Reginald Francis Cleese: What happened to John Cleese's father?

Reginald Francis Cleese was the father of John Cleese. Reginald Francis Cleese’s son is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. He is known by man for cofounding Monty Python in the late 1960s, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

Reginald Francis Cleese: Bio Summary

Who is John Cleese’s father?

Reginald Francis Cleese was born on 19 December 1893 in Bristol, England, United Kingdom. He was the son of John Edwin Cheese and Edith (Grey) Cheese. Reginald Francis Cleese formerly Cheese changed his name from Cheese to CLEESE because he thought his name was a possible cause of embarrassment when he enlisted in the army in World War I, during which he served as a corporal in the Gloucestershire Regiment.” He changed the name officially by deed poll in 1923.

Reginald was married to Muriel Evelyn (Cross) Cleese. The couple tied the knot in a beautiful wedding ceremony in 1926 in Bristol, England, UK in the presence of their friends, families, and loved ones.

ALSO, READ; Muriel Cleese: What happened to John Cleese’s mother?

Reginald Francis Cleese was an Insurance Salesman

John Cleese took a different career path from that of his father. He became a comedy icon in the 1970s for his work on Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers. Later, while continuing to act, he ventured into corporate training, producing videos that mixed management wisdom with dry British wit.

In the mid-1970s, the comedian and first wife Connie Booth co-wrote the sitcom Fawlty Towers, in which he starred as hotel owner Basil Fawlty. He went on to win the 1980 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance for the show.

In 2000, the show also topped the British Film Institute’s list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, and in a 2001 Channel 4 poll, Basil was ranked second on its list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters. Despite his successes on The Frost Report, Cleese’s father sent him cuttings from The Daily Telegraph offering management jobs in places like Marks & Spencer.

John Cleese’s father, Reginald was an Insurance Salesman.  In the 1911 census, he was an insurance clerk in Weston-super-Mare and later became an insurance salesman.

John Cleese had a close relationship with his father

Talking about his father, Cleese told The Telegraph, – “My relationship with [my father] was enormously strong,” John Cleese said. “He really did the emotional mothering that I was not getting from my mother [who could be “anxious and depressed”] and we were very, very close.”

He continued- “But as I got older – 19, 20, 21 – he seemed to be unwilling to let go of the father-child relationship. He would sit there giving me lots of advice, often about things I knew more about than he did.” His Dad looked after him a little too much, to compensate for his mother, who wasn’t emotionally available, and was always anxious and had a terrible temper.

ALSO, READ; John Cleese Spouse: How many times has John Cleese been married?

“When I shared my worries with Dad during Sunday evening walks we’d hold hands. I don’t remember holding hands with Mum. I’m sure we did, but she’d say things like, ‘You mustn’t kiss me on the lips, it spreads germs.’” Cleese told The Telegraph. John Cleese’s parents had been married for 13 years when he came along. His mother used to introduce him with the words, ‘This is my son, John. He was an accident.’

What happened to John Cleese’s father?

Reginald Francis Cleese died in 1972 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. He was 79 years old at the time of his death. He told Telegraph, -“He died in 1972. He smoked 40 a day and had bronchitis and emphysema. In the ambulance he said, ‘Don’t worry, my boy, I’ll be back in a couple of days.’ I said, ‘Oh, I know that, Dad.’ We didn’t really say goodbye because we were both in denial for the other’s sake.“

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