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The following is a list of characters from The Pink Panther feature film and cartoon series.
List indicator(s)
- This table shows the recurring characters and the actors who have physically or vocally portrayed them throughout the franchise.
- A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.
- A A indicates a role through use of footage from previously-released media, with no new footage recorded.
- A D indicates an appearance in scenes deleted from the initial version of the film.
- A P indicates an appearance through photographs and / or likeness.
- A V indicates a voice-only role, with new vocal footage recorded.
Jacques Clouseau is a clumsy, incompetent, but zealous policeman and detective who speaks English—with a ludicrous French accent—while other characters speak English, often with their own accents. Clouseau's accent is not emphasized in the first film, but from A Shot in the Dark onwards, the exaggerated accent became part of the joke. It has been suggested that portraying the incompetent policeman as French is based on a British stereotype of the French police or even the French population as a whole.
Peter Sellers, the actor portraying Clouseau, remarked that, in his opinion, Clouseau knew he was a buffoon, but had an incredible knack for survival. Sheer luck or clumsiness usually saves him, as in the first film wherein a farcical car chase around a fountain results in the collision of all the vehicles and the capture of the thieves. This approach accelerates, with Clouseau falling down stairs, falling into pools and fountains, causing fires and disasters, and even being bombed repeatedly, an idea worked into Steve Martin's portrayal of the character. In The Pink Panther Strikes Again , assassins from all over the world are sent to kill Clouseau, whereupon he moves from their target at just the right moment to ensure that the killers eliminate one another. In Trail of the Pink Panther , we see that during World War II, Clouseau fought in the French Resistance, but the flashbacks only serve to reiterate the fact that Clouseau can survive anything despite of, or perhaps due to, his incompetence.
Inspector Clouseau is a patriotic Frenchman whose country is professedly his highest priority, has been prone to infatuation (often reciprocated) after being cuckolded by Sir Charles Lytton, and is repeatedly perplexed by transvestites, to the extent that he addresses them as "Sir or Madame."
The role was originated and developed by Peter Sellers over the years but has also been played by Alan Arkin (in Inspector Clouseau), Daniel Peacock and Lucca Mezzofonti (as younger versions in flashbacks in Trail of the Pink Panther), Roger Moore (in a cameo appearance at the conclusion of Curse of the Pink Panther), and Steve Martin (in the 2006 Pink Panther film and its 2009 sequel).
Clouseau's superior, Charles Dreyfus, was introduced in A Shot in the Dark , wherein he held the rank of Commissioner. He is constantly driven to distraction by Clouseau's bungling and is eventually driven insane. In The Return of the Pink Panther , Dreyfus holds the rank of Chief Inspector—but again becomes insane by the end of the film—which shows Dreyfus straitjacketed in a padded cell, writing "Kill Clouseau" on the wall (with his toes). As in A Shot in the Dark, Dreyfus initially suffers a variety of personal injuries (involving his gun and a cigarette lighter of a similar shape and accidentally cutting off his thumb with a cigar cutter)---before accidentally strangling his therapist while fantasizing Clouseau's death, then trying to assassinate Clouseau with a sniper's rifle. In The Pink Panther Strikes Again , Dreyfus is about to be released from an asylum after a complete recovery; however, within five minutes of Clouseau's arrival to speak to the board on Dreyfus' behalf, he suffers a variety of injuries, causing him to relapse. Then Dreyfus escapes the asylum and kidnaps a scientist, forcing him to build a disintegrator ray to intimidate the rest of the world into attempting to assassinate Clouseau. Dreyfus appears to disintegrate at the end of Strikes Again, but subsequently (and without any explanation) re-appears in Revenge of the Pink Panther and is reinstated Chief Inspector when Clouseau is mistakenly declared dead. Actor Herbert Lom gave his character a pronounced tic which occurred under particular stress, and an accompanying childlike giggle when plotting Clouseau's murder.
The Dreyfus character seems to get a quasi-reboot at the beginning of each new film as he mysteriously re-appears as Clouseau's superior, most often without explanation, after committing various heinous crimes. At the conclusion of A Shot in the Dark he is revealed to have murdered 10 people in his zeal to rid himself of Clouseau (and confesses so), yet he returns as Chief Inspector in Return of the Pink Panther. The character is killed off at the end of The Pink Panther Strikes Again, but again inexplicably returns in the sequel, Revenge of the Pink Panther.
In Son of the Pink Panther , Dreyfus (a Commissioner once again) deals with Clouseau's equally buffoonish son Jacques Gambrelli, but he is more tolerant of Gambrelli. At the end of the film, Dreyfus weds Clouseau's former lover Maria Gambrelli (Jacques Gambrelli's mother) but is shocked to learn that Clouseau and Maria conceived twins: Jacques and Jacqueline Gambrelli.
In the 2006 reboot The Pink Panther , Dreyfus (again as Chief Inspector) uses Clouseau as a decoy while he himself attempts to solve the crimes. Dreyfus merely views Clouseau as an idiot and never attempts to have him killed, whereas Clouseau attacks his employer at one point, mistaking his identity. Later in the film, Dreyfus is dragged accidentally behind Clouseau's Smart Car and appears in the hospital, where Clouseau's bumbling causes him to fall out of a window. In the 2009 sequel The Pink Panther 2 , Dreyfus plays a much smaller role than in the previous film and is less hostile towards Clouseau.
Dreyfus was played by Herbert Lom in the Blake Edwards films, and by Kevin Kline in the 2006 film. He was played by John Cleese in the 2009 sequel.
Cato (spelled "Kato" in A Shot in the Dark as a tribute to Kato in the Green Hornet television series) is Clouseau's manservant, and an expert in martial arts. It is unclear whether he believes Clouseau to be a great detective or whether he merely humors him. It is a running joke that he is instructed to attack Clouseau unexpectedly, to keep Clouseau's combat skills and vigilance sharp. Cato often takes these instructions to the point of ambushing Clouseau in his own house or at times when Clouseau obviously would prefer not to be disturbed. If they are interrupted during such an attack (as by a telephone call), Cato ceases to project the image of assailant and becomes a well-disciplined valet. Regardless of who comes off worse in the actual battle (and it is Clouseau who is more often humiliated, since Cato's ambushes usually do take him by surprise) Clouseau always gets his revenge on Cato by dealing him a sucker blow after it seems the fight is over.
In later films, Cato helps Clouseau on some cases, as in Hong Kong, when Clouseau takes advantage of his own assumed death to determine the identity of his would-be killer. Here, Cato wears spectacles as a disguise but collides with various objects when the spectacles impair his vision.
In Revenge, Cato, believing his master to be dead, runs a covert brothel in Clouseau's apartment: the entrance password is "Inspector Clouseau", which causes a humorous scene when the true Inspector Clouseau appears. Cato opens another brothel in Curse of the Pink Panther , and converts Clouseau's apartment into a museum featuring all the disguises the inspector has worn over the years.
In the earlier series, Cato was played by Burt Kwouk. In the re-launch, the role of Cato was offered to Jackie Chan, but the character was later scrapped for fear that the Chinese stereotype would be offensive, and Cato was replaced by a new character, Gendarme Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno), assigned by Chief Inspector Dreyfus to watch over Clouseau. In a reversal of the Cato-Clouseau relationship, Clouseau often attacks Ponton unexpectedly, only to be stopped by a single blow.
François, Dreyfus' assistant, generally observes his boss' interactions with Clouseau (and subsequent emotional breakdowns) with placid bemusement. André Maranne, a French actor, played François in six Panther films. In Son of the Pink Panther , he was replaced by Dermot Crowley. In A Shot in the Dark , Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther he is referred to as Sergeant François Duval whereas in the three sequels of the 1970s he is Sergeant François Chevalier. In the 2006 reboot, Philip Goodwin plays a similar character named Renard. Goodwin returned as Renard in the 2009 sequel.
"The Phantom" is a jewel thief, Clouseau's archenemy (after Dreyfus) in several of the films and known to the public as Sir Charles Lytton. He serves as the primary villain of the first film, at the end of which (and with help from Clouseau's wife and an exiled princess) he frames Clouseau for his past robberies and has him temporarily sent to prison. This ignites Clouseau's thirst for revenge in the third Sellers/Edwards film, in which the Pink Panther is stolen from a museum.
