Blake Edwards dies; filmmaker directed 'The Pink Panther,' 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'

Blake Edwards, the writer and director of "The Pink Panther" and one of the most prolific comedy filmmakers of the 1960s and '70s, has died.

Edwards, 88, died early Thursday (Dec. 16), Variety reports.

Edwards is probably best known for the "Pink Panther" series of films he made with Peter Sellers, but he also directed "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "10," "The Party" and "Victor/Victoria," among many others. Aside from "Breakfast at Tiffany's," which was written by George Axelrod, he also penned the screenplays for those films and most of the other movies he directed.

He was nominated for an Oscar in 1983 for his "Victor/Victoria" screenplay, and the academy gave him an honorary Oscar in 2004.

Edwards started his career writing scripts for radio dramas and wrote a number of screenplays before making his directing debut on the TV series "Four Star Playhouse" in 1954. He also created the private-eye series "Peter Gunn" in 1958.

His other film credits include "Days of Wine and Roses," "The Great Race," "S.O.B.," "Micki + Maude" and "Skin Deep."

Edwards has been married to Julie Andrews (pictured above with Edwards in 2004) -- who starred in several of his films and was an Oscar nominee herself for "Victor/Victoria" -- since 1969. They adopted two children together and have three other children from previous marriages.

Here's a collection of scenes from "A Shot in the Dark," arguably the best of the "Pink Panther" movies.