 | Professor at Large: The Cornell Years Subjects: Cleese John; Cornell University -- Faculty; Comedians -- Great Britain -- Interviews; Motion picture actors and actresses -- Great Britain -- Interviews; This collection of speeches and conversations with Monty Python alum Cleese (So, Anyway) is not unlike the man himself: hilarious, always clever, and a little off-kilter. The author, a Cornell professor-at-large between 1999 and 2007, shares speeches on business, screenwriting, religion, and other topics, and public conversations with friends like Princess Bride author William Goldman and scholars such as psychology professor Stephen Ceci. Cleese's attention is prone to wandering, which is anything but a criticism. The best selection, "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind," nominally given as a speech on business in 1999, comes across instead as a potentially revelatory take on the creative process, in particular the need for "two modes of thinking," one "suitable for solving problems where we know what kind of answer we want," and the other for "problems where we may not know what kind of an answer we're looking for." Likewise, a sermon delivered in 2001 at Cornell's Sage Chapel, drawing deeply from Aldous Huxley, speaks as much to the ability to overcome "negative emotions and habitual indulgence in them" as to anything spiritual. There is no unified theory of Cleese presented, rather something more akin to snapshots of a mind at work-but what a mind it is. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. John Cleese, October 27, 1939 - John Cleese was born on October 27, 1939 in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England to Reginald Cleese, and insurance salesman, and Muriel Cross. He attended Cambridge University beginning in 1960 and joined the Footlights Club in his second term. In 1963, a Footlights production called "A Clump of Plinths" became so popular that the production spawned Cambridge Circus and ran in London's West End. He eventually earned his law degree from Cambridge. In 1964, the show traveled first to New Zealand and then to America for 24 performances on Broadway. By the late 60's, Cleese was established as an actor and a writer. In 1969, the BBC, looking for a new show to fill an empty time slot, coupled Cleese and pal Graham Chapman with three graduates from Oxford, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, as well as Terry Gilliam to create Monty Python's Flying Circus. The BBC produced 45 episodes which have been run and rerun over 30 years. Flying Circus became a cult classic and spawned yet another television show, "Fawlty Towers" as well as books and feature films such as "Monty Python's Life of Brian" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Cleese then came down with a debilitating flu-like illness which his doctor suggested might be psychosomatic. After working with a therapist, Cleese returned with no signs of the illness and even joined the doctor in writing two books, "Families and How to Survive Them" and "Life and How to Survive It." He went on to create training films for corporations through his company called Video Arts. These videos enabled training to be fun as well as informative. Through all of this, Cleese has demonstrated his ability to perform in all walks of life and has made a name for himself doing what he loves best. (Bowker Author Biography) |
