@johncleese made an appearance this week on Conan O’Brien, which was actually taped a week ago.

My experience with shows like this is that there is usually a larger TV monitor turned on when the show is being recorded, but the staff seldom pays much attention to it, except, for example, to see how well a particular joke goes over.

That was not the case here.

When John stepped into the studio with Conan and Andy Richter, there was a respectful silence as everyone listened to him telling about cheering up his mother.

By the end of the story, the laughter in the green room was almost louder than it was in the studio–and it was plenty loud in the studio. You can see what I mean here: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/VA42BLuE3bzGSv

And talking about his German lessons: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/5JewB8c5vAQqc8

And how @montypython invaded America: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/g5ZxBXSZp6xEIx

#johncleese #montypython

Great to watch a real professional at work. #johncleese recording lines at Dreamworks. 

I’ve accompanied @johncleese to lots of interviews over the years, but none quite as elaborate as early this morning for the WGN Morning show.

My old pal and producer Jeff Hoover prepped me, and when John stepped out of the green room, a full band was playing the Python theme. As he walked down the hallway, he was accompanied by the cast of Spamalot in full costume, along with a swarm of other Python characters. John was surprised and delighted as he walked into the studio for the interview.

The first interview segment concluded with a wonderful cake shaped like a TV set. The only person more surprised than John was the cake maker when he–well, maybe you’d better watch for yourself here…

Somehow I managed to snap that last shot just before the flinging…

Of course, everyone wanted their pictures with John, including the band, the cast, and assorted others…

Then it was off to WBEZ for another great NPR chat…

And what better way to finish a great morning of interviews than a visit with the wonderful Jonathan Brandmeier?

All to promote the brand new paperback edition of the #johncleese autobiography #soanyway

If you haven’t read it yet, it’s much funnier than this post–so what are you waiting for?

#montypython #soanyway

A nice surprise for @johncleese this morning on WGN TV… But not as big as it was for the cake maker when he threw the cake…

A hugely successful show for @johncleese, made even better with Megan and Nick.

Lucky audience watching @johncleese on stage tonight in Boston!

My dear friend and living legend is getting older but no less silly. Happiest of birthdays, John!

@johncleese #montypython

Here is a link to another great @johncleese interview from CBS’s Sunday Morning. Well worth watching. #johncleese #montypython

For those of you who want to know more about John’s solo tour next month, here he talks about his Chicago appearances with Roe Conn on WGN… 

About a year ago, when I was traveling with John Cleese, we were at a TV station in Toronto for a morning program. Our publicist brought a young man over and introduced us, and he told John a story about meeting him when he was younger. He was called away, and the publicist told us “He has a good chance of being the next prime minister.”

And last night, that’s exactly what happened. Justin Trudeau, soon to be Prime Minister Trudeau, couldn’t have been nicer. He slipped out of campaign mode, long enough to chat, although it was Canadian campaign mode, which meant he was very decent and polite.

Later that day, we had moved on to another TV station, and while John was being interviewed, I noticed Justin (I’m having a hard time calling him Prime Minister Trudeau) was in the green room, this time with more of an entourage. He noticed me about the same time, and spring from the couch to shake my hand again. “We’re not following you,” I assured him. “But, maybe we should think about car pooling.”