{"id":20184006,"date":"2025-09-10T08:28:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T15:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metrosiliconvalley.com\/?p=20184006"},"modified":"2025-09-10T08:28:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T15:28:39","slug":"john-cleese-monty-python-holy-grail-qa-san-jose-civic-sept-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metrosiliconvalley.com\/john-cleese-monty-python-holy-grail-qa-san-jose-civic-sept-14\/","title":{"rendered":"John Cleese on Life: SPAM Is a Four-Letter Word"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s fitting that comedy icon John Cleese will stop in San Jose on Sept. 14, given the city\u2019s place at the heart of Silicon Valley and Monty Python\u2019s absurdly significant contribution to technology culture. Thanks to Cleese and his colleagues, what was once a vanilla acronym\u2014UCE, or Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail\u2014is today more colorfully known as \u201cspam.\u201d Adopted by the Oxford English Dictionary in 1998 and the U.S. Congress and the Federal Trade Commission in their CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, the rebranding has its roots in a famously untethered 1970 episode of the British television series Monty Python\u2019s Flying Circus<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a conversation last week, Cleese reflected on its origins. \u201cI\u2019d always been fascinated by eating at transport cafes, which is where the truck drivers eat,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThere was always a menu on a blackboard…and so when I wrote a sketch with Graham, about a menu at a transport cafe, which had increasing amounts of spam in it. And we just got very silly. We laughed and we wrote things like, as you know, egg spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, tomatoes, spam, spam and cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that the sketch was expanded by Python member Terry Jones, who is credited as the sketch\u2019s co-writer with Michael Palin, and who \u201crealized that it could be extended by having Vikings and that was wonderful.\u201d The scene with the Vikings chanting \u201cspam, spam, spam, spam\u201d became a classic, and Cleese was delighted when he discovered that software engineers, who were early fans of the show, had adopted the term. \u201cI was so thrilled by that,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought it was so great. It was a lovely sort of salute from the computer world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flying circus is also credited with inspiring the naming of the programming language Python, a foundation of the contemporary technology ecosystem, from Instagram to Uber, by computer scientist Guido van Rossum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conversation also touched on another of Cleese\u2019s comedic masterpieces, Fawlty Towers<\/em>, which was inspired by a real-life hotel experience. While filming with the Python team near Torquay, they stayed at the Gleneagles Hotel, run by a \u201cmost extraordinary man.\u201d Cleese recounts walking into the lobby with Jones, who was met with a strong and curt \u201cOh, what!?\u201d from the hotelier after a simple \u201chello.\u201d The interaction, Cleese says, summed up \u201cthe motto of the time for British hoteliers, which is we could run this place properly if it wasn\u2019t for the guests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cleese also discussed the film A Fish Called Wanda<\/em>, including the memorable scene where he is hung upside down from a second-story window by the sociopathic and dimwitted Otto, played by Kevin Kline, who demands an apology after an insult. Known for performing his own stunts, Cleese assured us it wasn\u2019t dangerous. \u201cI had a steel wire, attached at two different points to a sort of canvas body suit, and at the other end my weight was attached to scaffolding,\u201d he explained. The only real pressure, he joked, was to get the scene right in one take so he didn\u2019t have to hang upside down for long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what still excites him about comedy, Cleese said he loves seeing an audience \u201crocking with laughter. Not just smiling and nodding, but really, really laughing.\u201d He expressed concern that this is less common today, as people are \u201cfrightened about giving offense\u201d due to the \u201cwoke movement.\u201d While acknowledging the admirable aspects of the movement, he argues that humor is inherently critical. \u201cWhat we laugh at is people\u2019s foibles. When they make things wrong, when they\u2019re stupid, or greedy, or that sort of thing,\u201d he explained. But he stressed that this laughter isn\u2019t unkind, noting that \u201claughter can be very affectionate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans can look forward to Cleese\u2019s unique live show, \u201cNot Dead Yet! John Cleese and The Holy Grail at 50,\u201d on Sept. 14 at the San Jose Civic. Cleese describes the event as very simple: \u201cI come out, I introduce the show, I talk a little bit about the history of how it started. … Then after that, we show the film, and then the audience can ask me anything they like for about an hour and a half.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The audience Q&A is what Cleese seems to love most. \u201cI love the process because I never know what\u2019s going to happen. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to be asked. Sometimes it\u2019s very surprising,\u201d he said. The show offers a chance for fans to connect, and as Cleese notes, \u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful experience to be in with the audience laughing. There\u2019s not a lot of that these days, and I\u2019ve tried to do what I can to remedy that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan Pulcrano contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not Dead Yet! John Cleese and The Holy Grail at 50 begins at 7:30pm on Sept 14 at the San Jose Civic, 135 W San Carlos St, San Jose. Tickets: $81\u2013$218. sanjosetheaters.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s fitting that comedy icon John Cleese will stop in San Jose, given Monty Python\u2019s absurdly significant contribution to tech culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20184009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[1932],"tags":[20504,20505,20523],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n