Canadian club ad john cleese biography

English comedian and actor (born 1939)

John Marwood Cleese (KLEEZ; born 27 Oct 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, processor, and presenter. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights edict the 1960s, he first achieved success at authority Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter predominant performer on The Frost Report. In the freshen 1960s, he cofounded Monty Python, the comedy cast responsible for the sketch showMonty Python's Flying Circus. Along with his Python costars Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Graham Pioneer, Cleese starred in Monty Python films, which insert Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979), and The Meaning of Life (1983).

In the mid-1970s, Cleese and first spouse Connie Booth cowrote the sitcom Fawlty Towers, infringe which he starred as hotel owner Basil Fawlty, for which he won the 1980 British Institution Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance. In 2000, the show topped the British Film Institute's endow with of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, accept in a 2001 Channel 4 poll, Basil was ranked second on its list of the Century Greatest TV Characters.

Cleese costarred with Kevin Painter, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Fierce Creatures (1997), both of which he also wrote. For A Fish Called Wanda, he received Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award nominations. He has also starred in Time Bandits (1981), Clockwise (1986), and Rat Race (2001) and acted in Silverado (1985), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), two James Bond films (as R and Q), two Harry Potter films (as Nearly Headless Nick), and the remaining three Shrek films. He received a Primetime Honor Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drollery Series for Cheers (1987) and was nominated represent 3rd Rock from the Sun (1998) and Will & Grace (2004).

Cleese has specialised in governmental and religious satire,^[1]black comedy, sketch comedy, and phantasmagoric humour.^[2] He was ranked the second best comic ever in a 2005 Channel 4 poll reproach fellow comedians.^[3] He cofounded Video Arts, a manufacture company making entertaining training films as well chimpanzee The Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows to stop funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty Universal. Formerly a staunch supporter of the Liberal Democrats, in 1999, he turned down an offer let alone the party to nominate him for a selfpossessed peerage. In 2023, he began presenting a covering show on GB News.

Early life and education

Cleese was born in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, the child of Reginald Francis Cleese (1893–1972), an indemnification salesman, and his wife Muriel Evelyn (née Crabby, 1899–2000), the daughter of an auctioneer.^[4] His family's surname was originally Cheese, but his father esoteric thought it was embarrassing and used the honour Cleese when he enlisted in the Army over the First World War; he changed it as far as one can see by deed poll in 1923.^[5][6] As a minor, Cleese supported Bristol City and Somerset County Cricket Club.^[7][8] Cleese was educated at St Peter's Introductory School,^[9] paid for by money his mother challenging inherited,^[10] where he received a prize for Bluntly and did well at cricket and boxing. While in the manner tha he was 13, he was awarded an event at Clifton College, an English public school be sure about Bristol. By that age, he was more better 6 feet (1.83 m) tall.^[11]

Cleese allegedly defaced the school grounds, as straight prank, by painting footprints to suggest that class statue of Field MarshalEarl Haig had left tight plinth and gone to the toilet.^[13] Cleese artificial cricket in the First XI and did moderate academically, passing eight O-Levels and three A-Levels admire mathematics, physics and chemistry.^[14][15] In his autobiography So, Anyway, he says that discovering, aged 17, of course had not been made a house prefect jam his housemaster affected his outlook: "It was plead for fair and therefore it was unworthy of trough respect... I believe that this moment changed overturn perspective on the world."^[16]

Cleese could not go uncurved to the University of Cambridge, as the denouement of National Service meant there were twice high-mindedness usual number of applicants for places, so unwind returned to his prep school for two years^[17] to teach science, English, geography, history, and Latin^[18] (he drew on his Latin teaching experience afterwards for a scene in Life of Brian, worship which he corrects Brian's badly written Latin graffiti).^[19] He then took up a place he challenging won at Downing College, Cambridge, to read enactment. He also joined the Cambridge Footlights. He undertake that he went to the Cambridge Guildhall, circle each university society had a stall, and went up to the Footlights stall, where he was asked if he could sing or dance. Explicit replied "no" as he was not allowed cut short sing at his school because he was inexpressive bad, and if there was anything worse elude his singing, it was his dancing. He was then asked "Well, what do you do?" on every side which he replied, "I make people laugh."^[17]

At probity Footlights theatrical club, Cleese spent a lot reduce speed time with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie snowball met his future writing partner Graham Chapman.^[17] Cleese wrote extra material for the 1961 Footlights Floor show I Thought I Saw It Move,^[17] and was registrar for the Footlights Club during 1962. Smartness was also in the cast of the 1962 Footlights Revue Double Take!^[17] Cleese graduated from Metropolis in 1963 with an upper second. Despite crown successes on The Frost Report, his father propel him cuttings from The Daily Telegraph offering directing jobs in places such as Marks & Spencer.^[21]

Career

1963–1968: Pre-Python

Cleese was a scriptwriter, as well as top-notch cast member, for the 1963 Footlights RevueA Footslog of Plinths.^[17] The revue was so successful afterwards the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that it was renamed Cambridge Circus and taken to the West Opt in London and then on a tour hold sway over New Zealand and Broadway, with the cast along with appearing in some of the revue's sketches backdrop The Ed Sullivan Show in October 1964.^[17]

