Encyclopedia
John Marwood Cleese is an
English comedian and
actor best known for being one of the members of the comedy group
Monty Python and for co-writing the TV series
Fawlty Towers was a British sitcom [i] made by the BBC [i] and first broadcast on BBC2 [i] i...
in which he played
Basil Fawlty.
He won the TV Times award for Funniest Man On TV - 1978 / 1979.
Biography
John Cleese was born in
Weston-super-Mare,
Somerset,
England to Reginald Francis Cleese and Muriel Cross. His family's surname was previously "Cheese", but his father, an insurance salesman, changed his surname to "Cleese" upon joining the
army in 1915
As a boy, Cleese was educated at
Clifton College in
Bristol, from which he was expelled for a humorous defacing of school grounds: he used painted footsteps to suggest that the school's statue of Field Marshal
Earl Douglas Haig had got down from his plinth and gone to the toilet. His talent for comedy progressed with his membership of the
Cambridge Footlights Revue while he was studying for a law degree at
Downing College at the
University of Cambridge. Here he met his future writing partner
Graham Chapman. As Cleese's comic reputation flourished, he was soon offered a position as a writer with
BBC Radio, working on, among others, sketches for
The Dick Emery Show. The success of the Footlights Revue led to the recording of a short series of half-hour radio programmes, called
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a long-running BBC [i] radio comedy [i] programme that originall ...
. He then joined the Cambridge Revue,
Cambridge Circus, for a tour of
New Zealand and
Broadway, and decided to stay on in America performing on and off-Broadway, including in the musical
Half a Sixpence is a musical comedy [i], written as a vehicle for British [i]...
. It was during this time he met future Python
Terry Gilliam and his future wife, American actress
Connie Booth, whom he married on February 20 1968. After his return to England, he started performing as a cast member of the highly successful BBC Radio show
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a long-running BBC [i] radio comedy [i] programme that originall ...
, which ran from 1965 to 1974. His fellow cast members were
Tim Brooke-Taylor,
Graeme Garden,
Bill Oddie, David Hatch and Jo Kendall.
On his return to
London in 1965, Cleese and Chapman began writing on
The Frost Report, an important landmark in satire and British Comedy in the 1960s. The writing staff chosen for
The Frost Report were, in many ways, the finest comedy minds of the 1960s United Kingdom, consisting of many writers and performers who would go on to make names for themselves in comedy. They included future
Goodies Bill Oddie and
Tim Brooke-Taylor, and also Frank Muir, Barry Cryer,
Marty Feldman,
Ronnie Barker,
Ronnie Corbett, Dick Vosburgh and future Python members
Eric Idle,
Terry Jones and
Michael Palin. It was whilst working on
The Frost Report, in fact, that the future Pythons developed their unique writing styles that would become so significant later. Cleese and Chapman's sketches often involved authority figures . Terry Jones and Michael Palin were both infatuated with filmed scenes that open with idyllic countryside panoramas. Eric Idle was one of those charged with writing David Frost's monologue. It was during this period that Cleese met and befriended influential British comedian
Peter Cook.
Such was the popularity of the series that, in 1966, John Cleese and Graham Chapman were invited to work as writers and performers with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Marty Feldman on
At Last the 1948 Show was a satirical [i] TV show made by David Frost's Paradine Productions ...
, during which time the
Four Yorkshiremen sketch was written by all four writers/performers . John Cleese and Graham Chapman also wrote episodes of
Doctor in the House. These series were successful and, in 1969, Cleese and Chapman were offered their very own series. However, due to Chapman's alcoholism, Cleese found himself bearing an increasing workload in the partnership and was therefore unenthusiastic about doing a series with just the two of them. He had found working with Michael Palin on
The Frost Report an enjoyable experience, and invited him to join the series. Palin had previously been working on
Do Not Adjust Your Set was a children's television series [i] produced originall ...
, with Eric Idle and Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam doing animations. The four of them had, on the back of the success of
Do Not Adjust Your Set, been offered a series for
ITV, which they were waiting to begin when Cleese's offer arrived. Palin agreed to work with Cleese and Chapman in the mean time, bringing with him Gilliam, Jones and Idle. This union led to the creation of Monty Python. Many have suggested that this important landmark in comedy was brought about by Cleese's desire to work with Palin, who Cleese has maintained is his favourite Python to work with.
