John Cleese at the Riverside Theater

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Photo: John Cleese Live Tour - johncleeselive.com

John Cleese

John Cleese

“I could run this hotel perfectly well if it wasn’t for all the bloody guests!”

-Basil Fawlty

“Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” Monty Python and the Holy Grail and “Fawlty Towers” might have never materialized had comedian John Cleese taken an office job when he graduated from England’s prestigious University of Cambridge. Although he demonstrated the ability to make people laugh, Cleese had a backup plan if writing and performing comedy didn’t work out. 

“I began writing my own material while still at the university,” Cleese said in a recent interview. “That made me think I could make a living as a comedian, but there were bills to pay.” A friend offered Cleese a lucrative job making customer service and training films for his company. It was an unexpected phone call in 1965 that brought him back to show business. “David Frost called me out of the blue and said he was doing a show for the BBC and would I like to be in it,” Cleese said. “Of course, I said yes. When a bit of success comes your way early on, suddenly you can’t think of anything else.”

In the late 1960s, Cleese co-founded the comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus with Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman. In 1975, he created the “Fawlty Towers” television program featuring a put-upon hotel owner with a nasty temper. In the decades that followed, Cleese worked in several Monty Python films, A Fish Called Wanda, two James Bond and two Harry Potter films and the role of King Harold in three Shrek films.

Prior to his Nov. 3 show at the Riverside Theater, “An Evening with the Late John Cleese,” the comedian shared some insights on his 60-year career.

Looking back on your success, how much would you say is luck and how much is talent?

There’s no doubt that luck is hugely important, but certainly talent plays a big part. Many people simply don’t have the ability to perform. I used to have a lot of anxiety about doing my comedy live. I wouldn’t say I had stage fright, but I thought that maybe the audience wouldn’t like me. Now I realize that if they hated me, they wouldn’t buy tickets (laughs). I feel great affection when I walk out there, and that’s wonderful for any performer.

Viewers immediately fell in love with the innkeeper Basil Fawlty, even though he’s an awful person.

(laughs). You’re quite right. It’s much more fun playing bad people than good people. After all, good people aren’t very funny. The humor of someone like Basil comes from his foibles, his mistakes, and his occasional utter stupidity. Characters like that make us laugh because they’re real. Basil’s arrogance comes from his incompetence, because he always thinks the other person is at fault (laughs).

In any comedy performance, would you agree that timing plays a big part.

Thank you for asking that because, yes, it’s critical. I think I began to develop a sense of timing early on as began performing. You learn very quickly what works and what doesn’t.

Trial by fire should lead to improvement, especially to someone working in front of an audience.

I believe you’ll never get better unless you do the hard work.  I don’t mean the number of hours you put in, but rather thinking, ‘How can I do this better.’ After all, you’re selling yourself. Anyone who tries to get better does, and people who think they’re good and don’t need to improve will stay exactly where they are. 

The Monty Python skits often poked fun at the British culture. How was that received?

I don’t think anyone objected to any of that. The English have a rather good sense of humor. I used to do jokes about accountants because I nearly became one! We were very silly then and that struck a chord with many people. Americans also have a great sense of humor. Growing up, I loved W.C. Fields and the Marx Brothers. So silly humor can be found most everywhere.

You’ve done a quite a few dramatic roles in films. Can you talk a little about the Western movie Silverado?

It was delightful experience! I got to know Kevin Costner and Danny Glover, and it was a lovely group of people. Kevin Kline introduced me to the director, Larry Kasdan. He was looking for a British actor to play the sheriff because there were lawmen from the United Kingdom in those days. It wasn’t a very big part and so I had a wonderful time in New Mexico when I wasn’t on the set.

What’s it like to be famous?

Well, there are a lot of pros and cons. I feel lucky because fame came very slowly to me, in small increments. In America you can become incredibly famous very quickly. It can be strange and somewhat artificial because suddenly everyone’s telling you you’re great (laughs). 

What will your show in Milwaukee be comprised of?

Ah, thank you for asking! My daughter is traveling with me, and so she’ll open the show with a few minutes of her comedy. Then I’m on and I’ll do about 45 minutes of things I think you’ll find very funny (laughs). After that I’ll take questions from the audience, and they really love that! Some of the questions and very funny and some are very naughty (laughs). This is fun because it’s not a performance or stand-up comedy. I’m just having a conversation with everyone and we all love it.