John Cleese

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John Cleese

Cleese in 2008

Born John Marwood Cleese27 October 1939 Weston-super-Mare, Somerset,England

Almamater Clifton CollegeDowning College, Cambridge

Occupation Actor voice actor screenwriter comedian producer

Yearsactive 1961present

Height 6ft 5in (1.96m)Politicalparty

Liberal Democrat

Spouse(s) Connie Booth(m.1968; div. 1978)Barbara Trentham(m.1981; div.1990)Alyce Eichelberger(m.1992; div.2008)Jennifer Wade(m.2012)

Children Cynthia (b. 1971)Camilla (b. 1984)

Website

TheJohnCleese.com(http://www.thejohncleese.com/)

John CleeseFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Marwood Cleese (/kliz/; born 27 October1939) is an English actor, comedian, writer and filmproducer. He achieved success at the EdinburghFestival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer onThe Frost Report. In the late 1960s, he co-foundedMonty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for thesketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and thefour Monty Python films: And Now for SomethingCompletely Different, Monty Python and the HolyGrail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life.

In the mid-1970s, Cleese and his first wife, ConnieBooth, co-wrote and starred in the British sitcomFawlty Towers. Later, he co-starred with Kevin Kline,Jamie Lee Curtis and former Python colleagueMichael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda and FierceCreatures. He also starred in Clockwise, and hasappeared in many other films, including two JamesBond films, two Harry Potter films, and the last threeShrek films.

With Yes Minister writer Antony Jay he co-foundedVideo Arts, a production company makingentertaining training films.

Contents

1 Early life and education2 Career

2.1 Pre-Python2.2 Monty Python

2.2.1 Partnership with GrahamChapman

2.3 Post-Python2.3.1 Fawlty Towers

2.4 1980s and 1990s2.5 2000present

3 Admiration for black humour4 Personal life

4.1 1960s1980s4.2 1990spresent

5 Support of lemurs

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6 Political views7 Radio credits8 Television credits

8.1 Major roles8.2 As host8.3 Guest appearances

9 Filmography10 Video game credits11 Other credits12 Television advertisements13 Awards14 Honours and tributes15 Bibliography

15.1 Scripts15.2 Dialogues

16 See also17 References18 Published works19 External links

Early life and educationCleese was born in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, the only child of Reginald Francis Cleese,an insurance salesman, and his wife Muriel Evelyn (ne Cross).[1] His family's surname was originallyCheese, but his father had thought it was embarrassing and changed it when he enlisted in the Armyduring World War I.

As a child, Cleese supported Bristol City Football Club and Somerset County Cricket Club.[2][3] Cleesewas educated at St Peter's Preparatory School, where he received a prize for English studies and did wellat cricket and boxing. When he was 13, he was awarded an exhibition at Clifton College, an Englishpublic school in Bristol. He was already more than 6feet (1.83m) tall by then. He allegedly defaced theschool grounds, as a prank, by painting footprints to suggest that the statue of Field Marshal Earl Haighad got down from his plinth and gone to the toilet.[4] Cleese played cricket in the First XI and did wellacademically, passing 8 O-Levels and 3 A-Levels in mathematics, physics, and chemistry.[5][6] In hisautobiography So, Anyway he says that discovering, aged 17, he had not been made a house prefect byhis housemaster, Billy Williams, affected his outlook. 'It was not fair and therefore it was unworthy ofmy respect... I believe that this moment changed my perspective on the world.

He could not go straight to Cambridge University as the ending of conscription in the United Kingdommeant there were twice the usual number of applicants for places, so he returned to his prep school fortwo years[7] to teach science, English, geography, history and Latin[8] (he drew on his Latin teachingexperience later for a scene in Life of Brian, in which he corrects Brian's badly written Latin graffiti[9]).

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He then took up a place he had won at Downing College, Cambridge to read Law. He also joined theCambridge Footlights. He recalled that he went to the Cambridge Guildhall, where each universitysociety had a stall, and went up to the Footlights stall where he was asked if he could sing or dance. Hereplied "no" as he was not allowed to sing at his school because he was so bad, and if there was anythingworse than his singing it was his dancing. He was then asked "Well, what do you do?", to which hereplied, "I make people laugh".[7]

At the Footlights theatrical club he spent a lot of time with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie and methis future writing partner Graham Chapman.[7] Cleese wrote extra material for the 1961 FootlightsRevue I Thought I Saw It Move,[7][10] and was Registrar for the Footlights Club during 1962. He wasalso in the cast of the 1962 Footlights Revue Double Take![7][10]

Cleese graduated from Cambridge in 1963 with a 2:1. Despite his successes on The Frost Report, hisfather would send him cuttings from The Daily Telegraph offering management jobs in places likeMarks and Spencer.[11]

CareerPre-Python

Cleese was a scriptwriter, as well as a cast member, for the 1963 Footlights Revue A Clump ofPlinths.[7][10] The revue was so successful at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that it was renamedCambridge Circus and taken to the West End in London and then on a tour of New Zealand andBroadway, with the cast also appearing in some of the revue's sketches on The Ed Sullivan Show inOctober 1964.[7][12]

After Cambridge Circus, Cleese briefly stayed in America, performing on and Off-Broadway. Whileperforming in the musical Half a Sixpence,[7] Cleese met future Python Terry Gilliam, as well asAmerican actress Connie Booth, whom he married on 20 February 1968.[7]

He was soon offered work as a writer with BBC Radio, where he worked on several programmes, mostnotably as a sketch writer for The Dick Emery Show. The success of the Footlights Revue led to therecording of a short series of half-hour radio programmes, called I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, whichwere so popular that the BBC commissioned a regular series with the same title that ran from 1965 to1974. Cleese returned to Britain and joined the cast.[7] In many episodes, he is credited as "John OttoCleese" (according to Jem Roberts, this may have been due to the embarrassment of his actual middlename Marwood).[13]

Also in 1965, Cleese and Chapman began writing on The Frost Report. The writing staff chosen for TheFrost Report consisted of a number of writers and performers who would go on to make names forthemselves in comedy. They included co-performers from I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again and futureGoodies Bill Oddie and Tim Brooke-Taylor, and also Frank Muir, Barry Cryer, Marty Feldman, RonnieBarker, Ronnie Corbett, Dick Vosburgh and future Python members Eric Idle, Terry Jones and MichaelPalin. While working on The Frost Report, the future Pythons developed the writing styles that wouldmake their collaboration significant. Cleese's and Chapman's sketches often involved authority figures,some of whom were performed by Cleese, while Jones and Palin were both infatuated with filmed

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The Dead Parrot sketch performed onMonty Python's Flying Circus in 1969

listen to a clip from the sketch.

Problems playing this file? See media help.

scenes that opened with idyllic countryside panoramas. Idle was one of those charged with writingDavid Frost's monologue. During this period Cleese met and befriended influential British comedianPeter Cook.

