek in 10.


People often forget that Blake Edwards was even engaged in one of his earliest hits, Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was a sensation, as were Audrey Hepburn and her little black dress. The movie was elegant but bittersweet, a story of a woman paid for love by wealthy patrons.

In 2004, the actor Jim Carrey presented Edwards with an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. The director was waiting in the wings, and when his name was announced, he zoomed by Carrey in a motorized wheelchair, snagged the Oscar out of his hands, and then proceeded to crash his wheelchair into a wall.

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