John Cleese | Tellyspotting

Posted November 27, 2021 - No Comment

Sans ‘Fawlty Towers’, Torquay named the 9th worst place to live in the U.K.

Based around an exceedingly chaotic and poorly run seaside hotel in Torquay, Fawlty Towers has not only provided laughter to British comedy fans worldwide for the better part of four decades, it is widely considered to be the best British comedy of all-time. Unfortunately, sans Fawlty Towers, the same cannot be said for the Devonshire seaside town of Torquay where the sitcom was based, which now has the coveted distinction of being named one of the worst places to live in the UK, actually #9 on the list.

Posted June 5, 2021 - No Comment

John Cleese talks ‘Creativity’ as we celebrate all-things Python on KERA!

John Cleese has spent the better part of five decades looking at what makes creative people so darn good at it. As one of the original founding members of the Monty Python comedy troupe and then alongside former wife Connie Booth being the creative force behind Fawlty Towers which just so happens to be, IMHO, the greatest British comedy […]

Posted April 6, 2021 - No Comment

Basketball Gods align as the Utah Jazz and long-time fan, John Cleese, are in Phoenix on the same day!

The New York Knicks have Spike Lee, the Los Angeles Lakers may have Jack Nicholson, even Everton FC can count Dame Judi Dench among their ‘avid-Blue’ fan base. Now, the NBA’s Utah Jazz can count on none other than John Cleese, one of the original founding members of the Monty Python troupe, to be one of their most ardent fans. Even though he has never seen a game live, Cleese has remained a Jazz fan for more than two decades.

Posted March 23, 2021 - No Comment

‘Fawlty Towers’ and Vinyl = ‘Fawlty Towers: For the Record’

Easily the funniest comedy of all-time, the 12 episodes (yes, there were only 12) of Fawlty Towers are nothing short of comedy perfection comprised of brilliant line after brilliant line and unmatched to this day, some 45+ years after its premiere in 1975. Not only is it a masterclass of comedy writing and performance, the series […]

Posted January 30, 2021 - No Comment

Remembering Michael Gwynn, a.k.a. Lord Melbury in ‘Fawlty Towers’

With a TOH to John Cleese, we remember Michael Gwynn who momentarily fulfilled Basil’s wishes of improving the class of guest that stayed at Fawlty Towers. Gwynn was one of a long line of talented actors who paid a visit to Fawlty Towers over the course of the 12 episodes (yes, there were only 12). Gwynn passed away on 29 January 1976 at the age of 59.

Posted December 24, 2020 - No Comment

John Cleese’s classic rendition of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

Much like watching It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story, Tuna Christmas or, as evidenced by a recent admission, Die Hard, one of my annual Christmas traditions is to listen to John Cleese’s adaptation of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas from podcast No. 28. Never mind that there have been endless readings over the years by the likes […]

Posted September 20, 2020 - No Comment

Happy belated 45th, ‘Fawlty Towers’!

On Saturday, as Planet Earth quietly celebrated the 45th anniversary of Fawlty Towers, series co-creator/co-writer John Cleese posed a question on Twitter to which the ability to come up with an answer is next to impossible, if not impossible. Easily the funniest comedy of all-time, the 12 episodes (yes, there were only 12) are wall-to-wall […]

Posted September 4, 2020 - No Comment

Friday Funny — “The Bookshop Sketch” from ‘At Last the 1948 Show’

For those of you that thought humor was invented in 1969 with the premiere of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, take a look at At Last the 1948 Show sometime. A product of David Frost’s production company, Paradine Productions, and starring Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Marty Feldman and Aimi MacDonald, the 1967 series brought to light the […]

Posted July 31, 2020 - No Comment

Leaving the world with a lifetime of laughter to enjoy forever, legendary comedy producer/director, Sydney Lotterby, dies at 93

While we never had the good fortune to speak with Sydney for our any of our PBS specials that featured not only the stars of some of the all-time great British comedy series but also focused on the writers and creators of some of the classics of British comedy, it was through the words of John Cleese, Dame Judi Dench, Geoffrey Palmer, Jenny Funnell, Moira Brooker, Philip Bretherton, Richard Briers, Michael Crawford, Roy Clarke, David Jason, Karl Howman, Bob Larbey and Frank Thornton that we were immediately schooled on the greatness that was Sydney Lotterby.

Posted June 29, 2020 - 1 Comment

Anne Reid talks ‘Sanditon’, ‘Last Tango’ and ‘Hold the Sunset’ all the while dreaming of another opportunity to play Lady Denham!

Hopefully, there is a point in everyone’s career where you have such an awesome day that you can take a step back for a moment and think it really can’t get any better than this. A recent conversation with Anne Reid, the absolutely delightful star of Sanditon, Last Tango in Halifax and Hold the Sunset, provided me with one of those days I’ll never forget.