It was as a performer on The Frost Report that Cleese achieved his breakthrough on British television asa comedy actor, appearing as the tall, patrician figure in the classic class sketch, contrasting comically ina line-up with the shorter, middle class Ronnie Barker and the even shorter, working class RonnieCorbett. This series was so popular that in 1966 Cleese and Chapman were invited to work as writersand performers with Brooke-Taylor and Feldman on At Last the 1948 Show,[7] during which time theFour Yorkshiremen sketch was written by all four writers/performers (the Four Yorkshiremen sketch isnow better known as a Monty Python sketch).[14] Cleese and Chapman also wrote episodes for the firstseries of Doctor in the House (and later Cleese wrote six episodes of Doctor at Large on his own in1971). These series were successful, and in 1969 Cleese and Chapman were offered their very ownseries. However, owing to Chapman's alcoholism, Cleese found himself bearing an increasing workloadin the partnership and was therefore unenthusiastic about doing a series with just the two of them. Hehad found working with Palin on The Frost Report an enjoyable experience and invited him to join theseries. Palin had previously been working on Do Not Adjust Your Set with Idle and Jones, with TerryGilliam creating the animations. The four of them had, on the back of the success of Do Not Adjust YourSet, been offered a series for Thames Television, which they were waiting to begin when Cleese's offerarrived. Palin agreed to work with Cleese and Chapman in the meantime, bringing with him Gilliam,Jones, and Idle.

Monty Python

Monty Python's Flying Circus ran for four seasons from October 1969 to December 1974 on BBCTelevision, though Cleese quit the show after the third. Cleese's two primary characterisations were as asophisticate and a stressed-out loony. He portrayed the former as a series of announcers, TV show hosts,and government officials (for example, "The Ministry of Silly Walks"). The latter is perhaps bestrepresented in the "Cheese Shop" and by Cleese's Mr Praline character, the man with a dead NorwegianBlue parrot and a menagerie of other animals all named "Eric". He was also known for his working class"Sergeant Major" character, who worked as a Police Sergeant, Roman Centurion, etc. He is also seen asthe opening announcer with the now famous line "And now for something completely different",although in its premiere in the sketch "Man with Three Buttocks", the phrase was spoken by Eric Idle.

Partnership with Graham Chapman

Along with Gilliam's animations, Cleese's work withGraham Chapman provided Python with its darkestand angriest moments, and many of his charactersdisplay the seething suppressed rage that latercharacterised his portrayal of Basil Fawlty.

Unlike Palin and Jones, Cleese and Chapmanactually wrote togetherin the same room; Cleeseclaims that their writing partnership involved his sitting with pen and paper, doing most of the work,while Chapman sat back, not speaking for long periods, then suddenly coming out with an idea thatoften elevated the sketch to a different level. A classic example of this is the "Dead Parrot" sketch,envisaged by Cleese as a satire on poor customer service, which was originally to have involved abroken toaster and later a broken car (this version was actually performed and broadcast on the pre-

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Python special How To Irritate People). It was Chapman's suggestion to change the faulty item into adead parrot, and he also suggested that the parrot be specifically a Norwegian Blue, giving the sketch asurreal air which made it far more memorable.

Their humour often involved ordinary people in ordinary situations behaving absurdly for no obviousreason. Like Chapman, Cleese's poker face, clipped middle class accent, and imposing height allowedhim to appear convincingly as a variety of authority figures, such as policemen, detectives, Nazi officersor government officialswhich he would then proceed to undermine. Most famously, in the "Ministryof Silly Walks" sketch (actually written by Palin and Jones), Cleese exploits his stature as the crane-legged civil servant performing a grotesquely elaborate walk to his office.

Chapman and Cleese also specialised in sketches where two characters would conduct highly articulatearguments over completely arbitrary subjects, such as in the "cheese shop", the "dead parrot" sketch and"The Argument Sketch", where Cleese plays a stone-faced bureaucrat employed to sit behind a desk andengage people in pointless, trivial bickering. All of these roles were opposite Palin (who Cleese oftenclaims is his favourite Python to work with)the comic contrast between the towering Cleese's crazedaggression and the shorter Palin's shuffling inoffensiveness is a common feature in the series.Occasionally, the typical Cleese-Palin dynamic is reversed, as in "Fish Licence", wherein Palin plays thebureaucrat with whom Cleese is trying to work.

Though the programme lasted four series, by the start of series 3, Cleese was growing tired of dealingwith Chapman's alcoholism. He felt, too, that the show's scripts had declined in quality. For thesereasons, he became restless and decided to move on. Though he stayed for the third series, he officiallyleft the group before the fourth season. Despite this, he remained friendly with the group, and all sixbegan writing Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Cleese received a credit on three episodes of the fourthseries which used material from these sessions, though he was officially unconnected with the fourthseries. Cleese returned to the troupe to co-write and co-star in the Monty Python films Monty Python andthe Holy Grail, Monty Python's Life of Brian and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, and participatedin various live performances over the years.

Post-Python

From 1970 to 1973, Cleese served as rector of the University of St Andrews.[15] His election proved amilestone for the university, revolutionising and modernising the post. For instance, the rector wastraditionally entitled to appoint an "Assessor", a deputy to sit in his place at important meetings in hisabsence. Cleese changed this into a position for a student, elected across campus by the student body,resulting in direct access and representation for the student body.[16]

Around this time, Cleese worked with comedian Les Dawson on his sketch/stand-up show Sez Les. Thedifferences between the two physically (the tall, lean Cleese and the short, stout Dawson) and socially(the public school, and then Cambridge-educated Cleese and the working class, self-educatedMancunian Dawson) were marked, but both worked well together from series 8 onwards until the seriesended in 1976.[17][18]

Fawlty Towers

Cleese achieved greater prominence in the United Kingdom as the neurotic hotel manager Basil Fawltyin Fawlty Towers, which he co-wrote with his wife Connie Booth. The series won three BAFTA awardswhen produced and in 2000, it topped the British Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest BritishTelevision Programmes. The series also featured Prunella Scales as Basil's acerbic wife Sybil, AndrewSachs as the much abused Spanish waiter Manuel ("...he's from Barcelona"), and Booth as waitress

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Cleese as a Mexican maraca soloist aspart of his 1977 guest appearance onThe Muppet Show

Cleese at the 1989 AcademyAwards

Polly, the series' voice of sanity. Cleese based Basil Fawlty on a real person, Donald Sinclair, whom hehad encountered in 1970 while the Monty Python team were staying at the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquaywhile filming inserts for their television series. Reportedly, Cleese was inspired by Sinclair's mantra, "Icould run this hotel just fine, if it weren't for the guests." He later described Sinclair as "the mostwonderfully rude man I have ever met," although Sinclair's widow has said her husband was totallymisrepresented in the series. During the Pythons' stay, Sinclair allegedly threw Idle's briefcase out of thehotel "in case it contained a bomb," complained about Gilliam's "American" table manners, and threw abus timetable at another guest after they dared to ask the time of the next bus to town.

The first series was screened from 19 September 1975 on BBC 2, initially to poor reviews,[19] butgained momentum when repeated on BBC 1 the following year. Despite this, a second series did not airuntil 1979, by which time Cleese's marriage to Booth had ended, but they revived their collaboration forthe second series. Fawlty Towers consisted of only twelve episodes; Cleese and Booth both maintain thatthis was to avoid compromising the quality of the series.

