John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on ''The Frost Report''. In the late 1960s, he co-founded Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus.'' Along with his Python co-stars Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman, Cleese starred in Monty Python films, which include '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1975), ''Life of Brian'' (1979) and ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, The Meaning of Life'' (1983). In the mid-1970s, Cleese and first wife Connie Booth co-wrote the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'', in which he starred as hotel owner Basil Fawlty, for which he won the 1980 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance. In 2000 the show topped the British Film Inst ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon, West Wick, Worlebury, Uphill and Worle. Its population at the 2011 census was 76,143. Since 1983, Weston has been twinned with Hildesheim in Germany. The local area has been occupied since the Iron Age. It was still a small village until the 19th century when it developed as a seaside resort. A railway station and two piers were built. In the second half of the 20th century it was connected to the M5 motorway but the number of people holidaying in the town declined and some local industries closed, although the number of day visitors has risen. Attractions include The Helicopter Museum, Weston Museum, and the Grand Pier. Cultural venues include The Playhouse, the Winter Gardens and the Blakehay Theatre. The Bristol Channel has a l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two Python films, ''Holy Grail'' (1975) and ''Life of Brian'' (1979). Chapman was born in Leicester and was raised in Melton Mowbray. He enjoyed science, acting and comedy and, after graduating from Emmanuel College, Cambridge and St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College, he turned down a career as a doctor to be a comedian instead. Chapman eventually established a writing partnership with John Cleese, which reached its critical peak with Monty Python during the 1970s. He subsequently left Britain for Los Angeles, where he attempted to be a success on American television, speaking on the college circuit and producing the pirate film ''Yellowbeard'' (1983), before returning to Britain in the early 1980s. In his personal life, Chapman was open ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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A Fish Called Wanda
''A Fish Called Wanda'' is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by Crichton and John Cleese. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double-cross one another to find stolen diamonds hidden by the gang leader. A barrister becomes a central figure as ''femme fatale'' Wanda uses him to locate the loot. ''A Fish Called Wanda'' premiered in New York City on July 7, 1988, and in Los Angeles on July 13, 1988, and was released theatrically on July 15, 1988, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to critical and commercial success, grossing over $188 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 1988. The film received three nominations at the 61st Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and, with Kline winning, Best Supporting Actor. A spiritual sequel, ''Fierce Creatures,'' was released in 1997. The British Film Institute ranked ''A Fish Called Wanda'' the 39th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she made her feature film debut playing Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's slasher film ''Halloween'', which established her as a scream queen and led to a string of parts in horror films such as '' The Fog'', '' Prom Night'', ''Terror Train'' (all 1980) and ''Roadgames'' (1981). She reprised the role of Laurie in the sequels '' Halloween II'' (1981), '' Halloween H20: 20 Years Later'' (1998), '' Halloween: Resurrection'' (2002), ''Halloween'' (2018), ''Halloween Kills'' (2021), and '' Halloween Ends'' (2022). Curtis's film work spans many genres, including the cult comedies ''Trading Places'' (1983)—for which she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress—and ''A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), for which she received a BAFTA nomination for Be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award and three Tony Awards. In addition, he has received nominations for two British Academy Film Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five Golden Globe Awards. In 2003, Kline was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Kline began his career on stage in 1972 with The Acting Company. He has gone on to win three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway, winning Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the 1978 original production of ''On the Twentieth Century'', Best Actor in a Musical for the 1981 revival of ''The Pirates of Penzance''. In 2003, he starred as Falstaff in the Broadway production of '' Henry IV'', for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play. In 2017 he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the revival of Noël Coward's ''Present Laughter''. He made his film debut in romantic drama ''Sophie's Choice'' (1982). For his role ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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100 Greatest (TV Series)
