History Trivia / ThePinkPanther

* ''Trivia/ThePinkPanther2006''

* ActorAlusion: In the 2006 remake, Creator/CliveOwen plays 006. Clouseau asks him if he wasn't good enough to be 007. Clive Owen was at one point considered for the role of Film/JamesBond.

!![[Franchise/ThePinkPanther The films]]
Entries in this franchise with their own Trivia pages:

* ActorAllusion:
** In ''Strikes Again'', Dreyfus is fond of playing the pipe organ a la ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''. Herbert Lom, who played Dreyfus, played the titular Phantom in [[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1962 a 1962 film adaptation]].
** In the 2006 remake, Creator/CliveOwen plays 006. Clouseau asks him if he wasn't good enough to be 007. Clive Owen was at one point considered for the role of Film/JamesBond.
* AFIS100YearsSeries:
** AFIS100Years100Laughs: #48
** AFIS100YearsOfFilmScores: #20

* CaliforniaDoubling: While the other films were shot on location, ''A Shot in the Dark'' was done at Creator/{{MGM}}'s British studio in Boreham Wood. The scene where Clouseau enters a room only to land in the Seine is hardly convincing, but it's actually a large tank filled with more than 100,000 gallons of water.

** Herbert Lom (Commissioner Dreyfus) and Graham Stark (several roles) are also Eastern-European and British respectively. Sellers and Lom already co-acted together in "The Ladykillers"
** Italian Maria Gambrelli in "A Shot in the Dark" was played by German Elke Sommer.

* FranchiseZombie: ''Revenge'' was commissioned by Creator/UnitedArtists when they didn't have a big film planned for summer 1978.

* MissingEpisode: Until June 2017, no boxset has included ''Return'', due to Universal owning the distribution rights at the time. They were all available, but [[Creator/ShoutFactory Shout! Factory's]] release of all the Sellers films marks the first time they've been together, as apparently MGM was able to get the full US distribution rights to ''Return'' back from Universal within the past couple years, whereas before, they only held digital distribution rights. Universal still holds UK distribution rights, however, with a UK Blu-ray licensed to and released by British label Fabulous Films.

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: The animated title sequences usually had a theme relating to the film's plot, however many fans have noted that the opening sequence for ''Strikes Again'' feels like it's own short film, and doesn't connect with the actual movie's story (it involves Clouseau trying to catch the panther in a movie theater, and the two being transported into the screen). The director of the sequence, Tony White, explained once that, for unknown reasons, Creator/BlakeEdwards never sent Creator/RichardWilliams Studio a copy of the script to draw inspiration from, thus they had to create their own ideas independently.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: In ''Strikes Again'' The insane man who breaks into the television broadcast is identified through a photograph someone took off a TV screen.

** Creator/SophiaLoren and Creator/WalterMatthau were considered for ''Shot'' (Matthau had appeared in the stage play the film became an InNameOnly adaptation of) but were replaced when Creator/BlakeEdwards stepped in.
** The ''Revenge'' shoot in Hong Kong was almost derailed by monsoon season; the threat of the rain keeping up had Creator/BlakeEdwards having his assistants check up on Rio de Janeiro as an alternative location.
** The Le Club Phut sequence in ''Revenge'' originally had Clouseau and Cato masquerading as ''black'' clubgoers, [[FunnyAfro funny Afros and all]]. However, Creator/PeterSellers and Creator/BlakeEdwards's increasingly strained working relationship got in the way and they warred over how they would pull it off; ultimately the sequence had to be scrapped and substituted with the simpler sequence of the two trying to spy on the club from outside. Other candidates included Creator/JohnCleese, Creator/DudleyMoore and Creator/JohnRitter.

** Creator/BlakeEdwards wanted to cast Creator/RowanAtkinson as Clifton Sleigh in ''Curse'', but Creator/UnitedArtists (an American studio) didn't think he was enough of a "name".
** Creator/RowanAtkinson, Creator/TimCurry, Creator/GerardDepardieu, and Creator/KevinKline (who eventually played Dreyfus in the 2006 reboot) were considered to star in ''Son of the Pink Panther''.
** With regards to the 2006 reboot, potential Clouseaus included Creator/KevinSpacey, Creator/ChrisTucker, and Creator/MikeMyers. Myers was the most sought-after, but his asking fee was too high.
** In the early stages, Creator/PaulGiamatti was considered for the role of Dreyfus in the reboot, and there were even plans for a RunningGag that would have had the Pink Panther animated character worked into the actual story by having him appear as Dreyfus's madness-induced hallucinations.
** Plans to incorporate Cato into the reboot were scrapped when the filmmakers couldn't get Creator/JackieChan for the role.
** The reboot originally had a stylized title sequence where the Panther was animated with CGI. It was dropped and was replaced with a traditionally animated opening with the Panther and Clouseau.
** Early press releases for the reboot stated Creator/SteveMartin was going to play an older version of Clouseau's son. It's unknown if these were just [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer misinformed sources]], or if that was in fact the original plan.

