Summary
And now for something completely different. Professor at Large features beloved English comedian and actor John Cleese in the role of ivy league professor at Cornell University. His almost twenty years as professor-at-large has led to many talks, essays, and lectures on campus. This collection of th... Full description
Summary: |
And now for something completely different. Professor at Large features beloved English comedian and actor John Cleese in the role of ivy league professor at Cornell University. His almost twenty years as professor-at-large has led to many talks, essays, and lectures on campus. This collection of the very best moments from Cleese under his mortarboard provides a unique view of his endless pursuit of intellectual discovery across a range of topics. Since 1999, Cleese has provided Cornell students and local citizens with his ideas on everything from scriptwriting to psychology, religion to hotel management, and wine to medicine. His incredibly popular events and classes-including talks, workshops, and an analysis of A Fish Called Wanda and The Life of Brian-draw hundreds of people. He has given a sermon at Sage Chapel, narrated Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf with the Cornell Chamber Orchestra, conducted a class on script writing, and lectured on psychology and human development. Each time Cleese has visited the campus in Ithaca, NY, he held a public presentation, attended and or lectured in classes, and met privately with researchers. From the archives of these visits, Professor at Large includes an interview with screenwriter William Goldman, a lecture about creativity entitled, "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind," talks about Professor at Large and The Life of Brian, a discussion of facial recognition, and Cleese's musings on group dynamics with business students and faculty. Professor at Large provides a window into the workings of John Cleese's scholarly mind, showcasing the wit and intelligence that have driven his career as a comedian, while demonstrating his knack of pinpointing the essence of humans and human problems. His genius on the screen has long been lauded; now his academic chops get their moment in the spotlight, too. |
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Item Description: |
Includes index. |
Physical Description: |
231 pages ; 24 cm |
ISBN: |
9781501716577 1501716573 |
Author Notes: |
In 1964, the show traveled first to New Zealand and then to America for 24 performances on Broadway. By the late 60's, Cleese was established as an actor and a writer. In 1969, the BBC, looking for a new show to fill an empty time slot, coupled Cleese and pal Graham Chapman with three graduates from Oxford, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, as well as Terry Gilliam to create Monty Python's Flying Circus. The BBC produced 45 episodes which have been run and rerun over 30 years. Flying Circus became a cult classic and spawned yet another television show, "Fawlty Towers" as well as books and feature films such as "Monty Python's Life of Brian" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Cleese then came down with a debilitating flu-like illness which his doctor suggested might be psychosomatic. After working with a therapist, Cleese returned with no signs of the illness and even joined the doctor in writing two books, "Families and How to Survive Them" and "Life and How to Survive It." He went on to create training films for corporations through his company called Video Arts. These videos enabled training to be fun as well as informative. Through all of this, Cleese has demonstrated his ability to perform in all walks of life and has made a name for himself doing what he loves best. (Bowker Author Biography) |