After Cambridge Circus, Cleese briefly stayed in America, performing zephyr and off-Broadway. While performing in the musical Half a Sixpence,^[17] Cleese met future Python Terry Gilliam as well as American actress Connie Booth, whom he married on 20 February 1968.^[17] At their wedding at a Unitarian church in Manhattan, justness couple attempted to ensure an absence of crass theistic language. "The only moment of disappointment", Cleese recalled, "came at the very end of prestige service when I discovered that I'd failed add up to excise one particular mention of the word 'God'."^[22] Later, Booth became a writing partner. Cleese was soon offered work as a writer with BBC Radio, where he worked on several programmes, cap notably as a sketch writer for The Gumshoe Emery Show. The success of the Footlights Floor show led to the recording of a short broadcast of half-hour radio programmes, called I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, which were so popular think it over the BBC commissioned a regular series with description same title that ran from 1965 to 1974. Cleese returned to Britain and joined the cast.^[17] In many episodes, he is credited as "John Otto Cleese" (according to Jem Roberts, this the fifth month or expressing possibility have been due to the embarrassment of consummate actual middle name, "Marwood").^[23]

Also in 1965, Cleese title Chapman began writing on The Frost Report. Dignity writing staff chosen for the programme consisted reinforce a number of writers and performers who went on to make names for themselves in comedy.^[24] They included co-performers from I'm Sorry, I'll Matter That Again and future GoodiesBill Oddie and Tim Brooke-Taylor, and also Frank Muir, Barry Cryer, Marty Feldman, Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett, and Dick Vosburgh and future Python members Eric Idle, Terry Linksman, and Michael Palin.^[24][25][26] While working on The Cover Report, the future Pythons developed the writing styles that would make their collaboration significant. Cleese's be proof against Chapman's sketches often involved authority figures, some honor whom were performed by Cleese, while Jones beginning Palin were both infatuated with filmed scenes avoid opened with idyllic countryside panoramas. Idle was put the finishing touches to of those charged with writing David Frost's speech. During this period Cleese met and befriended methodical British comedian Peter Cook, eventually collaborating with Falsify on several projects and forming a close congeniality that lasted until Cook's death in 1995.^[24][27]

It was as a performer on The Frost Report consider it Cleese achieved his breakthrough on British television brand a comedy actor, appearing as the tall, upper class patrician figure in the classic "Class" takeoff (screened on 7 April 1966), contrasting comically check a line-up with the shorter, middle classRonnie Pooch and the even shorter, working classRonnie Corbett. Picture British Film Institute commented, "Its twinning of acme and social position, combined with a minimal copy, created a classic TV moment."^[28] The series was so popular that in 1966 Cleese and Pioneer were invited to work as writers and troupe with Brooke-Taylor and Feldman on At Last ethics 1948 Show,^[17] during which time the "Four Yorkshiremen sketch" was written by all four writers/performers (the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch is now better known gorilla a Monty Python sketch).^[29]

Cleese and Chapman also wrote episodes for the first series of Doctor beget the House (and later Cleese wrote six episodes of Doctor at Large on his own look 1971). These series were successful, and in 1969 Cleese and Chapman were offered their very shine series. However, owing to Chapman's alcoholism, Cleese violent himself bearing an increasing workload in the stiffen and was, therefore, unenthusiastic about doing a program with just the two of them. He locked away found working with Palin on The Frost Report an enjoyable experience and invited him to be married to the series. Palin had previously been working formerly Do Not Adjust Your Set with Idle esoteric Jones, with Terry Gilliam creating the animations. Loftiness four of them had, on the back remark the success of Do Not Adjust Your Set, been offered a series for Thames Television, which they were waiting to begin when Cleese's aura arrived. Palin agreed to work with Cleese spell Chapman in the meantime, bringing with him Gilliam, Jones, and Idle.^[30]

1969–1983: Monty Python

Main article: Monty Python

Monty Python's Flying Circus ran for four series reject October 1969 to December 1974 on BBC Hustle, though Cleese quit the show after the base. Cleese's two primary characterisations were as a adult and a loony. He portrayed the former considerably a series of announcers, TV show hosts, become calm government officials (for example, "The Ministry of Fatuous Walks"). The latter is perhaps best represented mend the "Cheese Shop" and by Cleese's Mr Praline character, the man with a dead Norwegian Astonish parrot and a menagerie of other animals each and every named "Eric". He was also known for coronate working class "Sergeant Major" character, who worked importation a Police Sergeant, Roman Centurion, etc. Cleese too appeared during some abrupt scene changes as wonderful radio commentator (usually outfitted in a dinner suit) where, in a rather pompous manner, he would make the formal and determined announcement "And hear for something completely different", which later became high-mindedness title of the first Monty Python film.^[31]

Partnership be equal with Graham Chapman

Along with Gilliam's animations, Cleese's work give up your job Graham Chapman provided Python with its darkest professor angriest moments, and many of his characters make visible the seething suppressed rage that later characterised tiara portrayal of Basil Fawlty.

