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.
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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.
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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.
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On the heels of the removal of The Mighty Boosh, Little Britain, Come Fly with Me and The League of Gentlemen from Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Britbox, comes the announcement by catch-up and streaming platform, UKTV Play, that they will immediately remove “The Germans” episode of what has long been considered the greatest television comedy series in existence, Fawlty Towers. While the remaining eleven episodes will still be available, at this point, no one knows if we’ve heard the last of the classic catchphrase line from the episode, “Don’t mention the war”.
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Best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, The Rutles and collaborating with the British comedy troupe Monty Python, Neil Innes died unexpectedly on Sunday at the age of 75. Innes, who will forever be known as ‘the 7th Python’, performed piano, guitar and vocals in The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band whose hit in 1968, […]
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The Kodak moment of Quarmby’s appearance on the classic British comedy, Fawlty Towers, occurs as Manuel (Andrew Sachs) frantically searches the dining room for Basil, his pet ‘Siberian hamster’, and Polly (Connie Booth) offers the unsuspecting Mr. Carnegie a biscuit only to be confronted by the four-legged Basil hiding in the biscuit tin.
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Inspired by a sketch in the 1970s comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus, where actor John Cleese played a civil servant walking in unusual ways to the “Ministry of Silly Walks,” Benedek Petrok, a 27-year-old education assistant who organized the march, said the event provided an opportunity for people to forget about their daily problems.
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