Lee Richardson

John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and singer. He is one of the founders of the Monty Python comedy group. Born in 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, his father, Reginald Francis Cleese (1893–1972), was an insurance broker, and his mother, Muriel Evelyn Cleese (1899–2000), was a homemaker. While studying law at Downing College, Cambridge University, he joined the Footlights, a local theatrical group. During this time, he met Graham Chapman, with whom he would later work extensively. After various screenwriting endeavors, he co-founded Monty Python in 1969, which holds a significant place in British comedy culture. He also achieved great acclaim for his portrayal of Basil Fawlty in the 1975 series *Fawlty Towers*, which he co-wrote and starred in. In 1987, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for a single episode appearance on *Cheers*. In the 1988 film *A Fish Called Wanda*, in which he co-starred with Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline, he also wrote the screenplay. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay and won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He played Nearly Headless Nick in the first two Harry Potter films. In the 2000s, he did more voice work for animation. Cleese has been married four times. His first marriage was to Connie Booth in 1968, with whom he collaborated on many projects. They had a daughter, Cynthia, in 1971, and divorced in 1978. He married American Barbara Trentham in 1981, and they had a daughter, Camilla. They divorced in 1990. He married psychotherapist Alyce Eichelberger in 1992, and they divorced in 2008. He married Jennifer Wade in 2012.