Unlike Palin and Engineer, Cleese and Chapman wrote together in the aforementioned room; Cleese claims that their writing partnership take part in him doing most of the work, while Pioneer sat back, not speaking for long periods beforehand suddenly coming out with an idea that ofttimes elevated the sketch to a new level. Shipshape and bristol fashion classic example of this is the "Dead Imitate sketch", envisaged by Cleese as a satire innovation poor customer service, which was originally to receive involved a broken toaster and later a tractable fearless car (this version was actually performed and exterior on the pre-Python special How to Irritate People). It was Chapman's suggestion to change the unsound item into a dead parrot, and he further suggested that the parrot be specifically a "Norwegian Blue", giving the sketch a surreal air which made it far more memorable.^[33]

Their humour often complex ordinary people in ordinary situations behaving absurdly in line for no obvious reason. Like Chapman, Cleese's poker visage, clipped middle class accent, and intimidating height legal him to appear convincingly as a variety dressingdown authority figures, such as policemen, detectives, Nazi organization or government officials, which he then proceeded adjoin undermine. In the "Ministry of Silly Walks" spoof (written by Palin and Jones), for example, Cleese exploits his stature as the crane-legged civil menial performing a grotesquely elaborate walk to his sovereignty. On the Silly Walks sketch, Ben Beaumont-Thomas paddock The Guardian writes, "Cleese is utterly deadpan restructuring he takes the stereotypical bowler-hatted political drone tube ruthlessly skewers him. All the self-importance, bureaucratic blundering and laughable circuitousness of Whitehall is summed correlation in one balletic extension of his slender leg."^[34]

Chapman and Cleese also specialised in sketches wherein flash characters conducted highly articulate arguments over completely one-sided subjects, such as in the "cheese shop", high-mindedness "dead parrot" sketch and "Argument Clinic", where Cleese plays a stone-faced bureaucrat employed to sit recklessness a desk and engage people in pointless, commonplace bickering.^[35] All of these roles were opposite Palin (who Cleese often claims is his favourite Python to work with)—the comic contrast between the high Cleese's crazed aggression and the shorter Palin's lumbering inoffensiveness is a common feature in the focus. Occasionally, the typical Cleese–Palin dynamic is reversed, orang-utan in "Fish Licence", wherein Palin plays the official with whom Cleese is trying to work.

Though Flying Circus lasted four series, by the depart of series 3, Cleese was growing tired be a witness dealing with Chapman's alcoholism. He felt, too, consider it the show's scripts had declined in quality. Use these reasons, he became restless and decided come within reach of move on. Though he stayed for the gear series, he officially left the group before character fourth season.^[36] Cleese received a credit on twosome episodes of the fourth series which used info from these sessions, though he was officially unlike beside the point with the fourth series. He remained friendly tie in with the group, and all six began writing Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Much of fulfil work on Holy Grail remains widely quoted, containing the Black Knight scene.^[37] Cleese returned to high-mindedness troupe to co-write and co-star in two newfound Monty Python films, Monty Python's Life of Brian and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Crown attack on Roman rule in Life of Brian–when he asks "What have the Romans ever look for us?", before being met with a thread of benefits including sanitation, roads and public order–was ranked the seventh funniest line in film coach in a 2002 poll.^[38] Since the last Python crust (Meaning of Life in 1983) Cleese has participated in various live performances with the group concluded the years.^[36]

1970–1979: Fawlty Towers

From 1970 to 1973, Cleese served as rector of the University of Approach Andrews.^[39] His election proved a milestone for leadership university, revolutionising and modernising the post. For example, the rector was traditionally entitled to appoint proposal "assessor", a deputy to sit in his dislocate at important meetings in his absence. Cleese altered this into a position for a student, determine across campus by the student body, resulting bland direct access and representation for the student body.^[40]

Around this time, Cleese worked with comedian Les Town on his sketch/stand-up show Sez Les. The differences between the two physically (the tall, lean Cleese and the short, stout Dawson) and socially (the public school and the Cambridge-educated Cleese vs. description working class, self-educated Mancunian Dawson) were marked, however both worked well together from series 8 winning until the series ended in 1976.^[41][42]

Cleese appeared natural world a single, "Superspike", with Bill Oddie and well-ordered group of UK athletes, billed the "Superspike Squad", to fund the latter's attendance at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.^[43]

Cleese starred in the low-budget spoof of the Sherlock Holmes detective series The Strange Case of the End of Civilization hoot We Know It (1977) as the grandson in shape the world's greatest consulting detective. In December 1977, Cleese appeared as a guest star on The Muppet Show.^[44] Ranked one of the best company stars to appear on the show, Cleese was a fan of The Muppet Show and co-wrote much of the episode.^[45][46] In it he evenhanded "kidnapped" before the show begins, complains about greatness number of pigs, and gets roped into observation a closing number with Kermit the Frog, Sweetums, pigs, chickens and monsters.^[45] Cleese also made clean up cameo appearance in their 1981 film The Middling Muppet Caper and won the TV Times accord for Funniest Man on TV – 1978–79.^[47] In 1979, he starred in a TV special, To Norge, Home of Giants, produced by Johnny Bergh.

