The Pink Panther The Pink Panther The Pink Panther is a British-American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic "Pink Panther" film in 1963. The role of Clouseau was originated by and is most closely associated with Peter Sellers. Most of the films were written and directed by Blake Edwards, with theme music composed by Henry Mancini. Elements and characters inspired by the films were adapted into other media, including books, comic books and animated series. The first film in the series
John Williams and Henry Mancini. Williams recorded with Henry Mancini the film scores of 1959's "Peter Gunn", 1962's "Days of Wine and Roses", and 1963's "Charade". (Williams actually played the well-recognized opening riff to Mancini's "Peter Gunn" theme.) Williams (sometimes credited as "Johnny Williams", because of the already established actor of the same name) composed music for various television programs in the 1960s: the pilot episode of "Gilligan's Island", "Bachelor Father" (1959–1960), the "Kraft Suspense Theatre", "Lost in Space" (1965–68), "The Time Tunnel" (1966–67), and "Land of the Giants" (the last three created by the prolific TV producer, Irwin Allen). Williams's first