Monty Python's Flying Circus ran for four series from October 1969 to December 1974 on BBC. Cleese is particularly remembered for the "Cheese Shop", "
The Ministry of Silly Walks", and "
Dead Parrot" sketches. Though the programme lasted four series, by the start of series 3, Cleese — who was probably the most experienced and well known member of the group, was beginning to find working with Chapman an unfair strain and that the show's scripts were gradually declining in quality — began to become agitated, wanting to move on. Though he stayed for the third series, he did not appear in the fourth series, and received only a minor writing credit. Cleese returned to the troupe to co-write and co-star in the Monty Python films
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a comedy [i] film released in 1975 [i]....
,
Life of Brian and
The Meaning of Life.
In 1971, Connie Booth gave birth to Cynthia Cleese, their only child.
Having left Python, Cleese went on to achieve possibly greater success in the
United Kingdom as the awful hotel manager Basil Fawlty in
Fawlty Towers was a British sitcom [i] made by the BBC [i] and first broadcast on BBC2 [i] i...
, which he co-wrote with
Connie Booth. The series won widespread critical acclaim and is still considered one of the finest examples of British comedy. The series also featured
Andrew Sachs as the much abused Spanish waiter Manuel ,
Prunella Scales as Basil's fire-breathing dragon of a wife Sybil, and Booth as waitress Polly. Cleese based Basil Fawlty on a real character, Donald Sinclair, whom he encountered when he and the rest of the Monty Python team were staying at the Gleneagles hotel in
Torquay whilst filming
Monty Python's Flying Circus. During the Pythons' stay, Sinclair threw Eric Idle's briefcase out of the hotel "in case it contained a bomb", complained about Terry Gilliam's "American" table manners, and threw a bus timetable at another guest after they dared to ask the time of the next bus to town. The series portrayed stereotypical British attitudes towards sex,
death, complaining, violence towards employees and unhappy marriages, often simultaneously embodied in Cleese's madcap physical performances. The first series began on 19 September 1975, and whilst not an instant hit, soon gained momentum. However, the second series did not appear until 1979, during which time Cleese's marriage to Booth had broken down. Despite this the two reprised their writing and performing roles in the second series.
Fawlty Towers consisted of only twelve episodes. Cleese and Booth both maintain that this was to prevent a gradual decline in the quality of the series.
In 1978 Cleese appeared as guest star on
The Muppet Show. Instead of singing along, he showed up a pretend album, his own new vocal record "John Cleese: A Man & His Music", and finally strangled Kermit the frog.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Cleese focused on film, though he did work with Peter Cook in his one-off TV special
Peter Cook and Co. in 1980. He also rejoined the Pythons for
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl , and starred in
The Secret Policeman's Ball for
Amnesty International. He married Barbara Trentham on 15 February 1981. Their daughter Camilla was born 1984.
In 1988 he wrote and starred in
A Fish Called Wanda is a comedy film [i] released in 1988 [i] by MGM [i]. ...
, as the lead, Archie Leach, along with
Jamie Lee Curtis,
Kevin Kline and fellow python
Michael Palin.
Wanda became the most successful British film ever, and Cleese was nominated for an
Academy Award for his script. Cynthia Cleese starred as Leach's daughter.
However, his marriage was in trouble and in 1990 he and Trentham divorced. On 28 December 1992 he married Alyce Faye Eichelberger, his third
blonde American actress wife.
Cleese gave a stirring eulogy at Graham Chapman's memorial service, in which he "became the first person ever at a British memorial service to say 'fuck'". Many considered this to be the perfect tribute to his friend and comedic partner.
Cleese also produced and acted in a number of successful business training films, including
Meetings, Bloody Meetings and
More Bloody Meetings about how to set up and run successful meetings. These were produced by his company Video Arts.
With Robin Skynner, Cleese wrote two
books on relationships:
Families and how to survive them, and
Life and how to survive it. The books are presented as a dialogue between Skynner and Cleese.
In 1996, Cleese declined the British honour of Commander of the
Order of the British Empire . Cleese has been a strong supporter of the UK
Liberal Democrats, and it is believed his refusal was politically motivated.
