Born July 26, 1922, in Tulsa, Okla., Blake Edwards was the grandson of silent-film director J. Gordon Edwards but chose to start out as an actor. He turned his attentions off-camera in the 1950s, penning screenplays and directing a trio of cinematic successes with Operation Petticoat (1959), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and Days of Wine and Roses (1963) before co-writing and helming the first of many Pink Panther comedies.

Edwards's marriage to Julie Andrews would color much of his later career, and he directed her in Darling Lili (1970), The Tamarind Seed (1974) and Victor/Victoria (1982), which earned eight Oscar nominations. In between, he also helmed the box-office hit 10 (1979).

In 1995, Edwards adapted Victor/Victoria for Broadway, a show that earned his wife a Tony nod but left him empty-handed -- till he received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2004. He died Dec. 15, 2010, from complications of pneumonia.