Blake Edwards: a life in clips (guardian)

Blake Edwards in 1989. Photograph: Rex Features

Not many emerging writers can disrupt mass enough to make the cover of the New York Times the following day, but that which is reached when Orson Welles handpicked Blake Edwards to work on his famous 1938 plays War Of The Worlds radio.

However, it was television where Edwards began to carve out its own distinctive style. Created in response to Mike Hammer, Sam Spade and on countless other private black tails of the era, the end of the 50 series NBC Peter Gunn would prove be place of birth of a large part of Blake Edwards style.

Water where counterparts were abrasive, where they were pessimistic, Gunn - powered by timeless theme music by Henry Mancini - dapper has been cooler that anyone could have imagined.

Edwards is not responsible for the scenario for lunch from 1961 to Tiffany but aerated film, feel lightfooted was in him and Audrey Hepburn would not be half of the icon that it is today without his leadership.

A year later and Edwards had moved on the days of wine and roses, a tearjerker shamelessly about alcoholism who won Oscar nominations for Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick. Once, aided by a peerless by Henry Mancini soundtrack, the film is still one of the most powerful arguments anti-alcohol autour - enough to convince Edwards himself to stop drinking.

Another year and Edwards had co-written and directed the first film in a series that will prove to be his legacy. 1963 Rose Panther was created as a piece of capers together using David Niven and Peter Wagner skills as much as anyone else. But it was Clouseau Inspector who would come to define the film and its consequences for many performance havoc of Peter Sellers.

The first of these suites, Shot In The Dark, marked the moment where Blake Edwards to realize the potential of the character Clouseau. He seemed to know exactly how much space to leave before vendors that its plans become complacent, introducing foil perfect stage fright and possibly crazy Charles Dreyfus. It was a moment that Edwards would never better.

The 1970s were relatively calm for Edwards, consisting of a few pieces of minors and three distinct suites of the Pink Panther. However, he was able to close the Decade epic mode with 10, noisy sex comedy who somehow managed to transform Dudley Moore a megastar and pin-up. With 10 Edward had found his second breath.

Victor Victoria 1982 - a remake of 1933 - consolidated on this second German film blowing to great effect. By combining this labyrinthine farce, ambivalent sexuality, music by Henry Mancini and a show-stopping by his wife, Julie Andrews, Tower is such an Oscar winning tour de force that he subsequently developed a second life as a Tony Award-winning musical.

In this regard, there was a notable and unstoppable quality decline. A brief highlight, however, was Blind Date 1987, featuring a hero pre-action Bruce Willis. Her frenetic distribution here gave him an ideal opportunity to chew landscapes more than anyone could have thought possible.

In 2004, Blake Edwards finally won her Oscar. This is only an honorary Oscar and he had to undergo an introduction of nauseating line of demarcation of Jim Carrey, but the octogenarian still managed to steal show together with the deadly slapstick research inimitable display.