In 1999, Cleese appeared in the
James Bond movie,
The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth official James Bond [i] film [i] made by EON Productions [i] ...
as
Q's assistant, ironically referred to by Bond as
R. In 2002, when Cleese reprised his role in
Die Another Day is the twentieth James Bond [i] film [i] made by EON Productions [i] and the fourth ...
, the character was promoted, making Cleese the new quartermaster of MI6. Cleese is confirmed not to be reprising his role of either Q or R in the newest James Bond film,
Casino Royale is the first James Bond [i] novel by author Ian Fleming [i]....
, where
Daniel Craig replaces
Pierce Brosnan in the leading role.
He is currently an
Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at
Cornell University, his term having been extended until 2006. Although he makes occasional, well-received appearances on the Cornell campus, he lives in the town of
Montecito, California. He has also been appointed a Provost's Visiting Professor through 2009.
From 1970 to 1973 Cleese was rector of the
University of St Andrews.
In a 2005 poll of comedians and comedy insiders
The Comedian's Comedian, Cleese's peers showed their appreciation of his talent when he was voted second only to
Peter Cook. Also in 2005, a long-standing piece of internet humor, "The Revocation of Independence", was wrongly attributed to Cleese.
John Cleese recently lent his voice to the BioWare video game
Jade Empire is an epic action RPG [i] developed by Canadian [i] de ...
. His role was that of an "outlander" named Sir Roderick Ponce von Fontlebottom the Magnificent Bastard, stranded in the Imperial City of the Jade Empire. His character is essentially a British colonialist stereotype who refers to the people of the Jade Empire as a lot of savages in need of enlightenment. While perhaps a small role in John Cleese's respect, such lines as "half of you can't even grow a decent moustache" and "your idea of honour is outdated, too. . PERCIVAL! My towel" were a welcome touch of humour.
He also had a cameo appearance in the computer game
Starship Titanic is a computer game [i] designed by Douglas Adams [i] and made by The Digital Village [i]...
as "The Bomb" , written by
Douglas Adams. When the bomb is activated it tells you that, "The ship is now armed and preparing to explode. This will be a fairly large explosion, so you'd best keep back about 22 miles.", and in attempting to disarm it, "Well, you can try that, but it won't work because
nobody likes a smartarse!".
In 2003, John also appeared as Lyle Finster in long-running US sitcom
Will & Grace was a popular Emmy Award [i]-winning American [i] television situation comedy [i]...
. His character eventually ended up having a short-lived marriage to Karen and was Lorraine's father.
In 2004, Cleese was credited as co-writer of a
DC Comics graphic novel entitled
. Part of DC's "
Elseworlds" line of imaginary stories,
True Brit, mostly written by Kim Howard Johnson, suggests what might have happened had
Superman's rocket ship landed in Britain, not America.
From 10 November to 9 December 2005, Cleese toured
New Zealand with his stage show 'John Cleese — His Life, Times and Current Medical Problems'. Cleese described it as "a one-man show with several people in it, which pushes the envelope of acceptable behaviour in new and disgusting ways." The show was developed in
New York with William Goldman and includes Cleese's daughter Camilla Cleese as a writer and actor John's assistant of many years, Garry Scott-Irvine, also appeared, and was listed as a co-producer. It then played in universities in California and Arizona from 10 January to 25 March 2006 under the title "Seven Ways to Skin an Ocelot"
In June 2006, Cleese appears to have claimed that he decided to retire from performing in sitcoms, instead opting to writing a book on the history of comedy and tutoring young comedians.
This was an erroneous story, the result of an iterview with the Times of London .
In 2007 John will be spending time reading, thinking about his own writing projects, and trying to grow a decent tomato.
Just For Laughs 2006
John Cleese's most recent live comedic performance was at the 2006
Just For Laughs festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Just for Laughs comedy festival is a yearly event that gathers some of the world's best comics. John Cleese was host for one of the galas and performed sketches very reminiscent to his Monty Python days. His first sketch was him performing his own eulogy as he promised to kill himself as the grand finale, remarking "Top that
Jason Alexander...you bastard." The second sketch was him as the judge of 'Cleese Idol', where contestants from Montreal would be performing his skits, so he could find his successor. He shot the last contestant as well as the special guest host, Ben Mulroney . The gala ended with his '
execution', where he asked people to choose the method of execution by
text messaging a number . The choices were stoning,
electric chair,
firing squad,
hanging and
guillotine. The guillotine won, and John Cleese was beheaded just as he was about to say something to the crowd.
