Inspector Clouseau of the character. The film also introduces two of the series regular characters: his superior, Commissioner Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), who is driven mad by Clouseau's blundering of the investigation; and his long-suffering Chinese man servant, Cato (Burt Kwouk), who is expected to improve Clouseau's martial arts skills by attacking him at random. Sellers stepped away from playing the character following this movie, but returned in "The Return of the Pink Panther" (1975) and its sequels. When the character returned for the film "Inspector Clouseau" (1968), he was portrayed by American actor Alan Arkin; Edwards was not involved in this production.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again success. During the film's title sequence, there are references to television's "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Batman", also the films "King Kong", "The Sound of Music" (which starred Blake Edwards's wife, Julie Andrews), "Dracula A.D. 1972", "Singin' in the Rain", "Steamboat Bill, Jr." and "Sweet Charity", putting the Pink Panther character and the animated persona of Inspector Clouseau into recognizable events from said movies. There is also a reference to "Jaws" in the ending credits sequence. The scene in which Clouseau impersonates a dentist and the use of laughing gas and pulling the wrong tooth are clearly inspired by Bob Hope