John Cleese made his name in Monty Python, created the comedy classic Fawlty Towers (voted the most popular TV program of all time by the British Film Institute), wrote and starred in many block-buster movies, authored self-help books and is a highly successful business man. Yes, indeed, award-winning John Cleese has had a remarkable career. Educated at Clifton College, Bristol, England, John went on to Cambridge University to study Law. With a natural ability to make people laugh, he joined the university’s theatrical Footlights Club in his first year, where he met his future writing partner Graham Chapman. As Cleese’s comic reputation flourished, he was soon offered a position as a writer with BBC Radio, working on among others, sketches for The Dick Emery Show. He rejoined the Cambridge Review for a tour of New Zealand and New York, and decided to stay on in America performing on and off-Broadway. It was during this time he met Terry Gilliam and his then future wife, American actress Connie Booth. On his return to London in 1965, together with Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, he wrote for The Frost Report and At Last The 1948 Show. In October 1969, Monty Python’s Flying Circus hit UK TV screens for the first time. A second season was to follow and in early 1971, And Now For Something Completely Different, was released. September 1972 saw a third season of the Flying Circus complete with stage shows at home and abroad. Concerned with the lack of originality in the material, Cleese decided to leave the Monty Python’s Flying Circus show which came to a close after its fourth Cleeseless season. The writing team remained close and the movie, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, the first of four Monty Python feature films, came out in the spring of 1974. In 1975, Fawlty Towers hit UK TV screens. With twelve episodes written by Cleese and his then-wife, Connie Booth, the show became a massive success, an enduring classic, that still to this day looks as fresh as ever. Even with the Pythons all pursuing solo careers, they completed successful tours of the U.S and Canada, and produced The Life Of Brian in 1978 (John Cleese’s favorite Python movie) followed by The Meaning of Life in 1983. But Python was only one of many sides to John Cleese. From appearing on The Muppet Show to playing Petrucho in Taming Of The Shrew, a BBC Shakespeare series directed by Jonathan Miller, he also appeared in a number of non-Python related British comedies in the ’80s, including Privates On Parade (1982), Yellowbeard (1983) and Clockwise (1986). A familiar face in American TV commercials, Cleese’s Hollywood cameo roles include: The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Lawrence Kasdan’s Silverado (1985), The Big Picture (1989), and voice work for the animated An American Tail 2: Fieval Goes West (1991). Cleese’s biggest movie success was the award-winning A Fish Called Wanda (1988), a blockbuster comedy starring Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis and Michael Palin. He wrote the screenplay and served as executive producer. Other recent movie credits include The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Rat Race (2000). Cleese is also a highly successful businessman. In 1972 he founded Video Arts, a corporate training company. He has also written self-help books including Families (1984) and Life and How to Survive It (1993). More recent film credits include Spud 2, Planes and Absolutely Anything. Fortunately, John Cleese still performs around the world.