** In ''Strikes Again'', Dreyfus is fond of playing the pipe organ a la ''The Phantom of the Opera''. Herbert Lom, who played Dreyfus, played the titular Phantom in a 1962 film adaptation.
** In the 2006 remake, Clive Owen plays 006. Clouseau asks him if he wasn't good enough to be 007. Clive Owen was at one point considered for the role of Film/JamesBond.
* AFIS100Years100Laughs: #48
* AFIS100YearsOfFilmScores: #20

* CaliforniaDoubling: While the other films were shot on location, ''A Shot in the Dark'' was done at MGM's British studio in Boreham Wood. The scene where Clouseau enters a room only to land in the Seine is hardly convincing, but it's actually a large tank filled with more than 100,000 gallons of water.

* FakeNationality: Peter Sellers was an Englishman playing a Frenchman, but beyond this, the character of Clouseau affects several disguises in the course of the series that require him to be various other highly-caricatured nationalities.

* FranchiseZombie: ''Revenge'' was commissioned by United Artists when they didn't have a big film planned for summer 1978.

* IAmNotSpock: Averted with Peter Sellers, David Niven, and Robert Wagner; played straight with most of the others.

* OldShame: Alan Arkin, not surprisingly, considers making ''Inspector Clouseau'' a mistake. He has rarely spoken much about the film in the years since, but one time Arkin did explain why he took up the role. In the late 1960s he was becoming a fairly well-known actor and thought that as a movie actor, he could do whatever role was offered to him, and he could do it easily. He admits that the failure of ''Inspector Clouseau'' [[BreakTheHaughty knocked him off his high horse.]]
* TheOtherDarrin: The Clouseaus besides Sellers, of course, but several other recurring characters were played by different actors from film to film (see the trope entry) in the classic series. In the rebooted series, Kevin Kline played Dreyfus in the first entry, but was replaced with John Cleese in the second.
* SerendipityWritesThePlot: The animated title sequences usually had a theme relating to the film's plot, however many fans have noted that the opening sequence for ''Strikes Again'' feels like it's own short film, and doesn't connect with the actual movie's story (it involves Clouseau trying to catch the panther in a movie theater, and the two being transported into the screen). The director of the sequence, Tony White, explained once that, for unknown reasons, Blake Edwards never sent Richard Williams Studio a copy of the script to draw inspiration from, thus they had to create their own ideas independently.
* StarMakingRole: Peter Sellers was already a huge star in the United Kingdom thanks to ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' and a list of TV and film credits that was already in the double digits, and had made inroads in North America with ''Film/TheMouseThatRoared'' and his work with Creator/StanleyKubrick, but Inspector Clouseau was the role that made him an international success.

** Sophia Loren and Walter Matthau were considered for ''Shot'' (Matthau had appeared in the stage play the film became an InNameOnly adaptation of) but were replaced when Creator/BlakeEdwards stepped in.

** The Le Club Phut sequence in ''Revenge'' originally had Clouseau and Cato masquerading as ''black'' clubgoers, [[FunnyAfro funny Afros and all]]. However, Creator/PeterSellers and Creator/BlakeEdwards's increasingly strained working relationship got in the way and they warred over how they would pull it off; ultimately the sequence had to be scrapped and substituted with the simpler sequence of the two trying to spy on the club from outside.

** Creator/BlakeEdwards wanted to cast Rowan Atkinson as Clifton Sleigh in ''Curse'', but United Artists (an American studio) didn't think he was enough of a "name". He [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_the_Pink_Panther#Production later considered]] casting Atkinson as Clouseau, Jr. in ''Son''; other potential leads included Tim Curry, Creator/GerardDepardieu, and Kevin Kline (who eventually played Dreyfus in the 2006 reboot).
** With regards to the 2006 reboot, potential Clouseaus included Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker, and Mike Myers. Myers was the most sought-after, but his asking fee was too high.
** In the early stages, Paul Giamatti was considered for the role of Dreyfus in the reboot, and there were even plans for a RunningGag that would have had the Pink Panther animated character worked into the actual story by having him appear as Dreyfus's madness-induced hallucinations.

** Early press releases for the reboot stated Steve Martin was going to play an older version of Clouseau's son. It's unknown if these were just [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer misinformed sources]], or if that was in fact the original plan.

** Robert Loggia plays an American gangster in ''Revenge'' and the current head of the French mob in ''Trail'' and ''Curse''.
** Joanna Lumley plays a reporter in ''Trail'' and a countess in ''Curse''.