In the first film he was played by David Niven, and in Return by Christopher Plummer. In later films, an aging and frail Niven made cameo appearances in the role, with his voice dubbed by impressionist Rich Little. In these later films, Lytton is supposed to have been married to Clouseau's ex-wife after the events of the first Pink Panther, even though in Return, his wife had been a different character, yet seemingly familiar with Clouseau (seeing through, and laughing at, his disguises). In The Pink Panther 2 , the diamond is stolen by a similar master thief, "the Tornado" (Johnny Hallyday).
Professor Auguste Balls is an eccentric shop owner who supplies Clouseau with his numerous disguises. He was portrayed by Graham Stark in Revenge of the Pink Panther and Son of the Pink Panther , while Harvey Korman played him in Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther . Although Korman was the first actor to portray Balls, his scenes in The Pink Panther Strikes Again were cut and were not used until Trail of the Pink Panther six years later.
Professor Balls has a wife, Martha (Liz Smith), and an assistant, Cunny (Danny Schiller), who make brief appearances.
The Little Man is a stock character best known for appearing in the original Pink Panther shorts created by David DePatie and Friz Freleng. He is considered the main antagonist of the Pink Panther series. [1] [2]
The Little Man first appeared in 1964 in the first entry of the Pink Panther animated series, The Pink Phink . The Little Man was actually known by the animators at DePatie-Freleng as "Big Nose" and was originally created as a spoof and was done as a caricature of Friz Freleng as a joke. The character became a foil for the Pink Panther and appeared throughout the series in its 16-year duration. [1] [2]
The Little Man appears in various roles throughout the entire original series. He seldom speaks and has a distinctive big nose, and he is usually white in color but sometimes given a Caucasian shading. In some cases, he seems to be wearing nothing, but in other cases, he wears a costume (or at least a hat) fitting to his role in the cartoon. Several cartoons depict him with a white dog as his pet. [1] [2]
While he resembles Inspector Clouseau in the animated opening credits of Pink Panther films as well as that character's own cartoon series, the Little Man is usually said to be a caricature of Friz Freleng, with his mustache, short stature, and equally short temper. (These same characteristics of Freleng had previously served as an inspiration for Freleng's Warner Bros. cartoon character Yosemite Sam.) [1] [2]
The Little Man makes a cameo in the 1970 short "Bridgework", starring Roland and Rattfink, another pair of characters created by DePatie-Freleng. Here, he is voiced by Lennie Weinrib. [1] [2]
The Little Man appears in the 1993 TV series The Pink Panther where he is voiced by Wallace Shawn. He goes by various names and fills multiple roles as he does in the shorts. [1] [2]
The Little Man also appears in the Cartoon Network show Pink Panther and Pals as a main character and main antagonist in the entire series (here renamed as Big Nose). He always has a plan to get rid of the teenaged Panther in an antagonistic manner, but the Panther consistently foils his plans. Sometimes his dog tries to get rid of the Pink Panther, only to side with the Pink Panther later in the short. [1] [2]
Inspector Jacques Clouseau, later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical The Pink Panther series. He is portrayed by Peter Sellers in the original series, and also by Alan Arkin in the 1968 film Inspector Clouseau and, in a cameo, by Roger Moore in the 1983 film Curse of the Pink Panther. In the 2006 reboot and its 2009 sequel, Clouseau is portrayed by Steve Martin. Clouseau's likeness also appears in the Pink Panther animated cartoon shorts and segments, where he is known as simply "the Inspector". More recent animated depictions from the 1970s onward were redesigned to more closely resemble Sellers, and later Martin.
The Pink Panther is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the film The Pink Panther in 1963. The role of Clouseau was originated by and is most closely associated with Peter Sellers. Most of the films were written and directed by Blake Edwards, with theme music composed by Henry Mancini. Elements and characters inspired by the films were adapted into other media, including books, comic books, video games and animated series.
Isadore "Friz" Freleng, credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. In total he created more than 300 cartoons.
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises was an American animation production company that was active from 1963–1981. Based in Burbank, California, DFE produced animation for film and television.
The Pink Phink is a 1964 American animated short comedy film directed by Friz Freleng. It is the first animated short starring the Pink Panther. The short won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short at the 37th Academy Awards.
The Inspector is an American series of 34 theatrical cartoon shorts produced between 1965 and 1969 by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists. The cartoons are dedicated to an animated version of Inspector Clouseau comically battling against a rogues' gallery of internationally styled villains.