In December 1977, Cleese appeared as a guest star on TheMuppet Show.[20] Cleese was a fan of the show, and co-wrotemuch of the episode.[21] Cleese also made a cameo appearance intheir 1981 film The Great Muppet Caper.

Cleese won the TV Times award for Funniest Man on TV197879.[22]

1980s and 1990s

During the 1980s and 1990s, Cleese focused on film, though hedid work with Peter Cook in his one-off TV special Peter Cookand Co. in 1980. In the same year Cleese played Petruchio, inShakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew in the BBC Television

Shakespeare series. In 1981 he starred with Sean Connery and Michael Palin in the Terry Gilliam-directed Time Bandits as Robin Hood. He also participated in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl(1982), and starred in The Secret Policeman's Ball for Amnesty International. In 1985, Cleese had asmall dramatic role as a sheriff in Silverado, which had an all-star cast that included Kevin Kline, withwhom he would star with in A Fish Called Wanda three years later. In 1986, he starred in Clockwise asan uptight school headmaster obsessed with punctuality and constantly getting into trouble during ajourney to a headmasters' conference.

Timed with the 1987 UK elections, he appeared in a video promotingproportional representation.[23]

In 1988, he wrote and starred in A Fish Called Wanda, as the lead,Archie Leach, along with Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and MichaelPalin. Wanda was a commercial and critical success, and Cleese wasnominated for an Academy Award for his script. Cynthia Cleese starredas Leach's daughter.

Graham Chapman was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1989; Cleese,Michael Palin, Peter Cook, and Chapman's partner David Sherlock,witnessed Chapman's death. Chapman's death occurred a day before the20th anniversary of the first broadcast of Flying Circus, with Jones

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commenting, "the worst case of party-pooping in all history." Cleese's eulogy at Chapman's memorialservicein which he "became the first person ever at a British memorial service to say 'fuck'"hassince become legendary.[24]

Cleese would later play a supporting role in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Mary Shelley'sFrankenstein alongside Branagh himself and Robert De Niro. He also produced and acted in a numberof successful business training films, including Meetings, Bloody Meetings and More Bloody Meetings.These were produced by his company Video Arts.

With Robin Skynner, the group analyst and family therapist, Cleese wrote two books on relationships:Families and How to Survive Them, and Life and How to Survive It. The books are presented as adialogue between Skynner and Cleese.

In 1996, Cleese declined the British honour of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).The follow-up to A Fish Called Wanda, Fierce Creatureswhich again starred Cleese alongside KevinKline, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Palinwas also released that year, but was greeted with mixedreception by critics and audiences. Cleese has since often stated that making the second film had been amistake. When asked by his friend, director and restaurant critic Michael Winner, what he would dodifferently if he could live his life again, Cleese responded, "I wouldn't have married Alyce FayeEichelberger and I wouldn't have made Fierce Creatures."[25]

In 1999, Cleese appeared in the James Bond film, The World Is Not Enough as Q's assistant, referred toby Bond as "R". In 2002, when Cleese reprised his role in Die Another Day, the character was promoted,making Cleese the new quartermaster (Q) of MI6. In 2004, Cleese was featured as Q in the video gameJames Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, featuring his likeness and voice. Cleese did not appear in thesubsequent Bond films, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall; in the latter film, Ben Whishawwas cast in the role of Q.

2000present

Cleese is Provost's Visiting Professor at Cornell University, after having been Andrew D. WhiteProfessor-at-Large from 1999 to 2006. He makes occasional, well-received appearances on the Cornellcampus.

In 2001, Cleese was cast in the comedy Rat Race as the eccentric hotel owner Donald P. Sinclair, thename of the Torquay hotel owner on whom he had based the character of Basil Fawlty.[26] In 2002,Cleese made a cameo appearance in the film The Adventures of Pluto Nash in which he played "James",a computerised chauffeur of a hover car stolen by the title character (played by Eddie Murphy). Thevehicle is subsequently destroyed in a chase, leaving the chauffeur stranded in a remote place on themoon. In 2003, Cleese appeared as Lyle Finster on the US sitcom Will & Grace. His character'sdaughter, Lorraine, was played by Minnie Driver. In the series, Lyle Finster briefly marries KarenWalker (Megan Mullally). In 2004, Cleese was credited as co-writer of a DC Comics graphic noveltitled Superman: True Brit.[27] Part of DC's "Elseworlds" line of imaginary stories, True Brit, mostlywritten by Kim Howard Johnson, suggests what might have happened had Superman's rocket shiplanded in Britain, not America.

From 10 November to 9 December 2005, Cleese toured New Zealand with his stage show, John CleeseHis Life, Times and Current Medical Problems. Cleese described it as "a one-man show with severalpeople in it, which pushes the envelope of acceptable behaviour in new and disgusting ways." The showwas developed in New York City with William Goldman, and includes Cleese's daughter Camilla as awriter and actor (the shows were directed by Australian Bille Brown). His assistant of many years, Garry

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Scott-Irvine, also appeared, and was listed as a co-producer. The show then played in universities inCalifornia and Arizona from 10 January to 25 March 2006 under the title "Seven Ways to Skin anOcelot".[28] His voice can be downloaded for directional guidance purposes as a downloadable option onsome personal GPS-navigation device models by company TomTom.

In a 2005 poll of comedians and comedy insiders, The Comedians' Comedian, Cleese was voted secondonly to Peter Cook. Also in 2005, a long-standing piece of Internet humour, "The Revocation ofIndependence of the United States", was wrongly attributed to Cleese. In 2006, Cleese hosted atelevision special of football's greatest kicks, goals, saves, bloopers, plays, and penalties, as well asfootball's influence on culture (including the famous Monty Python sketch "Philosophy Football"),featuring interviews with pop culture icons Dave Stewart, Dennis Hopper, and Henry Kissinger, as wellas football greats including Pel, Mia Hamm, and Thierry Henry. The Art of Soccer with John Cleese[29]was released in North America on DVD in January 2009 by BFS Entertainment & Multimedia. Also in2006, Cleese released the song "Don't Mention the World Cup".

Cleese lent his voice to the BioWare video game Jade Empire. His role was that of an "outlander"named Sir Roderick Ponce von Fontlebottom the Magnificent Bastard, stranded in the Imperial City ofthe Jade Empire. His character is essentially a British colonialist stereotype who refers to the people ofthe Jade Empire as "savages in need of enlightenment". His armour has the design of a fork stuck in apiece of cheese. He also had a cameo appearance in the computer game Starship Titanic as "The Bomb"(credited as "Kim Bread"), designed by Douglas Adams.[30]

In 2007, Cleese appeared in ads for Titleist as a golf course designer named "Ian MacCallister", whorepresents "Golf Designers Against Distance". Also in 2007, he started filming the sequel to The PinkPanther, titled The Pink Panther 2, with Steve Martin and Aishwarya Rai. On 27 September 2007Cleese announced he was to produce a series of video podcasts called HEADCAST. Cleese released thefirst episode of this series in April 2008 on his own website, headcast.co.uk.

