December 17, 2003
A FISH CALLED MAYOR:
John Cleese may run for mayor of Santa Barbara (Knight Ridder Newspapers, Dec. 16, 2003)
Actor John Cleese might follow in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gary Coleman by making a run for California public office, reports the New York Post.Cleese's Monty Python co-star Michael Palin told London's Daily Telegraph that Cleese is "very involved with his local community" in Santa Barbara, Calif., and is thinking of running for mayor.
Basil Fawlty would be a Republican, but one doubts Mr. Cleese is. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 17, 2003 4:15 PM
"I didn't know we had a mayor, I thought we were an autonomous collective."
"You're fooling yourself. We're living in a dictatorship, a self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes--"
"Oh, there you go, bringing class into it again!"
Posted by: Mike Morley at December 17, 2003 4:31 PMIs he running as a National Bocialist? Will Ron Vibbentrop be his campaign manager?
Posted by: R.W. at December 17, 2003 4:53 PMStop this! You're all getting too silly!
Posted by: Andrew X at December 17, 2003 5:23 PMYou forgot the coconut.
Posted by: M. at December 17, 2003 5:42 PMThose lions of yours, do they eat ants?
Posted by: jeff at December 17, 2003 5:58 PMY'know, you can't tell with Cleese. I've heard him sound like a Donkey, and like a sane man.
Posted by: Chris at December 17, 2003 6:03 PM"Cleese's appearances in the Harry Potter movies will "fund the rest of his life," says Palin."
Orrin, when will our appearences on Brothersjudd fund ours?
Well, given that Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch is is Santa Barbara, it's really kind of appropriate that the city would have the former Minister of Silly Walks as its mayor...
Posted by: John at December 17, 2003 6:57 PMPeter:
You kidding, we barely pay for the site and Brother Cohen contributed to us the other day--we should really be the ones paying, no?
Posted by: oj at December 17, 2003 7:05 PMTim the Sorceror a Liberal? Surely you jest! The prospective buyer of a Norwegian Blue a Lefty? I think not!
Seriously, OJ, you're probably correct. But if Keith Richardson can be a Tory, why not Cleese?
Posted by: Tonto at December 17, 2003 8:01 PMDon't a lot of actors play roles that are compatible with their political beliefs?
Clint Eastwood, Rob Reiner, Martin Sheen...
Posted by: John J. Coupal at December 17, 2003 10:10 PMI visited Scotland in August 2001 and one of the newspapers had an extended interview with Cleese that touched on his reasons for moving to the central California coast (weather, mainly). At that time at least, he wasn't an American citizen; said his accountants advised him not to apply for it. On other matters, he came across as a bolshy who knew deep down that it didn't really work very well. (Hence Fawlty and his admiration for Margaret Thatcher.)
I guess I'm just surprised that he's managed to obtain citizenship in under two and a half years.
Posted by: Random Lawyer at December 17, 2003 10:57 PMUnder the OJ theory of humor, if Cleese is funny, then he must be conservative.
See, for example, The Life of Brian.
Posted by: Jeff Guinn at December 18, 2003 7:50 AMJeff: No, it only means that the humor in which he takes part is conservative.
Brian, however, was hilarious, especially if you've ever been in a Latin class.
Posted by: Chris at December 18, 2003 2:14 PMJeff: No, it only means that the humor in which he takes part is conservative.
Brian, however, was hilarious, especially if you've ever been in a Latin class.
Posted by: Chris at December 18, 2003 2:14 PMErk. Sorry about that. Refreshing didn't show the post as showing up. Mea culpa.
Posted by: Chris at December 18, 2003 2:16 PMJeff:
Chris is precisely right--were he to run as a character he plays he'd be a conservative. One doubts he is one outside of his roles though. We'll see.
Posted by: oj at December 18, 2003 2:55 PMCleese is, by all accounts, an unashamed fan of capitalism, so there's reason to hope.
Posted by: Mike Earl at December 18, 2003 2:59 PMIt is possible he isn't a conservative. But it is difficult for me to imagine his conservative humor without it springing from a conservative mind.
Of course, I know nothing about the man outside what I have seen on screens big and small.
Posted by: Jeff Guinn at December 19, 2003 7:27 AM