Born on October 27, 1939 in Somerset, England, John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer and singer. He was educated at the St. Peter’s Preparatory School, where he was a star pupil. He also received a scholarship to Clifton College in Bristol. He first became a science teacher before studying law at Downing College, Cambridge where he joined the theatre club Cambridge Footlights Revue. While there, he wrote material for the production of I Thought I Saw It Move in 1961, as well as being one of the cast members for the 1962 Double Take! He also appeared in some revue sketches of The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Cleese performed on and off-Broadway while in America, and had a role in the musical Half a Sixpence.
John Cleese returned to England as a cast member of the popular BBC radio show I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again. In 1965, he and Graham Chapman began writing on The Frost Report, where they began their successful career in comedy. It was during that period that Cleese met British comedian Peter Cook. In 1966, he worked on another series, At Last the 1948 Show, as well as writing episodes of Doctor in the House. In 1969, Cleese and Chapman were offered their own series due to the success of their previous efforts. From October 1969 to December 1974, Monty Python’s Flying Circus was aired on BBC Television. His characterizations earned him applause, and he continued to work with Chapman on the show. The group also worked on the subsequent Monty Python films, including Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975, Monty Python’s Life of Brian in 1979, and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life in 1983.
Cleese also gained more success in the United Kingdom, appearing in the series Fawlty Towers. It was critically acclaimed, winning three BAFTA awards. In 1978, Cleese became a guest star on The Muppet Show. He also wrote and starred in 1988’s A Fish Called Wanda, where he was nominated for an Academy Award for his script. He has written and was cast in a number of films, appearing in the 1999 James Bond movie, The World is Not Enough and 2002’s Die Another Day. In 2007, he continued to film The Pink Panther’s sequel The Pink Panther Deux with Steve Martin, and he gave a live performance at the 2006 Just for Laughs festival in Canada.
-A species of lemur, Avahi cleesei, has been named in his honour.
-An asteroid, 9618 Johncleese, is named in his honour.
-Cleese declined a CBE (Commander of The British Empire) in 1996.
-There is a municipal rubbish heap of 45 metres (148 ft) in altitude that has been named Mt Cleese at the Awapuni landfill just outside Palmerston North after he dubbed the city "suicide capital of New Zealand".
-The "Unamunda" skit from All in the Timing, a collection of short plays by David Ives, centers around a fictional language (Unamunda) in which the word for the English language is "johncleese".
-Comedy always works best when it is mean-spirited.
-He who laughs most, learns best.
-I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me.
-If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.
- If life were fair, Dan Quayle would be making a living asking 'Do you want fries with that?'