History Creator / JohnCleese

* ''Film/TimeBandits'' (1981): RobinHood.

* MauriceChevalierAccent: His French characters tend to be - for lack of a better word - outRAGEous! Seen in ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', ''Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife'' and ''Westernanimation/TheSwanPrincess''.

John Marwood Cleese (born October 27, 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, England) is a British actor and screenwriter. His comedy career, after exposure as part of the UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} Footlights, really began with the ensemble comedy show ''Radio/ImSorryIllReadThatAgain''. He is most famous for his work in ''Creator/MontyPython'', where he often played authority figures and yelled a lot. His leaving the show before the fourth season is widely seen to be the moment when it JumpedTheShark. Beyond that, he, along with his then-wife Connie Booth, created and starred in ''Series/FawltyTowers'', co-wrote and starred in ''Film/AFishCalledWanda'', helped write the ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' {{Elseworld}} ''ComicBook/SupermanTrueBrit'', made cameo appearances all over the place, and gave a [[PrecisionFStrike rather famous]] [[https://www.funeralwise.com/celebration-of-life/ceremony/eulogy/chapman/ eulogy]] to friend and fellow Python Creator/GrahamChapman.

* WorkingWithTheEx: In ''Series/FawltyTowers'' Cleese plays Basil, while his then wife Connie Booth plays Polly the maid. In the first series they were still together. In the second they were divorced. Still, [[AmicableExes they did get along fine]], seeing that she also co-wrote the scripts.

John Marwood Cleese (born October 27, 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, England) is a British actor and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work in ''Creator/MontyPython'', where he often played authority figures and yelled a lot. His leaving the show before the fourth season is widely seen to be the moment when it JumpedTheShark. Beyond that, he, along with his then-wife Connie Booth, created and starred in ''Series/FawltyTowers'', co-wrote and starred in ''Film/AFishCalledWanda'', helped write the ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' {{Elseworld}} ''ComicBook/SupermanTrueBrit'', made cameo appearances all over the place, and gave a [[PrecisionFStrike rather famous]] [[https://www.funeralwise.com/celebration-of-life/ceremony/eulogy/chapman/ eulogy]] to friend and fellow Python Creator/GrahamChapman.

* MauriceChevalierAccent: His French characters tend to be - for lack of a better word - outRAGEous! Seen in ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'', ''Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife'' and ''Westernanimation/TheSwanPrincess''.

* WorkingWithTheEx: In ''Series/FawltyTowers'' Cleese plays Basil, while his then wife Connie Booth plays Polly the maid. In the first series they were still together. In the second they were divorced. Still, they did get along fine, seeing that she also co-wrote the scripts.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Cleese has a reputation for being very intent on earning money. (His divorce settlement was very expensive and pretty much forced him to do a lot more work than most actors of his age and recognition.) Creator/EricIdle complained a lot about this, especially because Cleese only wanted to do the post-Python projects (like the movies) if they brought in a lot of cash. Many of the films and TV sitcom appearances Cleese has done in the later years of his life have been criticized as this too. Ironically, Idle himself has gone the same route the last twenty years.

* AbsenteeActor: The fourth season of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' was done without his participation. Cleese had grown tired of the show and left to do other things. In his own opinion he felt they were repeating themselves and he was always pitted to write together with Creator/GrahamChapman who still suffered from alcoholism in those days. He tried to change the system of working with different people within the group, but the others weren't keen on that.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfFz-EHEYEM A]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOLwdV44np0 series]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGbamk-60M0 of]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHfZQVxsuZo ads]] for Icelandic bank [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaupthing_Bank Kaupþing]].[[note]]Which are a major FunnyAneurysmMoment [[http://www.bbc.com/news/business-25349240 now]][[/note]]

[[caption-width-right:350:"And now for Something Completely Different…"]]

[[caption-width-right:350:"And now for SomethingCompletelyDifferent…"]]

* AcronymAndAbbreviationOverload: In ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' an MPFC LP played by Cleese had this as the basis for a sketch IIRC.
--> '': Gentlemen, our MP saw the PM this AM and the PM wants more LSD from the PIB by tomorrow AM or PM at the latest. I told the PM's PPS that AM was NBG so tomorrow PM it is for the PM nem. con.''

