Blake Edwards, a writer and director who became a Hollywood master of screwball farces and rude comedies like “Victor/Victoria” and the “Pink Panther” movies, died Wednesday night in Santa Monica, Calif.
Mr. Edwards received an Academy Award nomination for his “Victor/Victoria” screenplay, which was adapted from a 1933 German film written and directed by Reinhold Schünzel. (1981), a movie in which Mr. Edwards takes an ax dipped in cyanide to the movie industry, which alternately embraced and spurned him.
Blake Edwards was born William Blake Crump on July 26, 1922, in Tulsa, Okla. Mr. Edwards segued from radio to writing and eventually directing for Mr. Powell’s television anthology series, “Four Star Playhouse.”
Then Mr. Aubrey took over the editing of Mr. Edwards’s next picture, “The Carey Treatment” (1972), before Mr. Edwards had even finished shooting it.
It was the success of “10” that allowed Mr. Edwards to make those movies. Audiences and critics turned away from Mr. Edwards’s last films, including “That’s Life!”
Edwards -- who was married to legendary actress Julie Andrews -- is famous for directing movies like "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Victor/Victoria" and the classic "Pink Panther" film series.
