ACTOR · BORN 1939
John Cleese
- Born
- 27 October 1939, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England, UK
- Known for
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007)
69 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
45 Interesting Facts About John Cleese
- #001
The inspiration for Fawlty Towers (1975) came from a hotel stay Cleese had with the other Pythons at the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, England. The hotel manager was named Donald Sinclair, whom Cleese regarded as the rudest man he had ever encountered. He later played a character named Donald P. Sinclair in Rat Race (2001).
- #002
Cleese was offered a C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1996. He turned it down because, in his own words, "This title doesn't see the same admiration and respect in the general public as those who actually give it - in my case you're not addressed as 'Commander Cleese' - which somehow invalidates the meaning of the whole thing." Similarly, Cleese was offered a seat in the House of Lords but turned that down as well; according to him, "It would have been a lovely ring - 'Lord John Cleese', that is - but on the other hand, I would have had to stay in London all winter… because then, no matter what, they meet in Parliament to vote, and during that damn winter *nobody* sane lives in London!"
- #005
When Cleese left the Monty Python team, the BBC approached him to do something else, and together with Connie Booth he created Fawlty Towers (1975), based on their experiences at the Torquay hotel.
- #006
Cleese is especially fond of Siamese cats, and once named five of them after types of cheese. He was also fond of cheese itself until he discovered he was lactose intolerant.
- #008
Terry Gilliam noted a distinction among his Monty Python colleagues between the taller, more "aggressive" Cambridge men (Cleese, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle) and the shorter, more gently humorous Oxford men (Michael Palin and Terry Jones); the American Gilliam found himself closer to the latter group. Gilliam saw Cleese as the tallest and most "aggressive" member of Monty Python and as the group's most "Cambridge" one.
- #009
According to Brian Henson, Cleese greatly enjoyed appearing as a guest star on The Muppet Show (1976) and grew very close to the writers because he wanted to be involved in the writing. Once he was involved, he and the other writers came up with a concept in which Cleese is kept on the show against his will and tries to get out of it while the Muppets try to make him do the things they have planned. Life did not imitate art in this case, of course, since a few years later Cleese reappeared with the Muppets in The Great Muppet Caper (1981).
- #010
Ever since the Ministry of Silly Walks, one of the most famous Monty Python sketches, Cleese has been constantly pestered by fans to do silly walks for them. He has said the sketch was born from a silly moment of improvisation and that he himself did not think much of it.
- #012
In 2005 Cleese put part of his colon, removed because of diverticulitis, up for sale on his official website. The proceeds were reported to be split between Cleese himself and his surgeon.
- #014
Cleese campaigned long and hard to win the role of Brian in Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) but failed, because he wanted to broaden his range in his first major film role, while the rest of the group preferred the late Graham Chapman; in the end the group convinced Cleese that Chapman was better suited to the role of Brian, and Cleese stepped aside.
- #015
Cleese was invited to a party hosted by Steve Martin that turned out to be his wedding.
- #016
In 1989, when he had to join the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists for his third appearance on American television, none of the staff at the AFTRA office recognised him or had any idea who he was.
- #017
Cleese did not learn to drive until 1976.
- #018
A newly discovered species of lemur, avahi cleesei, was named after him because of his love of endangered primates, which featured in his film Fierce Creatures (1997).
- #021
John Cleese claims he would be the first person to say the letter F at a memorial service while speaking about Graham Chapman.
- #022
In interviews, John Cleese has said he likes 'really rude questions' because they are original and force him to think about a suitable answer. The best question he has ever been asked was: 'If you were a part of an airplane, which part would you be?' His answer was 'joystick'.
- #023
When John Cleese first started acting, his main goal was to become a classically trained Shakespearean actor.
- #025
John Cleese appeared in a series of educational shorts produced by the British company Video Arts, designed to teach management and trainees how to cope with stress and unusual situations. Cleese used his comedic talent and portrayed the events as absurd situations so that viewers would better remember the training.
- #026
In 1964, John Cleese traveled to the United States with the Footlights stage show 'Cambridge Circus' and appeared on Ed Sullivan's The Ed Sullivan Show (1948).
- #027
In the late 1990s, John Cleese appeared in German television commercials for a lottery service. In some of these commercials he actually spoke German (some had no dialogue at all, and others were dubbed afterwards).
- #028
John Cleese is a co-owner of the Christine Schell Fine Objects antique shop in Montecito, CA.
- #029
John Cleese suffered from depression between 1973 and 1976.
- #030
As a child, John Cleese loved the radio comedy program 'The Goon Show', which starred Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Michael Bentine and Harry Secombe.
- #032
Who's Who lists John Cleese's recreations as 'gluttony, sloth.'.
- #033
During the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, air travel in northern Europe was severely disrupted. Cleese, who was in Oslo on 17 April but needed to reach London by 19 April, paid £3,300 for a taxi ride to Brussels for a ferry crossing.
- #035
For many years, John Cleese resided in Lake Forest, Illinois, a prestigious Chicago North Shore suburb.
- #036
John Cleese voiced Jean-Bob, a frog who believes he is a prince, in The Swan Princess (1994), and later voiced a king who had once been a frog in Shrek 2 (2004).
- #037
He was the tallest member of Monty Python, standing about five centimetres taller than Graham Chapman.
- #041
He lives in Montecito, California.
- #043
He supports Bristol City Football Club.
- #044
He provided the voice of God in Spamalot.
- #045
In a 2014 interview on a Dutch talk show, he debunked the story that he had offered to write speeches for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008. He had said only that he liked much of the Democrats' agenda for the American people and would have loved to help in any way. A local newspaper interpreted this as an offer to help write Obama's speeches, but Cleese thought Obama was talented enough to write his own speeches.
- #050
He has written self-help books and runs a company that makes business and training films.
- #051
He is a fan of the singer Neil Diamond and has seen him in concert.
- #054
In January 1989, Cleese won libel damages in a High Court ruling in London after a man named Simon Gallant claimed that Cleese resembled his disgustingly rude characterization of Basil Fawlty.
- #055
Cleese made many popular commercials for American TV, including for Kronenbourg beer, Sony, Compaq computers, Magnavox TVs and Schweppes.
- #056
He is currently touring New Zealand with a new stage show, "John Cleese, His Life and His Current Medical Conditions" (or something very similar).
- #057
He was a supporter of the British Labour Party until the founding of the SDP (Social Democratic Party) in 1981, and stated his open support for it in the 1980s. When the SDP merged with the Liberal Party, he supported the newly formed Liberal Democrats.
- #058
Along with Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam, he is a member of Monty Python.
- #060
He was a member of the Monty Python team from 1969 onward.
- #061
He and his first wife, Connie Booth, were the creators of Fawlty Towers.
- #062
Along with Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam, he was a member of the comedy group Monty Python.
- #064
Biography: "Who's Who in Comedy", Ronald L. Smith. Pp. 108-109. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387.
- #066
He owns his own film company.
- #067
He created and co-produced a comedy series for the ABC network in America.
- #068
The film Pratfall was developed for him at Paramount, but when he found financing for A Fish Called Wanda he dropped the film and suggested Rik Mayall for it, but Mayall did not accept.
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