Radio credits
Television credits
- The Frost Report
- Frost on Sunday
- At Last the 1948 Show was a satirical [i] TV show made by David Frost's Paradine Productions ...
- The Avengers
- The Goodies are a trio of British [i] comedians , who created, wrote, and starred in...
. - Doctor Who is a long-running British [i] science fiction television [i] ...
- How to Irritate People is a 1968 television [i] mockumentary [i] written by John Cleese [i]. ...
with Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Connie Booth and Tim Brooke-Taylor - Monty Python's Flying Circus
- Fawlty Towers was a British sitcom [i] made by the BBC [i] and first broadcast on BBC2 [i] i...
- The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy [i] by William Shakespeare [i]. ...
, as Petruchio - Cheers was a long-running American [i] situation comedy [i] produced ...
, he won an Emmy for best actor in a guest starring role . - 3rd Rock from the Sun was an American [i] television [i] sitcom [i] t ...
as recurring character Dr. Liam Neesam. - as Red
- Will & Grace was a popular Emmy Award [i]-winning American [i] television situation comedy [i]...
as recurring character Lyle Finster. - Monty Python's Flying Circus, John Cleese's Personal Best
- Numerous commercials, including for supermarket chain Sainsbury's, snack firm Planters and a British government Stop Smoking campaign
- Party political broadcasts for the Liberal Democrats and predecessor, the SDP-Liberal Alliance
Filmography
- The Magic Christian is a 1959 comic novel [i] by U.S. [i] author Terry Southern [i]. ...
- The Best House in London
- The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
- Romance with a Double Bass
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a comedy [i] film released in 1975 [i]....
- Meetings, Bloody Meetings
- The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It
- The Life of Brian
- The Secret Policeman's Ball
- The Great Muppet Caper is the second of a series of live-action [i] musical [i] feature films [i] ...
- Time Bandits
- Privates on Parade
- Yellowbeard is a 1983 comedy film [i], that was co-written and acted by Monty Python [i] member Graham Chapman [i] ...
- Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
- Silverado is an American [i] Western [i] feature film [i], first released on J ...
- Clockwise
- A Fish Called Wanda is a comedy film [i] released in 1988 [i] by MGM [i]. ...
- Erik the Viking
- Bullseye!
- Splitting Heirs
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
- Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book
- The Swan Princess
- The Wind in the Willows
- Fierce Creatures is a 1997 [i] comedy film [i], John Cleese [i] and company's follow-up to the widel ...
- George of the Jungle
- The Out-of-Towners
- The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth official James Bond [i] film [i] made by EON Productions [i] ...
- Quantum Project
- Rat Race
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first volume in a planned series of seven book [i]s...
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling [i], is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone [i] ...
- Die Another Day is the twentieth James Bond [i] film [i] made by EON Productions [i] and the fourth ...
- Shrek 2 is the 2004 [i] sequel [i] to the 2001 [i] computer-animated [i] ...
- Around the World in 80 Days
- Valiant
- Charlotte's Web is a children's book [i] by acclaimed American author E. B. White [i] ...
- Shrek 3 is a film planned for release on May 18 [i], 2007 [i]. ...
- Crood Awakening Voice
Video game credits- Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time 7th Level
- Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail 7th Level
- Monty Python's The Meaning of Life Panasonic
- Starship Titanic is a computer game [i] designed by Douglas Adams [i] and made by The Digital Village [i]...
Simon & Schuster Interactive — - 007 Racing is a racing game [i] based on the James Bond [i] licence. ...
Electronic Arts - The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth official James Bond [i] film [i] made by EON Productions [i] ...
Electronic Arts - Everything or Nothing Electronic Arts
- Atari
- Jade Empire is an epic action RPG [i] developed by Canadian [i] de ...