''100 Greatest'' is a long-running TV strand on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom that has been broadcasting from 11 September 1999 to 10 October 2015, originating in Tyne Tees Television’s Factual Features department under Executive Producer Mark Robinson. The "list show" programmes are generally public polls, and reflect the votes of visitors to the Channel 4 website. However, the results of some of the polls are determined by experts. The programmes are usually broadcast in the weekend schedule, in three- or four-hour blocks, throughout the year. Although the strand has never been officially retired, there have been no new editions since 2015. They are also repeated on E4 on Saturday nights or on Sunday nights. Episodes {{Episode table , overall = , title = , aux1 = , airdate = , aux1T = Presenter(s) , viewers = , episodes = {{Episode list , EpisodeNumber=1 , Title=TV's 100 Greatest Moments , Aux1=Graham Norton , OriginalAirDate={{Start date, 1999, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in the United Kingdom. At the time, the only other channels were the television licence, licence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, and a single commercial broadcasting network ITV (TV network), ITV. The network's headquarters are based in London and Leeds, with creative hubs in Glasgow and Bristol. It is publicly owned and advertising-funded; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the station is now owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, a public corporation of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which was established in 1990 and came into operation in 1993. Until 2010, Channel 4 did not broadcast in Wales, but many of its programmes were re-broadcast ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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100 Greatest British Television Programmes
The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best British television programmes of any genre that had been screened up to that time. Selection and criteria The British Film Institute television programme poll was conducted in the year 2000, and its results are reflected in the list that appears in a following section. Initially, a 'big list' of 650 programmes was drawn up by BFI personnel. Television programmes no longer extant in the archives were excluded from consideration. The provisional list was split into six categories: Single Dramas, Drama Series and Serials, Comedy and Variety, Factual, Children's/Youth, and Lifestyle & Light Entertainment. Some programmes were represented in the list by an entire series; however, for some series—e.g., the anthology ''The Wednesday Play'' and the current affairs programme '' T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, distribution, and education. It is sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and partially funded under the British Film Institute Act 1949. Purpose It was established in 1933 to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and the moving image generally, and their impact on society, to promote access to and appreciation of the widest possible range of British and world cinema and to establish, care for and develop collections reflecting the moving image history and heritage of the United Kingdom. BFI activities Archive The BFI maint ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Academy Television Award For Best Entertainment Performance
The British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance is an award given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts at their annual BAFTA Television Awards ceremony. This category has had minor name changes: *From 1958 to 1962 it was presented as an individual award named ''Best Light Entertainment Artist''. *From 1963 to 1965 it was awarded as ''Best Light Entertainment Personality'' *From 1967 to 1999 it was awarded as ''Best Light Entertainment Performance''. *Since 2000 the award has been known as ''Best Entertainment Performance''. Prior to the 1994 ceremony, acting performances in comedy roles were included in this category. Since 1994 they have been recognised in the Best Comedy Performance category. Winners and nominees '' in 2013. 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Performers with multiple wins and nominations Multiple wins The following people have been awarded the British Academy Te ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Basil Fawlty
Basil Fawlty is the main character of the 1970s British sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'', played by John Cleese. The proprietor of the hotel Fawlty Towers, he is a cynical and misanthropic snob, desperate to belong to a higher social class. His attempts to run the hotel often end in farce. Possessing a dry, sarcastic wit, Basil has become an iconic British comedy character who remains widely known to the public despite only 12 half-hour episodes ever having been made. Cleese would receive the 1980 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance. In a 2001 poll conducted by Channel 4, Basil was ranked second on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters. Known for his quotable rants, the character was inspired by Donald Sinclair, an eccentric, inhospitable hotel owner whom Cleese had encountered when he stayed at his hotel (Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, England) along with the rest of Monty Python in May 1970. Personality Basil, who runs the titular hotel in Torqua ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fawlty Towers
''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000 and, in 2019, it was named the greatest ever British TV sitcom by a panel of comedy experts compiled by the ''Radio Times''.Mattha Busby, 9 April 2019"Fawlty Towers named greatest ever British TV sitcom" ''The Guardian'', Retrieved 24 May 2019 The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay on the English Riviera. The plots centre on the tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty (Cleese), his bossy wife Sybil (Prunella Scales), the sensible chambermaid Polly (Booth) who often is the peacemaker and voice of reason, and the hapless and English-challenged Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs). They show their attempts to run the hotel amidst far ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |