Of all of the bumbling personas ever created for the big screen, there has perhaps never been one as beloved as French Inspector Jacques Clouseau, a detective so inept that it is a wonder he ever managed to solve a case. His on-screen antics redefined slapstick in a way few had since Chaplin a half-century earlier, thanks to the comic genius of a man named Peter Sellers. A British comedian, who had made his mark in films such as Dr. Strangelove and The Mouse That Roared, Sellers would forever be adored as the bumbling inspector for the rest of his life.

He first donned his signature beige overcoat in 1963’s The Pink Panther, a film in which, surprising as it may seem now, he wasn’t the star. Rather, the story focused on Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven,) a dashing playboy and cunning jewel thief. His prey is the giant diamond of immeasurable wealth known as The Pink Panther. He travels to an Italian ski resort and begins romancing the lovely Princess Dala who is in possession of the gargantuan gem. The only person who can foil his plot is a French detective named Clouseau, who is in hot pursuit of someone he only knows as “The Phantom.”

Sir Charles is undaunted at first. For one thing, he is carrying on an affair on the side with Clouseau’s estranged wife, Simone and this allows him to stay informed of Clouseau’s whereabouts. Second, his pursuer is no Sherlock Holmes. Clouseau redefines the word “inept” – stumbling around, clumsily destroying any inanimate object within arm’s reach, and speaking in an almost decipherable accent. But, through all of the tripping, all of the breaking objects, Clouseau miraculously still manages to get his man.

When the film debuted, it was clear immediately that Sellers had stolen the film with his mastery of physical comedy that adored him to audiences of all ages. Also making the film memorable was a toe-tapping theme song by Henry Mancini, with its trademark sax melody, and an amusing animated sequence for the opening credits that featured a Pink Panther paired with a caricature of Inspector Clouseau that perfectly set the mood for what was ahead. The film was an international blockbuster and the opening cartoon sequence would spawn a Saturday morning animated series. The Pink Panther had left its mark and that could only mean one thing – a sequel.

Clouseau’s adventures would continue in 1964 with A Shot in the Dark. This time around, Clouseau is summoned to the villa of a wealthy man named Benjamin Ballon, to investigate the homicide of his driver. Everyone is convinced that the lovely maid Maria did the deadly deed, except for the bumbling Inspector, who sets out to prove her innocence. Along the way, his many memorable and hilarious moments include infiltrating a nudist colony to gather clues.

 Appearing alongside Clouseau in A Shot in the Dark were a number of characters that would become regulars in the many sequels that would eventually follow. One such cohort was a servant that Clouseau hired named Kato, whose job was to launch surprise attacks on his boss at every opportunity to keep his fighting skills honed. And then there was his poor boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus, a man slowly being driven insane by the incompetence of Clouseau.

Director Blake Edwards had another hit on his hands with A Shot in the Dark. With a masterful combination of physical and verbal comedy styles, it would set the standards for screen comedies of the future. And yet, at the time at least, it seemed that this would be the end of the magical pairing of Edwards and Sellers, who both decided to move on to other projects. Then, almost a decade later, the two joined formidable forces again for the next film, The Return of the Pink Panther.

Released in 1974, this sequel finds Clouseau back on the trail of the Pink Panther diamond, which has been stolen from its supposedly secure surroundings. Clouseau suspects that Sir Charles is up to his old tricks again and sets out with a series of disguises, most memorably a pool cleaner and a telephone repairman, to solve the mystery of the missing diamond. And along the way, he manages to drive his boss Dreyfus closer to the edge of insanity.

Another box-office success, it was clear that there was plenty of life in the Pink Panther franchise and another sequel would follow two years later called The Pink Panther Strikes Again. This time, we find Dreyfus incarcerated in a mental institution, as he desperately tries to convince his keepers that he has found his wits again and is safe to return to society. All seems to be going well until a visit from the bumbling Clouseau sends him back to insanity. He promptly breaks out from the facility and proceeds to end his problems once and for all.

Holed up in a secluded castle, he kidnaps a scientist and his daughter and forces the old man to create a doomsday machine. He then broadcasts on televisions around the world that he will destroy the United Nations building unless the world gets together and kills Clouseau. Nations around the world dispatch their top assassins to hunt a completely oblivious Clouseau, who is busy with such tasks as fending off increasing attacks from his faithful servant, Kato. After numerous failed assassination attempts on the Inspector, he sets out to find Dreyfus, arriving at the castle disguised as a dentist who had been summoned to help Dreyfus with a painful tooth. The results of this meeting are one of the funniest ever captured on film and lead to a fantastical conclusion in which the fate of the world is in the hands of Inspector Clouseau.

After the continued success of the latest film, it was time to shoot another – the last the Sellers would appear in (sort of) called Revenge of the Pink Panther. In this 1978 offering, Clouseau is the target of a French gangster named Philippe Duvalier, who orders a bomb planted in the Inspector’s car to rid the world once and for all of the inept but dangerous Clouseau. The plot is unsuccessful, thanks to a car thief who steals the incendiary auto from Clouseau, but the world doesn’t know that, thinking he has been killed. While the world pays tribute to the late great Inspector, he sets out covertly to solve the crime, with the help of trusted manservant Kato and Duvalier’s disgruntled secretary (played b a young Dyan Cannon.) The trio ends up in Hong Kong, with Clouseau donning a Godfather disguise and leads to an impressive slapstick finale involving a fireworks factory.

After so many successful films under their belt, it was a no-brainer to keep the franchise going. Those plans would be sadly interrupted and forever altered when Peter Sellers suffered a fatal heart attack in 1980. Two years later, The Trail of the Pink Panther was released. This time around, Inspector Clouseau sets out to find the elusive diamond again, then mysteriously vanishes. All of this was accomplished through the use of previously unused footage of Sellers, combined with classic scenes that were used as a retrospective of the Inspector’s life.

Less successful than its predecessors, the film still managed to spawn yet another sequel, The Curse of the Pink Panther. This time around, producers replaced Sellers with actor, Clifton Sleigh. Even with the return of the other cast regulars, the film didn’t do very well. It just couldn’t be the same without Peter Sellers. The next time a sequel was tried, rather than try to recast Clouseau yet again, filmmakers decided to star a successful Italian comedic film star, Robert Benigni, as Clouseau’s illegitimate son in The Son of the Pink Panther. Audiences didn’t buy the premise and the film did dismally at the box-office. It would seem that, at long last, the Pink Panther franchise was done.

Not so fast though. In 2006, the franchise was re-launched, this time starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau and Kevin Kline in the role of Dreyfus. Rather than a remake, this was an all-new contemporary adventure, with the hopes of introducing the characters to a whole new generation of fans. The Pink Panther debuted at #1 at the box-office and was successful enough to green-light it’s own sequel, The Pink Panther Duex, scheduled for a 2009 release.

And yet, no matter how successful the new films may be, and despite the considerable talents of Steve Martin, even he would understand that for the millions of people who grew up laughing at the antics of Peter Sellers, there will always be only one Inspector Jacques Clouseau – perhaps the most beloved bumbler to ever grace the film screen.