Cleese collaborated with Los Angeles Guitar Quartet member William Kanengiser in 2008 on the text tothe performance piece "The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha". Cleese, as narrator, and the LAGQpremiered the work in Santa Barbara. 2008 also saw reports of Cleese working on a musical version of AFish Called Wanda with his daughter Camilla.

At the end of March 2009, Cleese published his first article as 'Contributing Editor' to The Spectator:"The real reason I had to join The Spectator".[31] Cleese has also hosted comedy galas at the MontrealJust for Laughs comedy festival in 2006, and again in 2009. Towards the end of 2009 and into 2010,Cleese appeared in a series of television adverts for the Norwegian electric goods shop chain, Elkjp.[32]

In March 2010 it was announced that Cleese would be playing Jasper in the video game Fable III.[33]

In 2009 and 2010, Cleese toured Scandinavia and the US with his Alimony Tour Year One and YearTwo. In May 2010, it was announced that this tour would extend to the UK (his first tour in UK), set forMay 2011. The show is dubbed the "Alimony Tour" in reference to the financial implications of Cleese'sdivorce. The UK tour started in Cambridge on 3 May, visiting Birmingham, Nottingham, Salford, York,Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Oxford, Bristol and Bath (the Alimony Tour DVD was recordedon 2 July, the final Bath date).[34] Later in 2011 John took his Alimony Tour to South Africa. He playedCape Town on the 21 & 22 October before moving over to Johannesburg where he played from 25th to30 October. In January 2012 he took his one man show to Australia, starting in Perth on 22 Jan andthroughout the next 4 months visited Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle, New South Wales,Melbourne, Sydney, and finished up during April in Canberra.

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In October 2010, Cleese was featured in the launch of an advertising campaign by The AutomobileAssociation for a new home emergency response product.[35] He appeared as a man who believed theAA could not help him during a series of disasters, including water pouring through his ceiling, with theline "The AA? For faulty showers?" During 2010, Cleese appeared in a series of radio advertisementsfor the Canadian insurance company Pacific Blue Cross, in which he plays a character called "Dr. NigelBilkington, Chief of Medicine for American General Hospital".[36][37]

In May 2012 he did a week run of shows in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Entitled 'An Eveningwith John Cleese' he was at the Madinat Theatre, Souk Madinat Jumeirah from Wednesday 23rd toSaturday 26th.

In 2012, Cleese was cast in Hunting Elephants, an upcoming heist comedy by Israeli filmmaker ReshefLevi. Cleese had to quit just prior to filming due to heart trouble and was replaced by PatrickStewart.[38][39][40]

Between September and October 2013, Cleese embarked on his first ever cross-Canada comedy tour.Entitled 'John Cleese: Last Time to See Me Before I Die tour', he visited Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto,Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria and finished in Vancouver, performing to mostly sold-out venues.[41]

Cleese returned to the stage in Dubai in November 2013, where he performed to a sold-out theater.[42]

Cleese was interviewed and appears as himself in filmmaker Gracie Otto's 2013 documentary film TheLast Impresario, about Cleese's longtime friend and colleague Michael White. White produced MontyPython and the Holy Grail and Cleese's pre-Python comedy production Cambridge Circus.[43]

At a comic press conference in November 2013, Cleese and other surviving members of the MontyPython comedy group announced a reuniting performance to be held in July 2014.[44]

Admiration for black humourIn his Alimony Tour Cleese explained the origin of his fondness for black humour, the only thing that heinherited from his mother. Examples of it are the Dead Parrot sketch, "The Kipper and the Corpse"episode of Fawlty Towers, his clip for the 1992 BBC2 mockumentary "A Question of Taste", theUndertakers sketch, the Vomit episode in The Meaning of Life and his eulogy at Graham Chapman'smemorial service.

Cleese blamed his mother Muriel, who lived to the age of 101, for his problems in relationships withwomen, saying: "It cannot be a coincidence that I spent such a large part of my life in some form oftherapy and that the vast majority of the problems I was dealing with involved relationships withwomen."[45]

Personal life1960s1980s

Cleese met Connie Booth in the US and the couple married in 1968.[19] In 1971, Booth gave birth toCynthia Cleese, their only child. With Booth, Cleese wrote the scripts for and co-starred in both series ofthe TV series Fawlty Towers, even though the two were actually divorced before the second series wasfinished and aired. Cleese and Booth are said to have remained close friends since.

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Cleese married American actress Barbara Trentham in 1981.[46] Their daughter Camilla, Cleese's secondchild, was born in 1984. He and Trentham divorced in 1990. During this time, Cleese moved from theUnited Kingdom to Los Angeles.

1990spresent

In 1992, he married American psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger. They divorced in 2008. Thedivorce settlement left Eichelberger with 12million in finance and assets, including 600,000 a yearfor seven years. Cleese said that "What I find so unfair is that if we both died today, her children wouldget much more than mine".[47]

Less than a year later he returned to the UK, where he has property in London and a home in Bath on theRoyal Crescent.[48][49]

In August 2012 he married British jewelry designer and former model Jennifer Wade, in a ceremony inthe Caribbean.[50]

Support of lemurs

Cleese has a passion for lemurs.[51][52] Following the 1997 comedy film Fierce Creatures, in which thering-tailed lemur played a key role, he hosted the 1998 BBC documentary In the Wild: Operation Lemurwith John Cleese, which tracked the progress of a reintroduction of Black-and-white Ruffed Lemursback into the Betampona Reserve in Madagascar. The project had been partly funded by Cleese'sdonation of the proceeds from the London premier of Fierce Creatures.[52][53] Cleese is quoted assaying, "I adore lemurs. They're extremely gentle, well-mannered, pretty and yet great fun... I shouldhave married one."[51]

Political viewsCurrently a member of the Liberal Democrats after previously being a Labour party voter, Cleeseswitched to the SDP after their formation in 1981, and during the 1987 general election, Cleese recordeda nine-minute party political broadcast for the SDP-Liberal Alliance, which spoke about the similaritiesand failures of the other two parties in a more humorous tone than standard political broadcasts. Cleesehas since appeared in broadcasts for the Liberal Democrats, in the 1997 general election and narrating aradio election broadcast for the party during the 2001 general election.[54] In April 2010, Cleeseexpressed his support for the Liberal Democrats on Twitter after Nick Clegg performed strongly in thefirst leaders' debate on ITV1, stating: "Well, well, well. First leaders debate, and LibDems do so well.Good luck to them."[55]

In 2008, Cleese expressed support for Barack Obama's presidential candidacy, offering his services as aspeech writer.[56] He also criticised Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, saying that"Michael Palin is no longer the funniest Palin".[57] The same year, he wrote a satirical poem about FoxNews commentator Sean Hannity for Countdown with Keith Olbermann.[58]

In 2011, Cleese declared his appreciation for Britain's coalition government between the Conservativesand Liberal Democrats, saying: "I think what's happening at the moment is rather interesting. TheCoalition has made everything a little more courteous and a little more flexible. I think it was quite good