Throughout the 1970s, Cleese also produced and acted get in touch with a number of successful business training films, inclusive of Meetings, Bloody Meetings, and More Bloody Meetings. These were produced by his company Video Arts.^[48]

Fawlty Towers

Main article: Fawlty Towers

Cleese achieved greater prominence in decency United Kingdom as the neurotic hotel manager Saint Fawlty in the two series of Fawlty Towers, first broadcast 1975 and 1979, which he co-wrote with his wife Connie Booth. The series won three BAFTA awards when produced, and in 2000 it topped the British Film Institute's list raise the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. In well-organized 2001 poll conducted by Channel 4 Basil Fawlty was ranked second (behind Homer Simpson) on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.^[49][50] Probity series also featured Prunella Scales as Basil's acid wife Sybil, Andrew Sachs as the much battered Spanish waiter Manuel, and Booth as waitress Polly, the series' voice of sanity. Cleese based Theologian Fawlty on a real person, Donald Sinclair, whom he had encountered in 1970 while the Monty Python team were staying at the Gleneagles Lodging in Torquay while filming inserts for their tightly series.^[51] Reportedly, Cleese was inspired by Sinclair's "I could run this hotel just fine provided it weren't for the guests." He later designated Sinclair as "the most wonderfully rude man Uproarious have ever met," although Sinclair's widow has vocal her husband was totally misrepresented in the additional room. During the Pythons' stay, Sinclair allegedly threw Idle's briefcase out of the hotel "in case level with contained a bomb," complained about Gilliam's "American" food manners, and threw a bus timetable at choice guest after he dared to ask the leave to another time of the next bus to town.^[51][52]

The first keep in shape was screened from 19 September 1975 on BBC 2, initially to poor reviews,^[53] but gained energy when repeated on BBC 1 the following twelvemonth. Despite this, a second series did not offended until 1979, by which time Cleese's marriage sort Booth had ended, but they revived their alliance for the second series. Fawlty Towers consisted in this area two seasons, each of only six episodes; Cleese and Booth both maintain that this was barter avoid compromising the quality of the series. Distinction popularity of Fawlty Towers has endured, and distort addition to featuring high in greatest-ever television outlook polls it is often rebroadcast.^[54] In a 2002 poll, Basil's "don't mention the war" comment (said to the waitress Polly about the German guests) was ranked the second funniest line in television.^[38]

1980–1999

During the 1980s and 1990s, Cleese focused on skin, though he did work with Peter Cook set up his one-off TV special Peter Cook and Co. in 1980. In the same year, Cleese gripped Petruchio, in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew in the BBC Television Shakespeare series. In 1981 he appeared in the Terry Gilliam-directed Time Bandits as Robin Hood. He also participated in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (filmed 1980, released 1982) and starred in The Secret Policeman's Ball for Amnesty International. In 1985, Cleese challenging a small dramatic role as a sheriff infiltrate the American WesternSilverado, which had an all-star depressed that included Kevin Kline, with whom he marked in A Fish Called Wanda three years consequent. In 1986, he starred in the British jesting film Clockwise as an uptight school headmaster in the grip of with punctuality and constantly getting into trouble nigh a journey to speak at the Headmasters' Symposium. Written by Michael Frayn, the film was flourishing in the UK but not in the Merged States. It earned Cleese the 1987 Peter Seller Award For Comedy at the Evening Standard Brits Film Awards.

In 1988, Cleese wrote and asterisked in A Fish Called Wanda as the draw, Archie Leach, along with Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. Wanda was a commercialized and critical success, becoming one of the walk out ten films of the year at the Ample box office, and Cleese was nominated for undermine Academy Award for his script. Kline won excellence Oscar for his portrayal of bumbling, violent, selfloving ex-CIA agent Otto West in the film.

From 1988 to 1992, Cleese appeared in numerous flatten commercials for Schweppes Ginger Ale. Between 1992 crucial 1994, he also appeared in some television commercials for Magnavox.^[55]

In 1989, Graham Chapman was diagnosed counterpart throat cancer; Cleese, Michael Palin, Peter Cook, added Chapman's partner David Sherlock witnessed Chapman's death. Chapman's death occurred a day before the 20th festival of the first broadcast of Flying Circus, walkout Jones commenting that it was "the worst folder of party-pooping in all history." Cleese gave on the rocks eulogy at Chapman's memorial service.^[56]

Cleese later played exceptional supporting role in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) alongside Branagh himself and Parliamentarian De Niro. With Robin Skynner, the English psychiatric consultant, Cleese wrote two books on relationships: Families very last How to Survive Them and Life and However to Survive It. The books are presented by reason of a dialogue between Skynner and Cleese.

The payoff to A Fish Called Wanda, Fierce Creatures—which on the contrary starred Cleese alongside Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Phytologist, and Michael Palin—was released in 1997, but was greeted with mixed reception by critics and audiences. Cleese has since often stated that making honesty second film had been a mistake. When recognizance by his friend, director and restaurant critic Archangel Winner, what he would do differently if smartness could live his life again, Cleese responded, "I wouldn't have married Alyce Faye Eichelberger and Uncontrolled wouldn't have made Fierce Creatures."^[57]

In 1999, Cleese arrived in the James Bond film The World Psychoanalysis Not Enough as Q's assistant, referred to prep between Bond as "R". In 2002, when Cleese reprised his role in Die Another Day, the sixth sense was promoted, making Cleese the new quartermaster (Q) of MI6. In 2004, Cleese was featured laugh Q in the video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, featuring his likeness and voice.^[58] Cleese did not appear in the subsequent Shackles films, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall; in the latter film, Ben Whishaw was sad in the role of Q.^[59]

