Idle Interviews Cleese

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Gary Johnson
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Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Gary Johnson » Sat Nov 29, 2014 12:16 am

Here is a great 1 hour and 15 minutes of reminiscing between these two Pythons.
Idle is suppose to be quizzing Cleese on his latest autobiography (vol. 1 -- according to Cleese), but it turns into a free-form talk and ad-libbed comedy which made me glum that PYTHON LIVE didn't end on this kind of high note.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnpY46lOTX4#t=4132

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Re: Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Joe Migliore » Sat Nov 29, 2014 7:22 am

That is definitely worth watching! It should be an extra on that Python DVD.

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Re: Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Richard M Roberts » Sat Nov 29, 2014 8:14 am

This is a lot of fun, thanks for posting it Gary.

It was nice to hear them talk about Marty Feldman a little, it has always seemed to me that Feldman really paved the way for Python's success by whetting the appetites both in Britain and the States for Pythonic silliness (and giving television audiences in America their first taste of sketches written by various Pythons). Today, he is sadly remembered for little more than YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.

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Re: Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Gary Johnson » Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:32 am

Cleese always seems quite proud in helping to promote Felman from writer to performer.
Feldman's Hollywood movies rarely had material that was worthy of his British TV work (even though he had a hand in writing some of those films. Go figure).

Last night I was watching British comedy clips online and I came across the bit where Feldman keeps sneaking out of the bedroom of his nagging wife to carouse with various cuties around town.....and eventually around the globe. It plays like a Tex Avery short as he travels from car, to plane, to steamship to meet one of his trysts -- and then back home again.
I always remember that sketch for making me aware of his TV work. It played on a short-lived late night program (I want to say ABC in early-mid 70's) that also included clips from the yet-to-be-released-in-the-US Flying Circus. The Pythons tried to sue unsuccessfully to keep those clips off the air. Anyone remember the name of that program?

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Re: Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Richard M Roberts » Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:01 am

I think you're thinking of NBC"S COMEDYWORLD, which was another of Greg Garrison's summer replacement shows for THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW, sometime in 73 or 74 I think, it was one of the first places to run Python in the states, and ran lots of other British comedy clips including Feldman and the Two Ronnies, as well as silent comedy clips too.

But Garrison had brought Feldman over to do one of the Golddigger summer replacement shows in 69-70, and we saw those and loved Feldman years before Python. Then ABC ran a half-hour version of THE MARTY FELDMAN COMEDY MACHINE as a short-lived weekly series in 72-73, which had opening animation by Terry Gilliam.

The Pythons had no problem with NBC'S COMEDYWORLD, the lawsuit was over ABC's purchase of the 4th Season of Python and cutting the six episodes into two 90 minute shows with commercials. I remember those broadcasts, and they were atrocious, they completely bowdlerized the sketches. Those last six shows without Cleese were no classics anyway, but they were a heck of a lot better in their complete form.


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Mike O'Regan
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Re: Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Mike O'Regan » Sat Nov 29, 2014 3:44 pm

What is it with you Americans and the freakin' Pythons??!! (actually???????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...which I do believe has become the currency) ;-)

Now, Feldman...he IS funny.

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Re: Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Gary Johnson » Sat Nov 29, 2014 8:21 pm

And what is about you British that are suppose to have such a rarified sense of humor and yet can't keep any of your comic institutions on that rock you call Great Britain. You allow Chaplin and Laurel to escape here early in the start of the 20th Century. Sellers and Cook feel the need to come to America to acquire world acclaim and you allowed Python to languish for the first 2 seasons airing at late hours on different nights until America, in all it's comic wisdom, gave the show a proper prime time slot on PBS -- of all places.
And then we lined up around the blocks for all of their forthcoming features at the cineplex.

Oh, and Marty Feldman bought a house in Beverley Hills....

And now that we have disposed of that Irishman.......Yes, Richard. The Dean Martin connection rings a bell, but the name does not.
It seems that more than a few fly by night comedy shows were making hey in the early 70's by showing British TV comedy clips.

It was a fun time of discovery, though.

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Re: Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Mike O'Regan » Sun Nov 30, 2014 2:56 pm

Gary Johnson wrote:And what is about you British.....



BRITISH??????!!!!!!!

How dare you! I cast my glove before you, sir!

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Re: Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Rob Farr » Sun Nov 30, 2014 3:04 pm

Well, let's not forget Irish comic Hal Roach who gave up a lucrative career telling bawdy jokes to go to Hollywood and start the greatest comedy lot of them all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJSKU3VGlGU
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Re: Idle Interviews Cleese

Postby Mike O'Regan » Sun Nov 30, 2014 3:25 pm

Hah! That takes me back.

I remember that guy on TV when I was growing up in Cork. He was huge at the time.


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