* MissingEpisode: Until June 2017, no boxset will have included ''Return'', due to Universal owning the distribution rights at the time. They were all available, but [[Creator/ShoutFactory Shout! Factory's]] release of all the Sellers films marks the first time they've been together, as apparently MGM was able to get the full US distribution rights to ''Return'' back from Universal within the past couple years, whereas before, they only held digital distribution rights. Universal still holds UK distribution rights, however, with a UK Blu-ray licensed to and released by British label Fabulous Films.

** For the 1993-95 series, it's available only via dodgy torrent sites [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil in Eastern Europe]]. You could get a DVD at one point, but it was '''only''' of season 1. The complete first season is available on Amazon.de, if nowhere else.

* TheMerch: In an odd example, the Pink Panther character is also the mascot of Owens Corning insulation, leading to weird moments when kids discover the product in home improvement stores.

** In ''Strikes Again'', Dreyfus is fond of playing the pipe organ a la The Phantom of the Opera. Herbert Lom, who played Dreyfus, played the titular Phantom in a 1962 film adaptation.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Available only via dodgy torrent sites [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil in Eastern Europe]], and Kamuz TV's Argentinian-Spanish copies, but '''no official DVD release of all three series exists''' (for this 1993 one). You could get a DVD at one point, but it was '''only''' of Series 1, the 1993 series.
** So it's left to fan petitions, then... for the full series release.
** The complete first season is available on Amazon.de, if nowhere else.

* MissingEpisode: Until April 2017, no boxset will have included ''Return'', due to Universal owning the distribution rights at the time. They were all available, but [[Creator/ShoutFactory Shout! Factory's]] release of all the Sellers films marks the first time they've been together, as apparently MGM was able to get the full US distribution rights to ''Return'' back from Universal within the past couple years, whereas before, they only held digital distribution rights. Universal still holds UK distribution rights, however, with a UK Blu-ray licensed to and released by British label Fabulous Films.

* MissingEpisode: Sort of - MGM/UA doesn't own the home video rights to ''Return'' (currently, Universal/Focus Features does) so while all are available on DVD, there's never been a proper box set of the five "true" Sellers films. MGM is also not allowed to mention ''Return'' in any published material. They do however hold the rights to release it digitally.
** Come April 2017, Creator/ShoutFactory will release a Blu-ray set containing all six Sellers films, including ''Return'' and ''Trail'', as part of their Shout Select line. Whether MGM worked out the rights with Universal for the former, or Shout! licensed it separately from them, is unknown.

** Plans to incorporate Cato into the reboot were scrapped when the filmmakers couldn't get JackieChan for the role.

* {{Composers}}: For the theatrical shorts, Bill Lava composed for every short from 1964 to 1966. He was succeeded by Walter Greene, who only scored a few cartoons before his cues (plus some by Lava) were [[RecycledSoundtrack recycled]] well into the mid 70s. By 1978, an uncredited Steve [=DePatie=] started composing new cues that were used until the series concluded in 1980.

* HeyItsThatGuy:
** Apparently [[Disney/TheLionKing Scar]]/[[Film/DieHardWithAVengeance Simon Gruber]] has taken an interest in fencing and became an instructor in France who trained The Tornado serial thief.
** For the original films: [[DrStrangelove Doctor Strangelove]] / [[BeingThere Chance the Gardener]] / [[TheParty Hrundi V. Bakshi]] as Inspector Clouseau.
* HeyItsThatVoice: Creator/GeorgeSanders, the voice of [[Disney/TheJungleBook Shere Khan]], plays Ballon in ''Shot''.
** Not so much in the actual movie, but in the trailer for ''A Shot in the Dark'', the announcer is a talking cartoon bullet from Clouseau's gun, unmistakably voiced by MelBlanc.

* HeyItsThatVoice:
** The 1993 animated version has the main character voiced by MaxHeadroom.
*** And Creator/DanCastellaneta, aka [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]], as Voodoo Man and others.
*** Wallace Shawn as the Little Man.
** The Ant and the Aardvark, who appeared in supporting cartoons and bumpers on the 1970 ''Pink Panther'', were voiced by comedian John Byner. The voices of the Ant and Aardvark [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed closely resembled]] those of Music/DeanMartin and Jackie Mason, respectively.
** The DavidNiven-ish voice of the Panther in 1965's "Pink Ice" was done by impressionist Rich Little.

%%* FranchiseKiller: '''''Three''' times''.

* StarMakingRole: Peter Sellers was already a huge star in the United Kingdom thanks to ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' and a list of TV and film credits that was already in the double digits, and had made inroads in North America with ''TheMouseThatRoared'' and his work with Creator/StanleyKubrick, but Inspector Clouseau was the role that made him an international success.

* FunnyCharacterBoringActor: Creator/PeterSellers.

* FranchiseKiller: '''''Three''' times''.

* FranchiseKiller: '''''Three''' times''.