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that the Liberal Democrats had to compromise a bit with the Tories." He also criticised the previousLabour government, commenting: "Although my inclinations are slightly left-of-centre, I was terriblydisappointed with the last Labour government. Gordon Brown lacked emotional intelligence and wasnever a leader." Cleese also declared his support for proportional representation.[59]

In April 2011, Cleese revealed that he had declined a life peerage for political services in 1999.Outgoing leader of the Liberal Democrats, Paddy Ashdown, had put forward the suggestion shortlybefore he stepped down, with the idea that Cleese would take the party whip and sit as a working peer,but the actor quipped that he "realised this involved being in England in the winter and I thought thatwas too much of a price to pay."[60]

Radio credits

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That AgainI'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (197273)

Television creditsMajor roles

The Frost Report (1966)Frost on SundayAt Last the 1948 ShowHow to Irritate People (1968) with Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Connie Booth and TimBrooke-TaylorMonty Python's Flying Circus (196974)Sez Les (1971, 1974)Fawlty Towers (1975, 1979)Whoops Apocalypse (1982)Cheers (episode "Simon Says") (1987), he won an Emmy Award for best actor in a guest starringroleThe Taming of the Shrew (1980) as PetruchioTrue Stories: Peace in our Time? as Neville Chamberlain

As host

The Human FaceWine for the ConfusedWe Are Most Amused: Master of Ceremonies for a stand-up comedy show celebrating PrinceCharles's 60th birthday.

Guest appearances

The Avengers (1968), guest appearance as Marcus Rugman (egg clown-face collector) in the

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episode Look (Stop Me if You've Heard this One)...The Goodies (1973), guest cameo appearance as a Genie in the episode The Goodies and theBeanstalk

Ripping Yarns (1979), guest cameo appearance as "Passer-by" in the episode Golden Gordon[61]

Doctor Who (1979), guest cameo appearance as an Art Lover in the episode City of Death as afavour to writer/script editor Douglas AdamsThe Muppet Show (1977)Cheers (Season 5, Episode 21, Simon Says) as Dr. Simon Finch-Royce, an acquaintance of KelseyGrammer's character Frasier Crane and fellow psychiatrist, who offers pre-marriage advice to Samand Diane, much to his later chagrin.Last of the Summer Wine (1993), guest cameo appearance in the episode Welcome to Earth.25 Years of Last of the Summer Wine (1997).3rd Rock from the Sun (19982001) as recurring character Dr. Liam Neesam.Casper & Mandrilaftalen (1999) both as the repairman of the purple Gunrack, and as the Danishsoccer coach Bosse Bo Johansson.Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central) (2002) as Red LansingWill & Grace (20032004) as recurring character Lyle Finster.Numerous commercials, including for supermarket chain Sainsbury's, snack firm Planters and aBritish government Stop Smoking campaign.Party political broadcasts for the Liberal Democrats and predecessor, the SDP-Liberal Alliance.In November 2009 commercials, in which he appears for Swedish electrical appliance chain"Elgiganten", began broadcasting in Sweden, as well as broadcasting in Denmark in late 2010.Song "Don't Mention The World Cup" animated video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg5tpMm_ruc) on YouTube played on ITV, BBC and Channel 4 News, June 2006.Batteries Not Includedgadget show on UKTV channel Dave (2008).Entourage as himself, season 7 finale (2010).Ronnie Corbett's Comedy Britain as Himself.Whitney as Dr. Grant (20122013).Over the Garden Wall as Quincy Endicott / Adelaide (voices) (2014).

FilmographyFilms

Year Title Role Notes1968 Interlude TV Publicist

1969 The Magic ChristianMr. Dougdale(director inSotheby's)

1969 The Best House inLondon Jones Uncredited

1970 The Rise and Rise of Pummer Writer

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Michael Rimmer

1971 And Now for SomethingCompletely Different Various Roles Writer

1971 The Statue Harry

1973 Elementary, My DearWatsonSherlockHolmes

1974 Romance with a DoubleBassMusicianSmychkov Writer

1975 Monty Python and theHoly Grail Various Roles Writer

1976 Meetings, BloodyMeetings TimWriter/Executive ProducerDocumentary Short

1977The Strange Case of theEnd of Civilization asWe Know It

SherlockHolmes

1979 Monty Python's Life ofBrian Various Roles Writer

1980 The Secret Policeman'sBallHimself-Various Roles

1981 The Great MuppetCaper Neville

1981 Time Bandits Gormless RobinHood

1982 Privates on Parade Major GilesFlack1983 Yellowbeard Blind Pew

1983 Monty Python's TheMeaning of Life Various Roles Writer

1985 Silverado Langston

1986 Clockwise Mr. Stimpson Evening Standard British Film Awards PeterSellers Award for Comedy

1988 A Fish Called Wanda Lawyer ArchieLeach

Writer/Executive ProducerBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominatedAcademy Award For Best OriginalScreenplayNominatedBAFTA Award for Best OriginalScreenplayNominatedGolden Globe Award for BestActor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

1989 Erik the Viking Halfdan theBlack1989 The Big Picture Bartender

1990 Bullseye!

Man on theBeach inBarbados WhoLooks LikeJohn Cleese

1991 An American Tail:Fievel Goes West Cat R. Waul Voice Only

1992 Did I Ever Tell YouHow Lucky You Are?

Narrator

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1993 Splitting Heirs Raoul P.Shadgrind

1994 Mary Shelley'sFrankensteinProfessorWaldman

1994 Rudyard Kipling's TheJungle BookDr. JuliusPlumford

1994 The Swan Princess Jean-Bob speaking Voice Only

1996 The Wind in theWillowsMr. Toad'sLawyer

1996 Fierce Creatures Rollo Lee Writer/Producer

1997 George of the Jungle An Ape Named'Ape' Voice Only

1998 In the Wild: OperationLemur with John Cleese Host Narrator

1999 The Out-of-Towners Mr. Mersault

1999 The World Is NotEnough R

2000 Isn't She Great Henry Marcus

2000 The Magic Pudding Albert, TheMagic Pudding Voice Only

2001 Quantum Project AlexanderPentcho

2001Here's Looking at You:The Evolution of theHuman Face

Narrator

2001 Rat Race Donald P.Sinclair

2001 Harry Potter and thePhilosopher's StoneNearlyHeadless Nick

2002 Harry Potter and theChamber of SecretsNearlyHeadless Nick

NominatedPhoenix Film Critics Society Awardfor Best Ensemble Acting

2002 Roberto Benigni'sPinocchioThe TalkingCrickett Voice Only: English Version

2002 Die Another Day QSecond appearance in a James Bond film,replaces Desmond Llewelyn as Q in the seriesthree years after Llewelyn's death in 1999