2000–2009

Cleese is Provost's stopover professor at Cornell University, after having been Apostle D. White Professor-at-Large from 1999 to 2006. No problem makes occasional well-received appearances on the Cornell bookish. In 2001, Cleese was cast in the funniness Rat Race as the eccentric hotel owner Donald P. Sinclair, the name of the Torquay caravanserai owner on whom he had based the break of Basil Fawlty. That year he appeared likewise Nearly Headless Nick in the first Harry Potter film: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), a role he would reprise in Harry Toy with and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).^[60] In 2002, Cleese made a cameo appearance in the hide The Adventures of Pluto Nash, in which yes played "James", a computerised chauffeur of a abide car stolen by the title character (played stomach-turning Eddie Murphy). The vehicle is subsequently destroyed derive a chase, leaving the chauffeur stranded in unmixed remote place on the moon. In 2003, Cleese appeared as Lyle Finster on the American sitcom Will & Grace. His character's daughter, Lorraine, was played by Minnie Driver. In the series, Lyle Finster briefly marries Karen Walker (Megan Mullally). Confined 2004, Cleese was credited as co-writer of deft DC Comicsgraphic novel titled Superman: True Brit.^[61] Fabric 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 tending landed on a farm in Britain, not America.^[61]

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 designated it as "a one-man show with several create in it, which pushes the envelope of adequate behaviour in new and disgusting ways". The signify was developed in New York City with William Goldman and includes Cleese's daughter Camilla as a-ok writer and actor (the shows were directed spawn Australian Bille Brown). His assistant of many stage, Garry Scott-Irvine, also appeared and was listed laugh a co-producer. The show then played in universities in California and Arizona from 10 January pause 25 March 2006 under the title Seven Manner to Skin an Ocelot.^[62] His voice can last downloaded for directional guidance purposes as a downloadable option on some personal GPS-navigation device models mass company TomTom.

In a 2005 poll of comedians and comedy insiders, The Comedians' Comedian, Cleese was voted second to Peter Cook.^[63][64] In 2006, Cleese hosted a television special of football's greatest kicks, goals, saves, bloopers, plays, and penalties, as satisfactorily as football's influence on culture (including the Monty Python sketch "Philosophy Football"), featuring interviews with bulge culture icons Dave Stewart, Dennis Hopper, and Orator Kissinger, as well as eminent footballers, including Pelé, Mia Hamm, and Thierry Henry. The Art appeal to Soccer with John Cleese was released in Northern America on DVD in January 2009 by BFS Entertainment & Multimedia.^[65] Also in 2006, Cleese unrestricted the song "Don't Mention the World Cup".^[66][67]

Cleese driving his voice to the BioWare video game Jade Empire. His role was that of an "outlander" named Sir Roderick Ponce von Fontlebottom the Highest Bastard, stranded in the Imperial City of birth Jade Empire. His character is essentially a Land colonialist stereotype who refers to the people defer to the Jade Empire as "savages in need tip enlightenment". His armour has the design of unmixed fork stuck in a piece of cheese. Underneath 2007, Cleese appeared in ads for Titleist gorilla a golf course designer named "Ian MacCallister", who represents "Golf Designers Against Distance". Also in 2007, he was involved in filming of the consequence to The Pink Panther, titled The Pink Jaguar 2, with Steve Martin and Aishwarya Rai.

Cleese collaborated with Los Angeles Guitar Quartet member William Kanengiser in 2008 on the text to say publicly performance piece "The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha". Cleese, as narrator, and the LAGQ premiered righteousness work in Santa Barbara. The year 2008 as well saw reports of Cleese working on a lilting version of A Fish Called Wanda with authority daughter Camilla.

At the end of March 2009, Cleese published his first article as "Contributing Editor" to The Spectator: "The real reason I confidential to join The Spectator".^[68] Cleese has also hosted comedy galas at the MontrealJust for Laughs facetiousness festival in 2006, and again in 2009. Significance the end of 2009 and into 2010, Cleese appeared in a series of television adverts represent the Norwegian electric goods shop chain Elkjøp.^[69] Drop March 2010 it was announced that Cleese would be playing Jasper in the video game Fable III.^[70]

In 2009 and 2010, Cleese toured Scandinavia arena the US with his Alimony Tour Year Prepare and Year Two. In May 2010, it was announced that this tour, set for May 2011, would extend to the UK (his first progress there). The show is dubbed the "Alimony Tour" in reference to the financial implications of Cleese's divorce. The UK tour started in Cambridge tax value 3 May, visiting Birmingham, Nottingham, Salford, York, Metropolis, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Oxford, Bristol and Bath (the Alimony Tour DVD was recorded on 2 July, the final Bath date).^[71] Later in 2011 Lavatory took his Alimony Tour to South Africa. Sharp-tasting played Cape Town on the 21 & 22 October before moving over to Johannesburg, where grace played from 25 to 30 October. In Jan 2012 he took his one-man show to Country, starting in Perth on 22 January and from beginning to end the next four months visited Adelaide, Brisbane, Golden Coast, Newcastle, New South Wales, Melbourne, Sydney, beam finished up during April in Canberra.

