Candid and brilliantly funny, this is the story of how a tall, shy youth from Weston-super-Mare went on to become a self-confessed legend. En route, John Cleese describes his nerve-racking first public appearance, at St Peters Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic home life with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman. And so on to his dizzying ascent via scriptwriting for Peter Sellers, David Frost, Marty Feldman and others to the heights ofMonty Python.

Punctuated from time to time with John Cleeses thoughts on topics as diverse as the nature of comedy, the relative merits of cricket and waterskiing, and the importance of knowing the dates of all the kings and queens of England, this is a masterly performance by a former schoolmaster.

John Marwood Cleesewas born in Weston-super-Mare in 1939 and educated at Clifton College and at Cambridge. He achieved his first big success in the West End and as a scriptwriter and performer onThe Frost Report. He went on to co-found the legendary Monty Python comedy troupe, writing and performing in the TV series and in films that includeMonty Python and the Holy GrailandLife of Brian.In the mid-1970s, John Cleese and his first wife, Connie Booth, co-wrote and starred in the now-classic sitcomFawlty Towers. Later, he wrote and co-starred inA Fish Called WandaandFierce Creatures. He has appeared in many other films, from James Bond to Harry Potter to Shrek, and has guest-starred in TV shows that have includedCheers,3rd Rock from the Sun,Will&GraceandEntourage. He lives in London.

The autobiography of a comedy giant.