2002 The Adventures of PlutoNash James

2003 Charlie's Angels: FullThrottle Mr. Munday

2003 Scorched CharlesMerchant

2003 George of the Jungle 2 An Ape Named'Ape' Voice Only2004 Shrek 2 King Harold

2004 Around the World in 80DaysGrizzledSergeant

2005 Valiant Mercury

Voice Only2006 Charlotte's Web Samuel the

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valiant_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Pudding_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Another_Dayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinocchio_(2002_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_in_the_Willows_(1996_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Chamber_of_Secrets_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_of_the_Jungle_2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Pluto_Nashhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fierce_Creatureshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Is_Not_Enoughhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_Heirshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Out-of-Towners_(1999_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Around_the_World_in_80_Days_(2004_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nearly_Headless_Nickhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Film_Critics_Society_Award_for_Best_Ensemble_Actinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher%27s_Stone_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte%27s_Web_(2006_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie%27s_Angels:_Full_Throttlehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swan_Princesshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling%27s_The_Jungle_Bookhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nearly_Headless_Nickhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Llewelynhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Race_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isn%27t_She_Greathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley%27s_Frankenstein_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_of_the_Jungle_(film)



2006 Charlotte's Web Samuel theSheep2006 Man About Town Dr. Primkin2007 Shrek the Third King Harold Voice Only

2008 Igor Dr.Glickenstein Voice Only

2008 The Day the EarthStood Still Dr. Barnhardt

2009 The Pink Panther 2 Chief-InspectorCharles Dreyfus

2009 Planet 51 ProfessorKipple Voice Only

2010 Spud The Guv Awaiting international release

2010Legend of theGuardians: The Owls ofGa'Hoole

Ghost Voice Only

2010 Shrek Forever After King Harold Voice Only

2011 The Big YearHistoricalMontageNarrator

Voice Only

2011 Winnie the Pooh Narrator2012 God Loves Caviar McCormick

2013 The Last Impresario HimselfFeatured interview subject in this documentaryfilm about Michael White, producer of MontyPython and the Holy Grail.

2013 The Croods Story credit2013 Spud 2 The Guv Awaiting international release2013 Planes Bulldog Voice Only2015 Absolutely Anything Voice Only

Video game credits

Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time (1994) 7th LevelStorybook Weaver (1994) MECCMonty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail (1996) 7th LevelMonty Python's The Meaning of Life (1997) PanasonicStarship Titanic (1998) Simon & Schuster Interactive (voice of the Bomb) (Credited as KimBread)007 Racing (2000) Electronic ArtsThe World Is Not Enough (2000) Electronic ArtsTime Troopers (2004) Mr. CleeseStorybook Weaver Deluxe (2004) MECC, The Learning CompanyJames Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2004) Electronic ArtsTrivial Pursuit: Unhinged (2004) AtariJade Empire (2005) BioWare (as Sir Roderick Ponce von Fontlebottom the Magnificent Bastard)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python%27s_Complete_Waste_of_Timehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_White_(producer)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_(2008_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grailhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Titanichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolutely_Anythinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python_%26_the_Quest_for_the_Holy_Grailhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storybook_Weaverhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Yearhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond_007:_Everything_or_Nothinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_About_Town_(2006_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planes_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Empirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storybook_Weaverhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Impresariohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Loves_Caviarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pink_Panther_2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Guardians:_The_Owls_of_Ga%27Hoolehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Is_Not_Enough_(video_game)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/007_Racinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_the_Thirdhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_51https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivial_Pursuit:_Unhingedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte%27s_Web_(2006_film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spud_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Croodshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_Forever_Afterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_(film)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_the_Pooh_(film)



Shrek the Third (2007) King Harold, NarratorFable III (2010) Jasper

Smart As (2012) The Narrator[62]

The Elder Scrolls Online (2014) Sir Cadwell

Other credits

In 2003, John Cleese took part in Mike Oldfield's re-recording of the 1973 hit Tubular Bells,Tubular Bells 2003. He took over the "Master of Ceremonies" duties in the 'Finale' part, in which

he announced the various instruments eccentrically, from the late Vivian Stanshall.[63]

Cleese recorded the voice of God for Spamalot, the musical based on Monty Python and the HolyGrail.Cleese narrated the audio version of C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters.In the mid-1980s, Cleese starred in British advertisements for Compaq computers and Schweppesbeverages.In the late-1990s, Cleese appeared in a set of poorly received commercials for the UK supermarketchain Sainsbury's. Around the same time, his Fawlty Towers co-star, Prunella Scales, appeared inmore well-received commercials for rival chain Tesco.He has enunciated a set of directions for the TomTom in-car navigation system. This allows itselfhumorous notes at non-critical moments, for instance when asking for a U-turn and when signingoff: "I'm not going to carry your baggagefrom now on, you're on your own" and "Bearright..Beaver left."He plays the voice of Samuel the Sheep in the 2006 adaptation of Charlotte's Web. Samuelrepeatedly tells the other sheep to be individuals, not sheep. This is a reference to Monty Python'sLife of Brian.He has a speaking part at the end of the Alan Parsons song "Chomolungma" from the album AValid Path.In 2008, John Cleese appeared in a humorous TV commercial in Poland advertising a bank loan.From 2006 to 2008 John Cleese has appeared in humorous TV commercials in Iceland advertisingKauping.In 2004, Cleese co-wrote the graphic novel Superman: True Brit which reimagines the origin ofSuperman, by considering how Clark Kent's upbringing would be different if his spaceship hadcrashed in Weston-super-Mare in England instead of the fictional town of Smallville in Kansas,America.

Television advertisements

Year Title Role1970s Royal Mail Pirate / Sir Betty1975 Texaco Himself

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tescohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Kenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Stanshallhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texacohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Mailhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chomolungmahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Screwtape_Lettershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubular_Bellshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_Onlinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Oldfieldhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.S._Lewishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spamalothttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweppeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Ashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaqhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubular_Bells_2003https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fable_IIIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Valid_Pathhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_the_Third_(video_game)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaup%C3%BEinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_True_Brithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte%27s_Webhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Parsonshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland



1978 Accurist Himself19801982 Sony Himself1981 Giroblauw (Holland) Interviewer1982 Postbank (Holland) Himself1982 EAC Multilist (Australia) Estate Agent1982 American Express Himself1980s Compaq Himself1980s Planters Pretzels (Australia) Himself1986 Maxwell House Himself1988 Talking Pages Man who wants to marry Princess199091 Schweppes Himself199293 Talking Pages Colin199294 Magnavox Himself1993 Nestl Milk Chocolate (Australia) Himself1993 Cellnet Woman199395 Health Education Authority (Smoking Quitline) Himself1996 Norwich Union Direct Himself1996 Tele Danmark (Denmark) Himself1998 Tostitos French Chef1998 Lexus Himself, voice only

199899 Sainsbury's Himself1999 Melba toast Himself1999 Artistdirect.com Himself2001 007: Agent Under Fire R200108 Titleist Ian MacCallister2002 Little Tikes Himself2002 Heineken Himself2003 Westinghouse Unplugged vacuum cleaner Himself2005 Intel Himself2006 TBS Himself2006 TV Spielfilm (Germany) Himself200608 Kauping (Iceland) Himself2008 Bank Zachodni WBK (Poland) Himself2009 Elgiganten (Sweden) Himself2009 Hashahar Ha'oleh (Israel) Western general2009 Accurist Himself2010 William Hill (Austria) Himself201011 AA Himself2011 Dogtober (Australia) Himself, voice only2012 Czech Olympic Team (Czech Republic) Himself2012 DirecTV Himself2012 Canadian Club (Australia) Himself, voice only