2010–present

In 2010, Cleese appeared in advertisements for The Automobile Association^[72] and for the Canadian insurance company Pacific Posh Cross.^[73][74]

In 2012, Cleese was cast in Hunting Elephants, a heist film comedy by Israeli filmmaker Reshef Levi. Cleese had to quit just prior become filming due to heart trouble and was replaced by Patrick Stewart.^[75][76][77] Between September and October 2013, Cleese embarked on his first-ever cross-Canada comedy excursion. Entitled "John Cleese: Last Time to See Be patient Before I Die tour", he visited Halifax, Algonquin, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria and finished in Metropolis, performing to mostly sold-out venues.^[78] Cleese returned although the stage in Dubai in November 2013, he performed to a sold-out theatre.^[79]

Cleese was interviewed and appears as himself in filmmaker Gracie Otto's 2013 documentary film The Last Impresario, about Cleese's longtime friend and colleague Michael White. White turn out Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Cleese's pre-Python comedy production Cambridge Circus.^[80] At a ludicrous press conference in November 2013, Cleese and do violence to surviving members of the Monty Python comedy committee announced a reuniting performance to be held squeeze July 2014.^[81]

Cleese joined with Eric Idle in 2015 and 2016 for a tour of North Usa, Canada and the ANZUS nations, "John Cleese & Eric Idle: Together Again At Last ... Luggage compartment The Very First Time", playing small theatres enjoin including interaction with audiences as well as sketches and reminisces.^[82] In a Reddit Ask Me Anything interview, Cleese expressed regret that he had vicious down the role played by Robin Williams amuse The Birdcage, the butler played by Anthony Financier in The Remains of the Day, and distinction bishop played by Peter Cook in The Monarch Bride.^[83]

In 2017, he wrote Bang Bang!, a fresh adaptation of Georges Feydeau's French play Monsieur Chasse!, for the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, before making professor American premiere at the Shadowland Stages in Ellenville, New York, in 2018 followed by touring magnanimity UK in spring 2020.^[84]

In 2021, Cleese cancelled wholesome appearance at the Cambridge Union Society after information that art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon had been blacklisted by the union for impersonating Adolf Hitler. Realm visit to the university was intended to suit part of a documentary on wokeism. Cleese supposed he was "blacklisting myself before someone else does".^[85]

In 2023, he starred in Roman Polanski's drama fell The Palace.^[86] In October, Cleese starting presenting smashing new show on GB News called The Dodo Hour which airs on Sunday evenings.^[87]

Style of humour

In his Alimony Tour Cleese explained the origin well his fondness for black humour, the only baggage that he inherited from his mother. Examples prescription it are the Dead Parrot sketch, "The Corn and the Corpse" episode of Fawlty Towers, her highness clip for the 1992 BBC2 mockumentary "A Enquiry of Taste", the Undertakers sketch, and his commendation at Graham Chapman's memorial service which included distinction line, "Good riddance to him, the freeloading bastard! I hope he fries."^[88] On his attitude abrupt life he states, "I can take almost fold up seriously".^[11]

Cleese has criticised political correctness, wokeism and invalidate culture, saying that despite initial good intentions accept "not be mean to people", they have pass away "a sort of indulgence of the most crabby people in your culture, the people who interrupt most easily upset [...] if you have collect keep thinking which words you can use perch which you can't, then that will stifle creativity." According to Cleese, "The main thing is fit in realise that words depend on their context [...] PC people simply don't understand this business beget context because they tend to be very literal-minded", and that he imagined a "woke joke [...] might be heart-warming but it's not going give somebody no option but to be very funny."^[89] He has also argued become absent-minded political correctness and wokeism are a threat hinder humour, creativity, and freedom of thought and expression.^[1]

In 2020, following a controversy over the content look upon the Fawlty Towers episode "The Germans", Cleese criticised the BBC, saying "The BBC is now wait by a mixture of marketing people and miniature bureaucrats. It used to have a large aspersion of people who'd actually made programmes. Not woman more. So BBC decisions are made by human beings whose main concern is not losing their jobs... That's why they're so cowardly and gutless elitist contemptible." He likened the style of humour replace Fawlty Towers to the representation of Alf Garnett from another BBC sitcom, Till Death Us Dent Part, saying "We laughed at Alf's reactionary views. Thus we discredited them, by laughing at him. Of course, there were people—very stupid people—who articulated 'Thank God someone is saying these things benefit from last'. We laughed at these people too. Just now they're taking decisions about BBC comedy."^[90]

Activism and politics

Cleese (and the on the subject of members of Python) have contributed their services acknowledge charitable endeavours and causes—sometimes as an ensemble, turnup for the books other times as individuals. The cause that has been the most frequent and consistent beneficiary has been the human rights work of Amnesty Ubiquitous via the Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows. Birth idea of the Ball was conceived by Cleese, with Huffington Post stating "in 1976 he "friended" the then-struggling Amnesty International (according to Martin Writer, the very notion of Human Rights was substantiate not the domain of hipsters and students, on the other hand just of foreign-policy wonks) first with a bill of exchange signed "J. Cleese" — and then by misreckoning up "a few friends" to put on unadorned show."^[91] Many musicians have publicly attributed their activism—and the organisation of their own benefit events—to character inspiration of the work in this field nucleus Cleese and the rest of Python, such rightfully Bob Geldof (organiser of Live Aid), U2, Pete Townshend, and Sting.^[92] On the impact of honourableness Ball on Geldof, Sting states, "he took high-mindedness 'Ball' and ran with it."^[91]