--> ''He once told me, and he won't deny this, "I'll do anything for money." So I offered him a pound to shut up, and he took it.''

--> "I'd like to be the first person, at a British memorial service, to say 'fuck'."

* ManlyFacialHair: His stache's something of a trademark of his in the post-''Python'' years, with the exception of some appearances like ''Film/AFishCalledWanda''.
** Check [[https://twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/1218245500127907842 his Twitter feed]] to see the badass side of this:
-->''"I read that South Koreans view moustaches as a relic of colonialism. I grew mine because the Romans did not allow moustaches. So I wear mine as a act of defiance against those Romans, whose Imperialist rule of Britain enslaved my ancestors for 400 years. 400!! Beat that!!!"''

* BadassMustache: It's something of a trademark of his in the post-''Python'' years, with the exception of some appearances like ''Film/AFishCalledWanda''.
** Check [[https://twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/1218245500127907842 his Twitter feed]] to see the badass side of this:
-->''"I read that South Koreans view moustaches as a relic of colonialism. I grew mine because the Romans did not allow moustaches. So I wear mine as a act of defiance against those Romans, whose Imperialist rule of Britain enslaved my ancestors for 400 years. 400!! Beat that!!!"''

* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': Dr. Simon Finch-Royce in one episode

* EmbarrasingLastName: Before he was born, his father changed his last name to Cleese from ''Cheese''.

John Marwood Cleese (born 27 October 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, England) is a British actor and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work in ''Creator/MontyPython'', where he often played authority figures and yelled a lot. His leaving the show before the fourth season is widely seen to be the moment when it JumpedTheShark. Beyond that, he, along with his then-wife Connie Booth, created and starred in ''Series/FawltyTowers'', co-wrote and starred in ''Film/AFishCalledWanda'', helped write the ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' {{Elseworld}} ''ComicBook/SupermanTrueBrit'', made cameo appearances all over the place, and gave a [[PrecisionFStrike rather famous]] [[https://www.funeralwise.com/celebration-of-life/ceremony/eulogy/chapman/ eulogy]] to friend and fellow Python Creator/GrahamChapman.

John Marwood Cleese (born 27 October 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, England) is a British actor and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work in ''Creator/MontyPython'', where he often played authority figures and yelled a lot. His leaving the show before the fourth season is widely seen to be the moment when it JumpedTheShark. Beyond that, he, along with his then-wife Connie Booth, created and starred in ''Series/FawltyTowers'', co-wrote and starred in ''Film/AFishCalledWanda'', helped write the ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' {{Elseworld}} ''ComicBook/SupermanTrueBrit'', made cameo appearances all over the place, and gave a [[PrecisionFStrike rather famous]] eulogy to friend and fellow Pythonite Creator/GrahamChapman.

John Marwood Cleese (born October 27, 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, England) is a British actor and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work in ''Creator/MontyPython'', where he often played authority figures and yelled a lot. His leaving the show before the fourth season is widely seen to be the moment when it JumpedTheShark. Beyond that, he, along with his then-wife Connie Booth, created and starred in ''Series/FawltyTowers'', co-wrote and starred in ''Film/AFishCalledWanda'', helped write the ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' {{Elseworld}} ''ComicBook/SupermanTrueBrit'', made cameo appearances all over the place, and gave a [[PrecisionFStrike rather famous]] eulogy to friend and fellow Pythonite Creator/GrahamChapman.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: He based Basil Fawlty on a very rude hotel manager called Donald Sinclair. The other Pythons left the hotel, but John chose to stay and study Donald's behavior. He would then go on to play a hotel tycoon named Donald Sinclair in ''Film/RatRace''.