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artistdirecthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaqhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Clubhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_Househttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainsbury%27shttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/007:_Agent_Under_Firehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westinghouse_Electric_(1998)#Licensing_of_the_brandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titleisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TBS_(TV_channel)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweppeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympicshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaup%C3%BEinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_Zachodni_WBKhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melba_toasthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accuristhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TDC_A/Shttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgigantenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwich_Unionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinekenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellnethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ING_Grouphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hill_(bookmaker)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tostitoshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postbank_N.V.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Tikeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirecTVhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Expresshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9_Milk_Chocolatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accuristhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Pageshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnavoxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Pageshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Automobile_Association



Awards

Academy Awards(1988) NominatedAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay / A Fish Called Wanda(shared with Charles Crichton)

Golden Globe Awards(1988) NominatedGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical orComedy / A Fish Called Wanda

BAFTA Awards(1970) NominatedBAFTA Television Award for "Best Light Entertainment Performance"/ Monty Python's Flying Circus(1971) NominatedBAFTA Television Award for "Best Light Entertainment Performance"/ Monty Python's Flying Circus(1976) NominatedBAFTA Television Award for "Best Light Entertainment Performance"/ Fawlty Towers(1980) WonBAFTA Television Award for "Best Light Entertainment Performance" /Fawlty Towers(1989) NominatedBAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay / A Fish Called Wanda(also 1989) WonBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

Primetime Emmy Awards(1987) WonPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series /Cheers (as Dr. Simon Finch-Royce)(1998) NominatedPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor ComedySeries / 3rd Rock from the Sun (as Dr. Liam Neesam)(2002) NominatedPrimetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Nonfiction Special" / TheHuman Face(2004) NominatedPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor ComedySeries / Will & Grace (as Lyle Finster)

Writers Guild of America(1989) NominatedWriters Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay / A FishCalled Wanda (shared with Charles Crichton)

Honours and tributes

A species of lemur, the Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei), has been named in his honour.John Cleese has mentioned this in television interviews. Also there is mention of this honour in

"New Scientist"[64]and John Cleese's response to the honour.[65]

An asteroid, 9618 Johncleese, is named in his honour.Cleese declined a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 1996.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_%26_Gracehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writers_Guild_of_America_Award_for_Best_Original_Screenplayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Human_Facehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Crichtonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Globe_Award_for_Best_Actor_-_Motion_Picture_Musical_or_Comedyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Awardshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAFTA_Television_Awardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBEhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9618_Johncleesehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Globe_Awardshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAFTA_Awardshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemurhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Guest_Actor_-_Comedy_Serieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Crichtonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAFTA_Award_for_Best_Actor_in_a_Leading_Rolehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Awardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bemaraha_woolly_lemurhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Original_Screenplayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAFTA_Award_for_Best_Original_Screenplayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writers_Guild_of_Americahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Rock_from_the_Sun



There is a municipal rubbish heap of 45 metres (148ft) in altitude that has been named Mt Cleeseat the Awapuni landfill just outside Palmerston North after he dubbed the city "suicide capital of

New Zealand".[66]

"The Universal Language" skit from All in the Timing, a collection of short plays by David Ives,centres around a fictional language (Unamunda) in which the word for the English language is"johncleese".The post-hardcore rock band I Set My Friends on Fire has a song on their You Can't SpellSlaughter Without Laughter album titled "Reese's Pieces, I Don't Know Who John Cleese Is?".

Bibliography

The Rectorial Address of John Cleese, Epam, 1971, 8 pagesCleese Encounters: The Unauthorized Biography of Monty Python Veteran John Cleese, JonathanMargolis, St. Martin's Press, 1992, ISBN 0-312-08162-6The Human Face (with Brian Bates) (DK Publishing Inc., 2001, ISBN 978-0-7894-7836-8)Foreword for Time and the Soul, Jacob Needleman, 2003, ISBN 1-57675-251-8 (paperback)So, Anyway..., 2014, Crown Archetype, ISBN 038534824X

Scripts

The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation As We Know It, w/Jack Hobbs & Joseph McGrath,1977ISBN 0-352-30109-0Fawlty Towers, w/Connie Booth, 1977 (The Builders, The Hotel Inspectors, Gourmet Night)ISBN 0-86007-598-2Fawlty Towers: Book 2, w/Connie Booth, 1979 (The Wedding Party, A Touch of Class, TheGermans)The Golden Skits of Wing Commander Muriel Volestrangler FRHS & Bar, 1984ISBN 0-413-41560-0The Complete Fawlty Towers, w/Connie Booth, 1988ISBN 0-413-18390-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-679-72127-4 (paperback)A Fish Called Wanda: The Screenplay, w/Charles Crichton, 1988ISBN 1-55783-033-9Fawlty's Hotel: Smtliche Stcke, w/Connie Booth, (The Complete Fawlty Towers in German),Haffmans Verlag AG Zrich, 1995

Dialogues

Families and How to Survive Them, w/Robin Skynner, 1983ISBN 0-413-52640-2 (hardc.), ISBN0-19-520466-2 (p/back)Life and How to Survive It, w/Robin Skynner 1993ISBN 0-413-66030-3 (hardcover), ISBN 0-393-31472-3 (paperback)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0679721274https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1576752518https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780789478368https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Iveshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awapuni,_Manawatu-Wanganuihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Set_My_Friends_on_Firehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmerston_Northhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Needlemanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0413526402https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0413415600https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1557830339https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_in_the_Timinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0413183904https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Crichtonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/038534824Xhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0860075982https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_and_How_to_Survive_Ithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Bates_(psychologist)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0195204662https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Skynnerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0413660303https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0352301090https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0312081626https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0393314723https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Families_and_How_to_Survive_Themhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can%27t_Spell_Slaughter_Without_Laughterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Archetype



See also

Declining a British honour

References

1. ^ "John Cleese Biography (1939)" (http://www.filmreference.com/film/20/John-Cleese.html).Filmreference.com. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

2. ^ Raphael, Amy (29 November 2008). " 'Ross and Brand were astoundingly tasteless' "(http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/nov/29/john-cleese-interview). The Guardian. Retrieved23 November 2014.

3. ^ "John Cleese catches out BBC with swear-word on live TV" (http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Cleese-s-tall-stories-true-blue/story-23082924-detail/story.html). Western Daily Press. 10 October 2014. Retrieved23 November 2014.

4. ^ "San Diego Magazine, Silly Walks and Dead Parrots" (http://www.sandiegomag.com/media/San-Diego-Magazine/March-2006/Silly-Walks-and-Dead-Parrots/). Sandiegomag.com. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

5. ^ "John Cleese" (http://www.cardinalfang.net/biographies/cleese_biog.html). Cardinal Fang's Python Site.Retrieved 7 May 2011.

6. ^ "John Cleese" (http://www.leadingauthorities.com/agent/john-cleese.aspx). Leading Authorities. Retrieved7 May 2011.

7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k From Fringe to Flying Circus 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 19601980' Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980, ISBN 0-413-46950-6.

8. ^ "John Cleese to Spend Five Years Tour As Professor at Cornell University"(http://www.dailyllama.com/news/1999/llama090.html). Daily Llama. 18 January 1999. Retrieved 4 April2012.

9. ^ Life of Brian commentary by Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle

10. ^ a b c Footlights! 'A Hundred Years of Cambridge Comedy' Robert Hewison, Methuen London Ltd,1983, ISBN 0-413-51150-2.

11. ^ Sunday Times, 16 October 1988.12. ^ Episode #18.5 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0724736/) of The Ed Sullivan Show on Imdb.com13. ^ P70, The Authorised History of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue; Jem Roberts ISBN 978-1-84809-132-014. ^ Morris Bright; Robert Ross (2001). Fawlty Towers: fully booked (http://books.google.com/books?id=AH-

FAAAAIAAJ). BBC. p.60. ISBN978-0-563-53439-6. Retrieved 29 September 2010.15. ^ List of Rectors of University of St. Andrews (https://web.archive.org/web/20050114000125/http://foi.st-

andrews.ac.uk/doc.jsp?id=295) at the Wayback Machine (archived January 14, 2005)16. ^ "John Cleese Biography" (http://www.cardinalfang.net/biographies/cleese_biog.html). Cardinal fang.

Retrieved 8 October 2011.17. ^ Andy Lowe. "30 Things You Genuinely Never Knew About John Cleese"

(http://www.bubblegun.com/features/cleese.html). Bubblegun.com. Retrieved 4 April 2012.18. ^ "Why we'll never know the real Les Dawson: Correspondents 2008: Chortle: The UK Comedy Guide"

(http://www.chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2008/01/15/6271/why_well_never_know_the_real_les_dawson).Chortle. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2012.

19. ^ a b Cahal Milmo "Life after Polly: Connie Booth (a case of Fawlty memory syndrome)",(http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/life-after-polly-connie-booth-a-case-of-fawlty-memory-

http://books.google.com/books?id=AH-FAAAAIAAJhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0724736/http://www.bubblegun.com/features/cleese.htmlhttp://www.filmreference.com/film/20/John-Cleese.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0413511502https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declining_a_British_honourhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-563-53439-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0413469506https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ed_Sullivan_Showhttp://www.sandiegomag.com/media/San-Diego-Magazine/March-2006/Silly-Walks-and-Dead-Parrots/http://www.chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2008/01/15/6271/why_well_never_know_the_real_les_dawsonhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/life-after-polly-connie-booth-a-case-of-fawlty-memory-syndrome-450289.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20050114000125/http://foi.st-andrews.ac.uk/doc.jsp?id=295https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://www.leadingauthorities.com/agent/john-cleese.aspxhttp://www.cardinalfang.net/biographies/cleese_biog.htmlhttp://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Cleese-s-tall-stories-true-blue/story-23082924-detail/story.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781848091320http://www.dailyllama.com/news/1999/llama090.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Timeshttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/nov/29/john-cleese-interviewhttp://www.cardinalfang.net/biographies/cleese_biog.html



(http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/life-after-polly-connie-booth-a-case-of-fawlty-memory-syndrome-450289.html) The Independent, 25 May 2007

20. ^ Garlen, Jennifer C.; Graham, Anissa M. (2009). Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson'sMuppets. McFarland & Company. p.218. ISBN0-7864-4259-X.

21. ^ "John Cleese Episode 47"(http://www.muppetcentral.com/guides/episodes/tms/season2/47_cleese.shtml). Muppet Central. Retrieved20 December 2008.

22. ^ "John Cleese" (http://www.savemeaticket.com/event/theatre/entertainment/john-cleese-tickets). Save me aticket. Retrieved 12 February 2011.

23. ^ "YouTube John Cleese Explains Proportional Representation for Canada & Ontario changes Coming"(http://www.topix.com/forum/world/canada/TCCS4ILPTT6OD8FVD). Topix. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

24. ^ Cleese continued to openly say the word, most notably reported in an interview hosted by Robert Klein, inwhich Cleese remarked that Chapman is "stone-fucking-dead!"Memorial eulogy by John Cleese for GrahamChapman (http://www.cardinalfang.net/misc/chapman_memorial.html)

25. ^ "Restaurant review: Michael Winner at Villa Principe Leopoldo, Switzerland"(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/eating_out/winners_dinners/article4275153.ece). The Sunday Times (UK). 6 July 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2008.

26. ^ Rat Race (2001) Full cast and crew (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250687/fullcredits#cast)27. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "2000s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling

Kindersley. p.315. ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9. "Comedy legend John Cleese joined forces with artist JohnByrne, inker Mark Farmer and writer Kim Johnson for a unique take on the Superman story. Superman: TrueBrit saw Kal-El's rocketship land on a farm... in the UK."

28. ^ "John Cleese Brings Seven Ways to Skin an Ocelot to U.S."(http://www.playbill.com/news/article/97589.html). Playbill. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

29. ^ "Art of Soccer, The With John Cleese" (http://www.bfsent.com/item_detail.asp?number=30895).Bfsent.com. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

30. ^ "Starship Titanic" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134981/). Internet Movie Database. Retrieved15 November 2011.

31. ^ "The real reason I had to join" (http://www.spectator.co.uk/i//the-magazine/features/3472446/the-real-reason-i-had-to-join-the-spectator.thtml). The Spectator. UK. 25 March 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

32. ^ Ottosen, Peder. "John Cleese i Elkjp-reklame"(http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/09/23/kjendis/tv/tv_og_medier/reklame/elkjop/8259273/). Kjendis.no.Retrieved 17 February 2011.

33. ^ Brudvig, Erik (11 March 2010). "GDC 10: Designing Fable III Xbox 360 Preview at IGN"(http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/107/1076735p1.html). Xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

34. ^ "BBC Ex-Python John Cleese goes on first UK tour, aged 71"(http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/bristol/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8695000/8695560.stm).BBC News. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

35. ^ Oatts, Joanne. "AA ad features John Cleese at" (http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/travel-and-leisure/aa-ad-features-john-cleese/3019428.article). Marketingweek.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2011.

36. ^ "Canadian Marketing Association Awards 2010" (http://www.the-cma.org/awards/downloads/CA0GLR4WEB.pdf). Canadian Marketing Association. November 2010.Retrieved 6 December 2011.

37. ^ "Pacific Blue Cross gets Comedic Insurance with John Cleese"(http://www.waveproductions.com/newsframe.php). Wave Productions. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 6 December

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2011.38. ^ Anderman, Irit (17 May 2012). "British actor John Cleese to appear in Israeli heist comedy"

(http://www.haaretz.com/culture/british-actor-john-cleese-to-appear-in-israeli-heist-comedy-1.431056).Haaretz. Retrieved 17 May 2012.

39. ^ Roxborough, Scott (16 May 2012). "Cannes 2012: John Cleese Joins Israeli Comedy 'Hunting Elephants' "(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-john-cleese-hunting-elephants-325570). The HollywoodReporter. Retrieved 17 May 2012.

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