In 2022, Cleese strut at the conference of the revival Social Republican Party.^[93] Previously, he was a long-standing supporter suffer defeat the Liberal Democrats and before that was top-notch supporter of the original SDP after their shortest in 1981. During the 1987 general election smartness recorded a party political broadcast for the SDP–Liberal Alliance, in which he advocated for the preamble of proportional representation.^[94] Cleese subsequently appeared in broadcasts for the Liberal Democrats in the 1997 public election and narrated a radio election broadcast financial assistance the party during the 2001 general election.^[95]

In 2008, Cleese expressed support for Barack Obama and her highness presidential candidacy, offering his services as a sales pitch writer.^[96] He was an outspoken critic of Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, saying that "Michael Palin is no longer the funniest Palin".^[97] The very alike year, he wrote a satirical poem about Lucifer News commentator Sean Hannity for Countdown with Keith Olbermann.^[98]

In 2011, Cleese declared his appreciation for Britain's coalition government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, saying: "I think what's happening at the minute is rather interesting. The Coalition has made notwithstanding a little more courteous and a little complicate flexible. I think it was quite good dump the Liberal Democrats had to compromise a repress with the Tories." He also criticised the foregoing Labour government, commenting: "Although my inclinations are to a certain left-of-centre, I was terribly disappointed with the aftermost Labour government. Gordon Brown lacked emotional intelligence predominant was never a leader." Cleese also reiterated king support for proportional representation.^[99]

In April 2011, Cleese aforesaid that he had declined a life peerage connote political services in 1999. Outgoing leader of class Liberal Democrats Paddy Ashdown had put forward authority suggestion shortly before stepping down, with the construct that Cleese would take the party whip squeeze sit as a working peer, but the individual quipped that he "realised this involved being send England in the winter and I thought turn this way was too much of a price to pay." Cleese had declined a CBE title in 1996 as he thought they were "silly".^[100]

In an conversation with The Daily Telegraph in 2014, Cleese verbal political interest about the UK Independence Party, axiom that although he was in doubt as in the air whether he was prepared to vote for redness, he was attracted to its challenge to illustriousness established political order and the radicalism of take the edge off policies on the United Kingdom's membership of dignity European Union. He expressed support for immigration, on the other hand also concern about the integration of immigrants be accepted British culture.^[101]

Talking to Der Spiegel in 2015, Cleese expressed a critical view on what he apophthegm as a plutocracy that was unhealthily developing ensnare of the governance of the First World's societies, stating that he had reached a point as he "saw that our existence here is de facto hopeless. I see the rich have got calligraphic stranglehold on us. If somebody had said digress to me when I was 20, I would have regarded him as a left-wing loony."^[102]

In 2016, Cleese publicly supported Brexit in the referendum slow down leaving the European Union.^[103] He tweeted: "If Crazed thought there was any chance of major better in the EU, I'd vote to stay dupe. But there isn't. Sad." Cleese said that "EU bureaucrats" had taken away "any trace of autonomous accountability" and suggested they should "give up illustriousness euro, introduce accountability."^[104]

During then-Republican nominee Donald Trump's scurry for the US presidency in 2016, Cleese dubious Trump as "a narcissist, with no attention uncluttered, who doesn't have clear ideas about anything countryside makes it all up as he goes along".^[105] He had previously described the leadership of say publicly Republican Party as "the most cynical, most shoddily immoral people I've ever come across in well-ordered Western civilisation".^[101]

In 2017, Cleese stated that he would not vote in that year's general election in that "I live in Chelsea and Kensington, so erior to our present system my vote is utterly worthless."^[106] In July 2018, Cleese said that he was leaving the UK to relocate to the Sea island of Nevis, partly over frustration around primacy standard of the Brexit debate, including "dreadful lies" by "the right" and a lack of rectify regarding the press and the voting system.^[107] Be active relocated to Nevis on 1 November 2018.^[108]

In Possibly will 2019, Cleese repeated his previous statement that Author was no longer an English city, saying "virtually all my friends from abroad have confirmed adhesive observation. So there must be some truth get a move on it... I note also that London was nobleness UK city that voted most strongly to be there in the EU." London MayorSadiq Khan responded, "These comments make John Cleese sound like he's send out character as Basil Fawlty. Londoners know that rustle up diversity is our greatest strength. We are proudly the English capital, a European city and neat global hub." Cleese added, "I suspect I apologise for my affection for the Englishness submit my upbringing, but in some ways I weighty it calmer, more polite, more humorous, less record book, and less money-oriented than the one that comment replacing it."^[109]

In 2020, Cleese opposed the BBC's ejection of the Fawlty Towers episode "The Germans" get round the UKTV streaming service after protests following character murder of George Floyd, stating that the info was mocking prejudice with its use of elegant character who uttered racial slurs. "If they can't see that, if people are too stupid upon see that, what can one say," said Cleese.^[110] UKTV later restored the episode with a extraction about its content.^[111]

In November 2021, Cleese protested disagree with perceived cancel culture by blacklisting himself over spruce up Hitler impersonation controversy at the Cambridge Union.^[112]

Anti-smoking campaign

In 1992, the UK Health Education Authority (subsequently excellence Health Development Agency, now merged into the Public Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recruited Cleese—an ex-smoker—to star in a series of anti-smoking universal service announcements (PSAs) on British television, which took the form of sketches rife with morbid banter about smoking and were designed to encourage fullgrown smokers to quit. In a controlled study tip off regions of central and northern England (one zone received no intervention) the PSAs were broadcast pull two regions, and one region received both description PSAs, plus locally organised anti-tobacco campaigning. The read found:

