10 July 2006

The Messiah's retiring?

Seems I was lucky to see Mr. John Cleese when he was over here in May. (I had to be told by Sam, obviously I read British papers too rarely) - but he's now claimed to be retiring from performing. John Cleese, that is, not Sam...

The Guardian says:


"Comedian and actor John Cleese said yesterday [June 12th] he will retire from performing to write the history of comedy for the younger generation. The 66-year-old will become a "comedy professor", holding masterclasses with students on how to make people laugh. The book will cover "the greats of silent cinema to Ricky Gervais, who is the height of modern entertainment". The book will also include Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers and Harold Lloyd. "It is very rare today to see someone with that grasp of old-fashioned comedy. The last truly excellent performance I saw was Eddie Izzard. But Ricky Gervais is also a match for the great American sitcoms." A chapter in the book will be on "creating the perfect comedy-drama" for the stage, citing influences such as Tom Stoppard, Alan Bennett, Alan Ayckbourn and Michael Frayn."

Citing Ricky Gervais as "the height of modern entertainment" seems to suggest he hasn't entirely stopped performing...

And while we're onto Messiahses - Christine's pointed out it's a hazardous profession...

I was going to put a photo here, of course, but all of a sudden blogger's decided it won't let me post any more pictures. *sigh*

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