John Marwood Cleese (; born October 27, 1939) is an
English actor,
comedian,
writer,
film producer and
singer, who is best known as being a member of
Monty Python, a group of comedians responsible for the
sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and for three motion pictures;
Monty Python and the Holy Grail,
Life of Brian and
The Meaning of Life. Outside of Monty Python, he also co-created, wrote and starred in the
sitcom Fawlty Towers and has also starred in multiple films including
A Fish Called Wanda,
Fierce Creatures,
The World Is Not Enough,
Die Another Day,
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and
Chamber of Secrets.
Personal life
Early life
Cleese was born in
Weston-super-Mare,
Somerset,
England, the son of Muriel (
née Cross), an acrobat, and Reginald Francis Cleese, who worked in insurance sales.
[John Cleese Biography (1939-)] His family's surname was previously "Cheese", but his father changed his surname to "Cleese" in 1915, upon joining the
army.
[John Cleese's father]