A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards in Panavision. It is the second installment in The Pink Panther film series, with Peter Sellers reprising his role as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté.
Trail of the Pink Panther is a 1982 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers. It is the seventh film in The Pink Panther series, the first film in the series following Sellers's death and also the last in which he appeared as Inspector Clouseau. Sellers died 18 months before production began; his performance consists entirely of scenes from previous films. The newly shot material in the film stars Joanna Lumley as journalist Marie Jouvet searching for the missing Clouseau – and running afoul of the inspector's enemies who do not wish to see him return.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again is a 1976 comedy film. The fifth film in The Pink Panther series, its plot begins three years after the conclusion of The Return of the Pink Panther. Unused footage from the film was later included in Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), released after Peter Sellers's death.
The Return of the Pink Panther is a 1975 comedy film and the fourth film in The Pink Panther series. The film stars Peter Sellers returning to the role of Inspector Clouseau for the first time since A Shot in the Dark (1964), after having declined to reprise the role in Inspector Clouseau (1968). The film was a commercial hit and revived the previously dormant series and with it Peter Sellers' career.
The Pink Panther is a series of films featuring the fictional Inspector Clouseau, played by Peter Sellers, that began in 1963.
Curse of the Pink Panther is a 1983 comedy film and a continuation of The Pink Panther series of films created by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s. The film was one of two produced concurrently following the death of the series' star Peter Sellers. Whereas the previous film Trail of the Pink Panther made use of unused footage of Sellers as Inspector Clouseau and starred Joanna Lumley as journalist Marie Jouvet, Curse attempted to relaunch the series with a new lead, Ted Wass, as inept American detective Clifton Sleigh, assigned to find the missing Inspector Clouseau.
Son of the Pink Panther is a 1993 comedy film. It is the ninth and final installment of the original The Pink Panther film series starting from the 1963 film. 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 and a star of the original 1963 film, Claudia Cardinale. It was the final film in the original Pink Panther film series, as well as the final film for both director Blake Edwards and composer Henry Mancini; Mancini died on June 14, 1994, and Edwards retired from film-making a year later in 1995.
Inspector Clouseau is a 1968 British comedy film, and the third installment in The Pink Panther film series. It was directed by Bud Yorkin, written by brothers Frank Waldman and Tom Waldman and stars Alan Arkin as the title character. It was filmed by Mirisch Films at the MGM-British Studios, Borehamwood and in Europe.
David Hudson DePatie was an American film and television producer who was the last and longest lived executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio. He also formed DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, with Friz Freleng, and was an executive producer at Marvel Productions.
Revenge of the Pink Panther is a 1978 comedy film. It is the sixth film in The Pink Panther comedy film series. Released in 1978, it is the final on-set performance of Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Jacques Clouseau. It was also the last installment in the series that was distributed solely by United Artists; the company was absorbed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer three years after the film's release.
The Pink Panther is a fictional animated character who appears in the opening and/or closing credit sequences of every film in The Pink Panther series except for A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau. In the storyline of the original film, the "Pink Panther" is the name of a valuable pink diamond named for a flaw that shows a "figure of a springing panther" when held up to the light in a certain way; in the credits this was translated to an animated pink panther. Only the first Pink Panther film and the second sequel, The Return of the Pink Panther, featured the diamond.
"The Pink Panther Theme" is a jazz composition by Henry Mancini written as the theme for the 1963 film The Pink Panther and subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 37th Academy Awards but lost to the Sherman Brothers for Mary Poppins. The eponymous cartoon character created for the film's opening credits by David DePatie and Friz Freleng was animated in time to the tune. The tenor saxophone solo was played by Plas Johnson.
Hawley B. Pratt was an American film director, animator, and illustrator. He is best known for his work for Warner Bros. Cartoons and as the right-hand man of director Friz Freleng as a layout artist and later as a director. Pratt also worked for Walt Disney Studios, Filmation, and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises where he co-created The Pink Panther.
The Pink Panther 2 is a 2009 American comedy-mystery film directed by Harald Zwart. It is the eleventh installment in The Pink Panther film series and the sequel to the 2006 film The Pink Panther, a reboot of the popular comedy series. The film was released on February 6, 2009 in North America. In the film, Inspector Clouseau must team up with detectives from other countries to rout a daring burglar, The Tornado, who has returned after a decade's inactivity.
