So, Anyway... by John Cleese

So, Anyway... by John Cleese

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELER - John Cleese's memoir is just about everything one would expect of its author--smart, thoughtful, provocative and above all funny. . . . A picture, if you will, of the artist as a young man.--The Washington Post

The legendary writer and performer of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame takes readers on a grand tour of his ascent in the entertainment world

John Cleese's huge comedic influence has stretched across generations; his sharp irreverent eye and the unique brand of physical comedy he perfected now seem written into comedy's DNA. In this rollicking memoir, Cleese recalls his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town, his early comedic days at Cambridge University (with future Python partner Graham Chapman), and the founding of the landmark comedy troupe that would propel him to worldwide renown.

Cleese was just days away from graduating Cambridge and setting off on a law career when he was visited by two BC executives, who offered him a job writing comedy for radio. That fateful moment--and a near-simultaneous offer to take his university humor revue to London's famed West End--propelled him down a different path, cutting his teeth writing for stars like David Frost and Peter Sellers, and eventually joining the five other Pythons to pioneer a new kind of comedy that prized invention, silliness, and absurdity. Along the way, he found his first true love with the actress Connie Booth and transformed himself from a reluctant performer to a world class actor and back again.

Twisting and turning through surprising stories and hilarious digressions--with some brief pauses along the way that comprise a fascinating primer on what's funny and why--this story of a young man's journey to the pinnacle of comedy is a masterly performance by a master performer.

The idea for Monty Python's Flying Circus was first talked over in a conference room in the BBC Television Centre in June of last year. Round the table sat John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Ian McNaughton, John Howard Davies, who directed the first four episodes for Monty Python, and Barry Took, who had brought the five together under the BBC's banner. Barry Took introduced everyone then left. They then started to thrash out a format, if you could call it that, for the series. Very quickly Ian realized that the writers' humor was my humor, and we knew we would have fun doing the show. The only difficulty was--a title. We chose Monty Python's Flying Circus for three carefully considered reasons: one, because as far as we knew, there was no-one called Monty Python; two, because it had nothing to do with flying; three, because it was not a circus. Monty Python's Flying Circus has something to amuse anyone with a sense of humour which includes, I hope, all of us.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780385348263
ISBN 10	0385348266
Title	So, Anyway...
Author	John Cleese
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2015-09-29
Number of pages	432
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable