Blake Edwards dies

By April MacIntyre Dec 16, 2010, 18:59 GMT

Writer-director Blake Edwards died at his home surrounded by his family today at age 88.

Blake's masterpieces in film included "The Pink Panther" films and cultural marker, "10" starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek.

Edwards' style of filmmaking was honed with the "Pink Panther" films, a series that celebrated the bumbling French detective Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers).

Male mid-life crisis was the premise of his famous "10."  This was Edwards' biggest box office success. Also of note were his films, Hollywood satire "S.O.B.," and his wife Julie Anfdrews' scene stealing moments in "Victor/Victoria," plus "Switch" and "Skin Deep."

A native of Tulsa, Okla., Edwards moved to Los Angeles and raised by his mother and his step-father Jack McEdward, a Hollywood production manager. According to Reuters, he did not meet his biological father until he was 40. 

Edwards' TV series "Peter Gunn," established him in Hollywood. Edwards cinematic major break happened when John Frankenheimer dropped out of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and Audrey Hepburn consented to him as her director. 

Edwards was married twice.  In 1969, he married Julie Andrews and the couple adopted two Vietnamese orphans Amy Leigh and Joanna Lynn.