John Cleese

About

John is a legendary comedy writer and actor, famous for his work with the Monty Python films and television series, the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers, as well as feature films like A Fish Called Wanda.

John Cleese achieved much success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter before becomming a member of Monty Python in the late 1960s.

In the mid 1970s, Cleese and his first wife, Connie Booth, co-wrote and starred in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers. Later, he co-starred with Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, and former Python colleague Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures.

Cleese won the TV Times award for Funniest Man On TV in 1978 and 1979.

John has also lent his voicing talents to  a set of directions for the TomTom in-car navigation system.

He also lent his support to Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy, donating US$2,300 to his campaign and offering his services as a speech writer.

With Yes Minister writer Antony Jay he co-founded Video Arts, a production company making entertaining training films.

Following the 1997 comedy film Fierce Creatures, in which the ring-tailed lemur played a key role, John hosted the 1998 BBC documentary In the Wild: Operation Lemur with John Cleese. The program tracked the progress of a reintroduction of Black-and-white Ruffed Lemurs back into the Betampona Reserve in Madagascar. The project had been partly funded by Cleese’s donation of the proceeds from the London premier of Fierce Creatures.

In 2009 and 2010, Cleese toured Scandinavia and the US with his Alimony Tour Year One and Year Two. In May 2010, it was announced that this tour would extend to the UK, set for May 2011.

One of the most respected figures in comedy and entertainment, John Cleese is in demand as an after dinner speaker and event host.