It took Peter Sellers nearly nine years to get this movie made by a studio, mainly because by the 1970s Sellers' career had hit rock bottom and no studio in Hollywood would work with him. After the revival (and success) of the Pink Panther movies, Lorimar Pictures finally greenlit the project.
Peter Sellers was nominated for the Oscar® for Best Actor. Some said the reason Sellers lost was because of the outtakes at the end as the credits are rolling. Sellers himself later said the outtakes "broke the spell" of the movie.
Despite Peter Sellers' repeated requests, the producers would not remove the outtakes from the version they submitted to Cannes.
Peter Sellers prepared for the role of Chance by recording his voice over and over again, experimenting with different styles and tones. He chose a deliberately blank style to convey the character.