Bioware
Bibliography
- The Rectorial Address of John Cleese, Epam, 1971, 8 pages
Scripts
- The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation As We Know It, w/Jack Hobbs & Joseph McGrath, 1977 ISBN 0-352-30109-0
- Fawlty Towers, w/Connie Booth, 1977 ISBN 0-8600-7598-2
- Fawlty Towers: Book 2, w/Connie Booth, 1979
- The Golden Skits of Wing Commander Muriel Volestrangler FRHS & Bar, 1984 ISBN 0-413-41560-0
- The Complete Fawlty Towers, w/Connie Booth, 1988 ISBN 0-413-18390-4 , ISBN 0-679-72127-4
- A Fish Called Wanda: The Screenplay, w/Charles Crichton, 1988 ISBN 1-55783-033-9
- Fawlty's Hotel: Sämtliche Stücke, w/Connie Booth, , Haffmans Verlag AG Zürich, 1995
Dialogues
- Families and How to Survive Them, w/A.Robin Skynner, 1983 ISBN 0-413-52640-2 , ISBN 0-19-520466-2
- Life and How to Survive It, w/A.Robin Skynner 1993 ISBN 0-413-66030-3 , ISBN 0-393-31472-3
Trivia
- He is an avid collector of Flat Eric merchandise.
- In 2003, John Cleese took part in Mike Oldfield's re-release of the original 1973 version of Tubular Bells, in album Tubular Bells 2003 is an album by Mike Oldfield [i], and is a re-recording of the classic album Tubular Bells [i] ...
. He took over the ‘Finale’ part, in which he announced the various instruments eccentrically, from the late Vivian Stanshall. - A species of lemur, Avahi cleesei, has been named in his honour. John Cleese mentioned this in television interviews. Also there is mention of this honour in "The New Scientist" — and John Cleese's response to the honour.
- In the radio series I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a long-running BBC [i] radio comedy [i] programme that originall ...
, Cleese is referred to at the close of every episode as "John Otto Cleese". His real middle name is "Marwood", not "Otto". It appears that John Cleese just liked the name. There were various characters named "Otto" in episodes of "Monty Python's Flying Circus", and there is also an "Otto" in the film "A Fish Called Wanda" . John Cleese's mother once stated that her son called himself "Otto", rather than his second name of "Marwood", but she did not know why he called himself "Otto", or where the name "Otto" came from . - An asteroid, 9618 Johncleese, is named in his honour.
- Cleese recorded the voice of God for Spamalot is a comedic musical [i] "lovingly ripped off from" the film ...
, the musical based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. - Height: 6'4 3/4"
- He claims that he reached 6ft by the age of 12, and then grew to 6ft 5" at 13 and hasn't grown since.
- He supports West Ham United, although he was a Bristol City fan as a boy.
- In an episode of Will & Grace was a popular Emmy Award [i]-winning American [i] television situation comedy [i]...
, he referred to the maid character, Rosario, as Manuel, a homage to his previous television show Fawlty Towers. - The Human League have an instrumental track entitled "John Cleese; Is He Funny" on their 1995 album Octopus.
- He took a shot in comic books when he wrote , an Elseworlds DC Comics title.
- Cleese narrated the audio version of C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters.
- In the late-1990s Cleese appeared in commercials for the UK supermarket chain Sainsburys.
- He has enunciated a very welcome set of directions for the TomTom in-car navigation system. This allows itself humorous notes at non-critical moments, for instance when asking for a U-turn and when signing off: "I'm not going to carry your baggage - from now on, you're on your own"
- He appeared in a cameo in the Doctor Who is a long-running British [i] science fiction television [i] ...
episode "City of Death", as an art lover in the Louvre mistaking the TARDIS as one of the exhibits. His character eventually watches The Doctor and Romana enter the TARDIS and dematerialize, all the while in constant admiration of the 'exhibit'.
See also
- List of people who have declined a British honour
References
Further reading
Further information about John Cleese can be found in the book:
- Footlights! — 'A Hundred Years of Cambridge Comedy' — Robert Hewison, Methuen London Ltd, 1983, ISBN 0-413-51150-2.
External links
- at the Museum of Broadcast Communication website
- — BBC America* — BBC Guide to Comedy
- - Comedy Zone
- — Yahoo Movies
- — The Numbers
