A turning point in Sellers 's flailing career came in 1974 , when he teamed up with Blake Edwards to make '' The Return of the Pink Panther '' , starring alongside Christopher Plummer , Herbert Lom and Catherine Schell . The film was shot on a budget of £ 3 million and earned $ 33 million at the box office upon release in May 1975 , reinvigorating Sellers 's career as an A-list film star and restoring his millionaire status . The film earned Sellers a nomination for the Best Actor – Musical or Comedy award at the 33rd Golden Globe Awards . In 1976 , he followed it with '' The Pink Panther Strikes Again '' . During the filming from February to June 1976 , the already fraught relationship between Sellers and Blake Edwards had seriously deteriorated . Edwards says of the actor 's mental state at the time of '' The Pink Panther Strikes Again '' , " If you went to an asylum and you described the first inmate you saw , that 's what Peter had become . He was certifiable . " With declining physical health , Sellers could at times be unbearable on set . His behaviour was regarded as unprofessional and childish , and he frequently threw tantrums , often threatening to abandon projects . Peter Evans mentioned that Sellers was a " volatile and perplexing character who left a trail of misery in his private life " . He also noted that Sellers had a " compulsive personality and was an eccentric hypochondriac " who became addicted to various medicines aside from his recreational drug habits during this period . His difficult behaviour during productions was widely reported and made it more difficult for Sellers to get employment in the industry at a time when he most needed the work . Despite Sellers 's deep personal problems , '' The Pink Panther Strikes Again '' was well received critically . Vincent Canby of '' The New York Times '' said of Sellers in the film , " There is , too , something most winningly seedy about Mr. Sellers ' Clouseau , a fellow who , when he attempts to tear off his clothes in the heat of passion , gets tangled up in his necktie , and who , when he masquerades — for reasons never gone into — as Quasimodo , overinflates his hump with helium . " Sellers 's performance earned him a further nomination at the 34th Golden Globe Awards
34th Golden Globe Awards
34th Golden Globe Awards
Peter Sellers