Every soundtrack episode of the classic BBC TV comedy

Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection

John Cleese’s special introductions to each episode are included in this collection of all 12 TV soundtrack episodes.

Welcome to Fawlty Towers, where attentive hotelier Basil Fawlty and his charming wife Sybil will attend to your every need - in your worst nightmare. With hapless waiter Manuel and long-suffering waitress Polly on hand to help, anything could happen during your stay - and probably will. 
 
John Cleese’s special introductions to each episode are included in this collection of all 12 TV soundtrack episodes: 
A Touch of Class 
The Builders 
The Wedding Party 
The Hotel Inspectors 
Gourmet Night 
The Germans 
Communication Problems 
The Psychiatrist 
Waldorf Salad 
The Kipper and the Corpse 
The Anniversary 
Basil the Rat 
 
Co-starring with John Cleese as Basil are Prunella Scales (Sybil), Andrew Sachs (Manuel) and Connie Booth (Polly), with a supporting cast including Ballard Berkeley, Bernard Cribbins, Joan Sanderson, Geoffrey Palmer, Nicky Henson and Ken Campbell.

The Autobiography

So, Anyway...

Vivid, ridiculously entertaining, and, at times, explosively funny... Cleese is a master of crisp comic prose: his elegant syntax and sudden absurdities would have PG Wodehouse raising a martini glass. So, Anyway... glows with fairness, kindness, gentleness and loyalty.

Told with considerable charm and a refreshing amount of candour, the story is one of a vulnerable soul gradually finding a degree of security from behind a carapace of cutting wit... Remarkably warm and generous.

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.

So, Anyway… breaks away from the shallow conventions of the famous person's autobiography... The result is a book that is frequently hilarious, occasionally lyrical and always thoughtful. It is a fine and funny achievement.

Like having a long lunch with an amiable, slightly loony uncle. Who also happens to be John Cleese.

[Cleese's] unrelenting charm and crisp wit make this the hilarious memoir fans expected. The book might as well be coated in glue, as it proves tricky to put down.

An upfront and hilarious account of the comedy legend's early years.

John Marwood Cleese was born in Weston-super-Mare in 1939 and educated at Clifton College and at Cambridge. He achieved his first big success in the West End and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. He went on to co-found the legendary Monty Python comedy troupe, writing and performing in the TV series and in films that include Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Life of Brian. In the mid-1970s, John Cleese and his first wife, Connie Booth, co-wrote and starred in the now-classic sitcom Fawlty Towers. Later, he wrote and co-starred in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures. He has appeared in many other films, from James Bond to Harry Potter to Shrek, and has guest-starred in TV shows that have included Cheers, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Will &amp; Grace and Entourage. He lives in London.

A candid and brilliantly funny memoir... 
 
...of how a tall, shy youth from Weston-super-Mare went on to become a self-confessed comedy legend. 
 
En route, John Cleese describes his nerve-wracking first public appearance at St Peter’s Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic home life with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman. 
 
And so on to his dizzying ascent via scriptwriting for Peter Sellers, David Frost, Marty Feldman and others to the heights of Monty Python. 
 
Punctuated from time to time with John Cleese’s thoughts on topics as diverse as the nature of comedy, the relative merits of cricket and waterskiing, and the importance of knowing the dates of all the kings and queens of England, this is a masterly performance by a former schoolmaster.

Life And How To Survive It

An essential guide to what makes individuals, families and organisations function in a healthy and positive way. This is the companion volume to the world-wide bestseller: Families and How to Survive Them.

Breathtaking. . . On every page of Life and How to Survive It you will find insights that will cut straight to the heart of your own life

Brilliantly entertaining, enlightening and inspiring, Robin Skynner and John Cleese take on the big issue: life, and the challenge of living, in all its myriad forms. This book is an essential guide to surviving life's ups and downs - at home or in the workplace, as a member of a family or society. 
 
Presented in the same lively style as the best-selling Families and How to Survive Them, Life extends Skynner's and Cleese's study beyond the family to relationships and group interaction in life outside it. The book deals with such pithy issues as: 
 
-Why life gives you all the lessons you need 
-How grief can be good for you 
-Why work is essential to our psychological health 
-What mid-life crisis means for you 
 
We are all searching for healthier, happier, more satisfying lives, but it's the journey that matters, not the destination. Skynner and Cleese are the perfect travelling companions.

Families And How To Survive Them

The super-selling book on surviving family life: FAMILIES AND HOW TO SURVIVE THEM, by psychiatrist Robin Skynner and comedian John Cleese, has sold over a quarter of a million copies worldwide.

What makes a family happy? Why do some marriages 'succeed' and others end in divorce? How can we free ourselves from the legacy of past mistakes and bring about positive change? Love, sex and marriage and parenthood, depression and sadness, independence and experience are just a few of the many issues explored in conversation by family therapist Robin Skynner and his former patient and comedian, John Cleese. Guiding us through the daily issues that confront us all, FAMILIES AND HOW TO SURVIVE THEM offers vital advice in helping each of us to maintain a happy, healthy family life. Looking candidly at everything from our relationships with our parents to why and how we choose our partners, no emotional stone is left unturned: jealousy, rage, fear, envy, love, obsession, hope and despair - all are featured-with practical advice on how to turn round a negative situation and bring about change for the better.

John Cleese

A Short and Cheerful Guide

Creativity is usually regarded as a mysterious, rare gift that only a few possess. John Cleese begs to differ, and in this short, immensely practical and often very amusing guide he shows it's a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, he shares his insights into the nature of the creative process, and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. 
____________________________ 
 
'Humorous and practical . . . Whether you're hoping to write a novel or paint a masterpiece, you're sure to feel inspired' OK Magazine 
 
'His candor is endearing . . . An upbeat guide to the creative process' Kirkus 
 
'A jovial romp . . . Cleese fans will enjoy, and writers and other artists will breeze through, picking up a few nuggets of wisdom along the way' The Festival Review 
 
'Wise words on the serious business of being silly' Sunday Business Post

John Cleese

Creativity

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