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Comedy Genius John Cleese 'Retires From Performing' |
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Written by James MacGregor |
Monday, 12 June 2006 |
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 Comedy
legend John Cleese has said he is retiring from writing and performing
sitcoms because he will never manage to top the success of Fawlty
Towers.
The Monty Python star will concentrate instead on
publishing a book on the history of comedy and will hold classes
explaining how to make people laugh.
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66-year-old told The Times he would be a "comedy professor" to "teach
young talent some rules of the game". He said too much TV comedy was
poorly written and aimed at US teenagers. The Monty Python star
criticised modern performers who aren't aware of the "basic principles"
of comedy. "It is very rare today to see someone with that grasp of
old-fashioned comedy," he said. "The last truly excellent performance I
saw was Eddie Izzard. But Ricky Gervais is also a match for the great
American sitcoms."
This story in full, including a John Cleese comedy resume can be found at BBC News website.
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