- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWilliam Blake Crump
- Nickname
- Blackie
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- 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 Panhandle (1948) and including six for director Richard Quine. He created the popular TV series Peter Gunn (1958), Mr. 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 Operation Petticoat (1959), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Experiment in Terror (1962), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), The Pink Panther (1963) and A Shot in the Dark (1964). After The Great Race (1965) he began fighting with studios. In England he surfaced again with The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), then went back to Hollywood and a real hit, 10 (1979). Victor/Victoria (1982) won him French and Italian awards for Best Foreign Film.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
- SpousesJulie Andrews(November 12, 1969 - December 15, 2010) (his death, 2 children)Patricia Edwards(1953 - September 7, 1967) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- RelativesHannah Schneider(Grandchild)
- Scores by Henry Mancini
- Frequently worked with Peter Sellers
- Party scenes
- Shots of musicians and bands performing.
- His films usually have a chaotic and comedic scene (which is usually towards the end).
- Met wife-to-be Julie Andrews after she had heard that he once described her as being, "...so sweet she probably has violets between her legs." Andrews was so entertained by the remark she sent Edwards a bunch of violets accompanied by a note. They began dating and later married.
- He adopted two children from Vietnam with Dame Julie Andrews, Amelia Edwards (born 1974) and Joanna Lynne Edwards (born 1975).
- When asked, "If you could work with one actor for the rest of your career, who would it be?" he answered, in a heartbeat, "Jack Lemmon.".
- Directed six actors in Oscar nominated performances: Audrey Hepburn, Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Dame Julie Andrews, Robert Preston and Lesley Ann Warren.
- Suffered from CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome).
- Make 'em redecorate your office. That's primary, to let them know where you stand. Then, when you're shooting interior sequences, use your own interior decorator and set dresser. That way everything on the set will fit your house when you're finished.
- Peter Sellers became a monster. He just got bored with the part [Inspector Clouseau] and became angry, sullen and unprofessional. He wouldn't show up for work and he began looking for anyone and everyone to blame, never for a moment stopping to see whether or not he should blame himself for his own madness, his own craziness.
- [on Julie Andrews] It's marvelous to direct her. She's enormously professional and understands that in the final analysis the last word is mine. Actually, working with Julie on a film is a whole lot easier than working with many people that I'm not married to!
- The Great Race (1965) - $125,000
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