Blake Edwards of Pink Panther fame dies

This week saw the sad demise of Blake Edwards, the director responsible for The Pink Panther and Breakfast at Tiffany's, amongst other things. Edwards died after experiencing complications with pneumonia, and he passed away at St John's Health Centre in Santa Monica, having been in hospital for around two weeks.

Blake's wife is actress Julie Andrews, star of movies such as The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, and following his death she spoke about how much she would miss her soul mate. Andrews said: "He was the most unique man I have ever known-and he was my mate. He will be missed beyond words, and will forever be in my heart."

Known for his wit and dialogue, Blake had been working on a number of projects before he died, and this included a Broadway musical that was based on the Pink Panther movies. He worked with many world famous faces including Audrey Hepburn, Jack Lemmon, Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, and Peter Sellers.

He also worked with actor Robert Wagner, who spoke affectionately about the director, adding that he was given many opportunities to develop his career by Blake. Wagner said: "There won't be anybody passing by like him again. He was a genius. Personally, we were so very close friends and he was so kind to me throughout my entire life."

Even movie star Steve Martin tweeted about the passing of Edward Blake, stating that he was sad to hear the news as Blake was one of the icons that had made Martin fall in love with comedy in the first place.