Actor, comedian and writer John Cleese, now 84 and long famed for his seminal comedic work on “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” “Fawlty Towers,” “Life of Brian,” “A Fish Called Wanda” and many other titles, is appearing soon at Chicago’s Vic Theatre as part of his tour, titled “Last Chance to See Me Before I Die.” He recently spoke with the Tribune in a phone interview.
The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: The last time we spoke was on election night, 2000. I remember you calling me back very late that night and asking me who the Tribune’s journalists thought was going to win. I said, everyone was saying Al Gore was the clear winner. Which they were.
A: I was shooting the movie “Rat Race” in 2000 and you told me Gore had won easily. I have a bad effect on American elections.
Q: I felt guilty for years about telling you that. Your daughter Camilla (Cleese) is working with you now. I once did a WGN radio show with her.
A: She lived in Chicago for a while. She’s very funny. When you listen to the audience, her laughs are higher pitched than mine. I think that’s because her humor is much darker than mine.
Q: What are you planning to do on stage here?
A: I am not sure what I will do. I suppose we will do a couple of hours, for which I have been furiously writing and rehearsing, and there likely will also be a bit of an interval.
Q: I assume people get to ask you questions at the end. What do they typically ask?
A: I get a lot of very vulgar, pointless questions like, did you (have sex with) Jamie Lee Curtis? What is the velocity of an unladen swallow? Extraordinary things like that. It’s fun to ad-lib. One night in Florida, a very well-dressed, middle-aged lady stood up in the theater and said, “Can I ask you a serious question? Do you think the queen killed Princess Diana?” I was the only one laughing. It was too funny. Why did she think I would know? Did she just think all British people just know?
I do think my show goes better in more sophisticated cities. When you play the sticks, it’s hard work and they don’t laugh as much. They give you a very nice reception but it’s no fun playing to them. My best reception was in Munich and Stuttgart. In Stuttgart, I was in my car half way back to the hotel and they called me up and said, “can you go back to the theater and take another bow? They’re still applauding.”
Q: I assume you went back?
A: I absolutely did not. I always think it’s a matter of pride not to milk the audience applause too much.
Q: There’s now a stage version of “Fawlty Towers” in London. That must be weird. What did you learn at the opening?
A: That there is a genuine nostalgia not just for those characters but for a time when we all used to laugh together a whole lot more. Now they’re all Jobsworths at the BBC (a Britishism meaning “more than my job’s worth”). Today, the first thought of every BBC employee when they enter the building every morning is, ‘how I do not get fired today?” That’s the enemy of creativity.
As you know, I am the co-director. I said little things in rehearsal like “don’t look at him when you say that.” And other kinds of strange little things, too. It’s not that weird for me; I was a writer as well as an actor and when you are a writer, there’s always the thought that someone else might play the role.
Q: You wrote for yourself more than most in your career.
A: I remember thinking when I was writing “A Fish Called Wanda,” now I am actually going to have to do that.
Q: The “Fawlty Towers” show is a mash up of much-loved episodes of the show, right? Which?
A: Three. The hearing aid that stops working, which originally starred Bernard Cribbins. Hotel inspector. And, of course, “The Germans.”
Q: All very funny. All very tricky material now.
A: The reception was wonderful. And at the interval, my guest was the German ambassador.
“Last Chance To See Me Before I Die” is 7:30 p.m. June 12-13 at the Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave., tickets from $61.75 at www.johncleeselive.com
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
