John Cleese has spoken about the breakdown of his first marriage to Connie Booth, revealing he was upset for two years after their split. The pair met in New York City in the mid-1960s, while Booth was working as a waitress and an actress. They married in 1968 and had a daughter, Cynthia, three years later.
Co-writing Fawlty Towers
Cleese and Booth went on to co-write and star in the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. Cleese, 86, plays the perpetually irritable hotel owner Basil Fawlty, while Booth portrays the sensible chambermaid Polly Sherman. The series ran for two seasons from 1975 to 1979, with the couple splitting in 1978, before the second series aired. Despite their breakup, they successfully finished writing and filming the second series together.
In a previous interview, the Monty Python star opened up about the end of his first marriage, explaining that they shared "a great deal of love" for each other. He said: "When Connie and I broke up in 1978, I was very upset for about two years. There was a great deal of love in that relationship, and we've managed to remain good friends."
Booth's rare statement
Booth has refrained from commenting on her relationship with Cleese or the sitcom, but she made a rare statement to Radio Times ahead of Fawlty Towers' 50th anniversary last year. "In the year and a half it took to write Fawlty Towers, John and I never imagined the impact the show would have," she stated. "On its 50th anniversary, I'd like to take the opportunity to get something straight. John wrote the dialogue."
The 85-year-old continued: "Before that dialogue was written, he and I developed the plots. Each episode took about a month to contrive. Out of the ridiculous complications of farce, his brilliant lines emerged.
"When the issue of billing arose, I thought 'Written by John Cleese, storyline by us both' would've been fine for me. John said they didn't do that in TV comedy and insisted on co-authorship."
Poisoned chalice
She went on to say that "yielding to John's generous offer turned out to be a kind of poisoned chalice. For half a century, I've been receiving praise for lines which John wrote.
"When people quote back words from the script, instead of flattered, I felt counterfeit. I've had to say, 'No, John wrote that.'"
