The Magic Christian (novel) The Magic Christian (novel) The Magic Christian is a 1959 comic novel by American author Terry Southern (1924–1995) about an odd billionaire who spends most of his time playing elaborate practical jokes on people. It is known for bringing Southern to the attention of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, who had received a copy as a gift from Peter Sellers, and subsequently hired him as co-writer for "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) when Kubrick decided to make that film a black comedy/satire, rather than a straightforward thriller. In 1969, "The Magic Christian" was made into a film starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr; the
Peter Sellers Snowdon shared a love of women, photography, fine wine and fast cars with Sellers; both were also prone to bouts of depression. They spent many weekends together with their wives and went on several holidays on board Sellers's yacht "Bobo" in Sardinia. On 20 January 1965, Sellers and Ekland announced the birth of a daughter, Victoria. They moved to Rome in May to film "After the Fox", an Anglo-Italian production in which they were both to appear. The film was directed by Vittorio De Sica, whose English Sellers struggled to understand. Sellers attempted to have De Sica fired, causing tensions