# Your top 10 John Cleese characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2023, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886 "2023-11-30T03:36:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/21 "2023-11-30T10:58:10Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Sir Lancelot/Tim the Enchanter/The Black Knight in _ **Holy** _ _ **Grail** _. You can’t leave out the French taunter! His cameo as Mr. Toad’s lawyer in Terry Jones’s film _Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride_ is probably the best part of that movie. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/22 "2023-11-30T11:22:23Z")
“I fart in your general direction!” ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/23 "2023-11-30T12:25:04Z")
[Chamran Knebter](https://youtu.be/WaJG7udlfEM) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/24 "2023-11-30T18:06:01Z")
The owner of 17 Highbrow Street in _The Great Muppet Caper_. Cleese’s completely unfazed, deadpan reaction to finding a talking pig and “lizard” in his house is just about perfect. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/25 "2023-11-30T18:38:39Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > he Hungarian at the tobacconist’s. This, and the taunting French knight in Holy Grail are my entries. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/26 "2023-11-30T18:44:48Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Great characters do not have to be likeable. But if you despise them, it makes it hard to like the character. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/27 "2023-11-30T19:03:45Z")
My favorite Cleese character that never fails to make me lose it laughing has been mentioned earlier but his character name often gets mangled because some “official” books have it wrong, or people just don’t hear it correctly. That character is Brian Equatlor. _Equatlor_ not “Equator”. He even says "like around the middle of the Earth only with an “L” (followed by him guffawing). That sketch where Chapman’s romantic evening goes off the rails is in my top 5 sketches of all time. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/28 "2023-11-30T19:24:09Z")
Another vote for Mungo the cook. “Oh it makes me, _mad_. _Mad_!” ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/29 "2023-11-30T22:11:53Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Meh. Na. Not even close to my top 10. Great, sure, but just not quite that extra kick I’m looking for. Well then, @Northern_Piper, @baker and I will just have to enjoy it ourselves! > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > He’s the police officer inquiring about the strange confections from Whizzo’s Chocolates (whence the name Praline) -pardon the snip- Ah yes, the infamous “Crunch Frog” bit. Another of my favorites! I’m not sure it should count, because it’s Cleese as a narrator, rather than a character exactly, but I’ve always loves him as the narrator in “[How Not to Be Seen.](https://youtu.be/VokGd5zhGJ4)” The perfect escalation of quiet, educational film into all out insanity (with his voice work following along) makes it one of my classic “bad day” videos. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/30 "2023-11-30T22:25:04Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > He even says "like around the middle of the Earth only with an “L” (followed by him guffawing). Huh, I see - thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/31 "2023-11-30T22:35:08Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > The owner of 17 Highbrow Street in _The Great Muppet Caper_. Cleese’s completely unfazed, deadpan reaction to finding a talking pig and “lizard” in his house is just about perfect. That reminds me of his short part as an art gallery visitor in the Doctor Who story arc _City of Death_. Exquisite. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/32 "2023-11-30T22:52:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > A twit would write “Nigel Incubator-Jones.” You know, that’s the weirdest thing! I didn’t know the name of the character so I Googled it. I did a double-take when I saw Nigel-Incubator Jones and even checked it twice – or at least, I could have sworn I did – before styling it that way in my post. Then, this morning after reading your tongue-in-cheek tease, I checked again, and it was “Nigel Incubator-Jones”. I guess we know who the actual twit is here! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/33 "2023-11-30T23:52:08Z")
**Fun Fact:** The origin of hyphenated surnames goes back to the Middle Ages. It meant that both a man and his wife were armigers in their own right. In other words, they had both inherited coats of arms from their fathers. A woman could do this if her father had no legitimate male heirs, and the resulting coat of arms would be a combination of the two. A string of such marriages would produce ever more complicated coats of arms. BTW, they’re properly called “coats of arms” or “armorial bearings.” There’s no such thing as a “family crest,” despite some hucksters offering to create one for you for a fee. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/34 "2023-12-01T03:04:49Z")
The gorilla [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hqGgcIxmJ7o/hqdefault.jpg "Pre Monty Python: The Tea Party") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqGgcIxmJ7o) ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/35 "2023-12-01T03:24:16Z")
Seriously? No love for the [pepperpots](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwTqC2T6q4E)? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/36 "2023-12-01T03:27:00Z")
Sure, I could go for a little “Girl From Ipanema” “I dream of Jeannie with dark, brown hair” right now. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/37 "2023-12-01T03:28:56Z")
The [Gumby Brain Specialist](https://montypython.fandom.com/wiki/Gumby_Brain_Specialist). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/38 "2023-12-01T04:09:56Z")
Does anyone but me remember Cleese’s brilliant turn as Marcus Rugman, makeup registration artist? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886/39 "2023-12-01T04:15:28Z")
On _ **The Avengers** _? Oh, yes! > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXG7\_PNyUsQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXG7_PNyUsQ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-10-john-cleese-characters/993886.md?page=1)