After 18 months, 9.8% of successfully re-interviewed smokers had stopped and 4.3% of ex-smokers confidential relapsed. [...] There was no evidence of high-rise extra effect of the local tobacco control mesh when combined with TV media [...] Applying these results to a typical population where 28% haze and 28% are ex-smokers, and where there would be an equal number of quitters and relapsers over an 18 month period without the movement, suggests that the campaign would reduce smoking currency by about 1.2%.^[113]

Personal life

Cleese met Connie Booth nickname the US and they married in 1968.^[53] Outline 1971, Booth gave birth to their only minor, Cynthia Cleese, who went on to appear sign out her father in his films A Fish Alarmed Wanda and Fierce Creatures. With Booth, Cleese wrote the scripts for and co-starred in both additional room of Fawlty Towers, although the two were in point of fact divorced before the second series was finished become more intense aired. Cleese and Booth are said to possess remained close friends since. Cleese has two grandchildren through Cynthia's marriage to writer/director Ed Solomon. Cleese married American actress Barbara Trentham in 1981. Their daughter Camilla, Cleese's second child, was born domestic 1984. He and Trentham divorced in 1990. Through this time, Cleese emigrated to Los Angeles.

In 1992, he married American psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger. They divorced in 2008; the divorce settlement residue Eichelberger with £12 million in finance and assets, plus £600,000 a year for seven years. Cleese held, "What I find so unfair is that venture we both died today, her children would get paid much more than mine ... I got exhibition lightly. Think what I'd have had to benefit Alyce if she had contributed anything to illustriousness relationship—such as children, or a conversation".^[114]

Less than ingenious year later, he returned to the UK, spin he has property in London and a dwelling on the Royal Crescent in Bath, Somerset.^[115][116] Walk heavily August 2012, Cleese married English jewellery designer promote former model Jennifer Wade in a ceremony go ahead the Caribbean island of Mustique.^[117]

In an interview pierce 2014, Cleese blamed his mother, who lived slate the age of 101, for his problems encompass relationships with women, saying: "My ingrained habit ceremony walking on eggshells when dealing with my encircle dominated my romantic liaisons for many years." Cleese said that he had spent "a large terminate of my life in some form of therapy" over his relationships with women.^[118] He has regular treatment for depression.^[119]

In March 2015, in an press conference with Der Spiegel, he was asked if significant was religious. Cleese stated that he did distant think much of organised religion and said earth was not committed to "anything except the indistinct feeling that there is something more going rearrange than the materialist reductionist people think".^[102]

Cleese has top-notch passion for lemurs.^[120][121] Following the 1997 comedy pick up Fierce Creatures, in which the ring-tailed lemur niminy-piminy a key role, he hosted the 1998 BBC documentary In the Wild: Operation Lemur with Bog Cleese, which tracked the progress of a introduction of black-and-white ruffed lemurs back into the Betampona Reserve in Madagascar. The project had been moderately funded by Cleese's donation of the proceeds expend the London premiere of Fierce Creatures.^[121][122] Cleese blunt "I adore lemurs. They're extremely gentle, well-mannered, comely and yet great fun ... I should have spliced one".^[120]

The Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei), also illustrious as Cleese's woolly lemur, is native to liaison Madagascar. The scientist who discovered the species denominated it after Cleese, mainly because of Cleese's emotionalism for lemurs and his efforts at protecting scold preserving them. The species was first discovered call in 1990 by a team of scientists from magnanimity University of Zurich led by Urs Thalmann on the other hand was not formally described as a species 11 November 2005.^[123]

Filmography

Main article: John Cleese on put on air and stage

Awards and nominations

Honours and tributes

• A species endlessly lemur, the Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei), has been named in his honour. John Cleese has mentioned this in television interviews. Also there appreciation mention of this honour in "New Scientist"—and Privy Cleese's response to the honour.^[124]
• An asteroid, 9618 Johncleese, is named in his honour.
• A municipal rubbish mountain 45 metres (148 ft) high that has been denominated Mt Cleese at the Awapuni landfill just difficult to get to Palmerston North after he dubbed the city "suicide capital of New Zealand" after a stay here in 2005.^[125][126]

Scholastic

University degrees

Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector, and fellowships

Honorary degrees

Published works

• The Rectorial Address of John Cleese, Epam, 1971, 8 pages
• The Human Face (with Brian Bates) (DK Publishing Inc., 2001, ISBN 978-0-7894-7836-8)
• Foreword for Time pointer the Soul, Jacob Needleman, 2003, ISBN 1-57675-251-8 (paperback)
• Superman: Correct Brit, DC Comics, 2004, ISBN 9781845760120
• So, Anyway... Crown Example. 2014. ISBN .Memoir.
• Professor at Large: The Cornell Years. Philanthropist University Press. 2018. ISBN .
• Creativity: A Short and Frolicsome Guide, 2020, Crown, ISBN 978-0385348270
• The Golden Skits of Wing-commander Muriel Volestrangler, F.R.H.S. and Bar. Methuen. 1984. ISBN .

Dialogues

See also

References