Carol Cleveland
Encyclopedia
Carol Cleveland is a British actress/comedienne
, most notable for her appearances as the only significant female performer on Monty Python's Flying Circus
.
, Texas; and later Pasadena
, California where she attended John Marshall Junior High School and Pasadena High School. She is a former Miss California Navy and appeared as Miss Teen Queen in MAD Magazine at age 15.
Cleveland returned with her family to London in 1960, and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
.
and other TV shows and films, she started to appear as an extra in BBC
comedy productions, including The Two Ronnies
, Morecambe and Wise
and Spike Milligan
.
This brought her to the attention of the production team of Monty Python's Flying Circus
. She appeared in 30 of the 45 episodes in the series. Sometimes referred to as the "other Python" or "the seventh Python" or even "The Female Python," though she thinks this is too much. She played an archetypal
blonde bombshell. Stage directions for her first sketch described her as "a blonde buxom wench in the full bloom of womanhood." Privately called "Carol Cleavage" by the other Pythons, she called herself the "glamour stooge." Cleveland starred in all four of the Monty Python movies, including the dual roles of Zoot and Dingo, twin leaders of the maidens in the Castle Anthrax, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
. Her mother, Pat, appeared in Monty Python on several occasions, once as a mental patient with an axe embedded in her head.
Cleveland was voted number three in Splendor magazine's "100 Most Beautiful Entertainers" list in 1972.
In 1986, Cleveland played an American television journalist in the Only Fools and Horses
episode "The Miracle of Peckham
".
In 1995, Cleveland had a small cameo in a Fist of Fun
sketch, a BBC
comedy show featuring Stewart Lee
and Richard Herring
. During a radio interview in Birmingham
to promote a British tour of Tom Stoppard
's play Dirty Linen
in the early 1980s, Cleveland confided an embarrassing incident in dress rehearsal. One scene called for her to climb onto a table and pull off her skirt. It was only when her fellow cast members went suddenly silent that Cleveland realised she'd forgotten to put on any underwear that morning.
Cleveland now performs in a one-woman show, Carol Cleveland Reveals All.
In 2010 she appeared in an advert for Pimm's.
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, most notable for her appearances as the only significant female performer on Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
.
Early life
Born in London, she moved to the United States with her mother and U.S. Air Force stepfather at an early age. She was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San AntonioSan Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, Texas; and later Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, California where she attended John Marshall Junior High School and Pasadena High School. She is a former Miss California Navy and appeared as Miss Teen Queen in MAD Magazine at age 15.
Cleveland returned with her family to London in 1960, and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
.
Career
A stage actress who had appeared as an extra in The Persuaders!The Persuaders!
The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
and other TV shows and films, she started to appear as an extra in BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy productions, including The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies is a British sketch show that aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.-Origins:...
, Morecambe and Wise
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
and Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
.
This brought her to the attention of the production team of Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
. She appeared in 30 of the 45 episodes in the series. Sometimes referred to as the "other Python" or "the seventh Python" or even "The Female Python," though she thinks this is too much. She played an archetypal
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
blonde bombshell. Stage directions for her first sketch described her as "a blonde buxom wench in the full bloom of womanhood." Privately called "Carol Cleavage" by the other Pythons, she called herself the "glamour stooge." Cleveland starred in all four of the Monty Python movies, including the dual roles of Zoot and Dingo, twin leaders of the maidens in the Castle Anthrax, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
. Her mother, Pat, appeared in Monty Python on several occasions, once as a mental patient with an axe embedded in her head.
Cleveland was voted number three in Splendor magazine's "100 Most Beautiful Entertainers" list in 1972.
In 1986, Cleveland played an American television journalist in the Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
episode "The Miracle of Peckham
The Miracle of Peckham
"The Miracle of Peckham" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses. It was the second episode of series 5, and was first screened on 7 September 1986.-Synopsis:...
".
In 1995, Cleveland had a small cameo in a Fist of Fun
Fist of Fun
Fist of Fun was a popular British comedy television and radio programme, written by and starring Lee and Herring . A lot of the show's comic material was adapted from Lee and Herring's radio programme Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World.Each episode of Fist of Fun featured several disparate sketches...
sketch, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy show featuring Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
and Richard Herring
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
. During a radio interview in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to promote a British tour of Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's play Dirty Linen
Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land
Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land is a pair of two 1976 Tom Stoppard plays that are always performed together. New-Found-Land interrupts the two parts of Dirty Linen...
in the early 1980s, Cleveland confided an embarrassing incident in dress rehearsal. One scene called for her to climb onto a table and pull off her skirt. It was only when her fellow cast members went suddenly silent that Cleveland realised she'd forgotten to put on any underwear that morning.
Cleveland now performs in a one-woman show, Carol Cleveland Reveals All.
In 2010 she appeared in an advert for Pimm's.
Selected filmography
- Strictly for the BirdsStrictly for the BirdsStrictly for the Birds is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Tony Tanner, Joan Sims and Graham Stark. Terry Blessing seems to be having a lucky day, winning at gambling, until suddenly an ex-girlfriend terms up with what she claims is his son.-Cast:* Tony Tanner ... ...
(1963) - The Pleasure GirlsThe Pleasure GirlsThe Pleasure Girls is a 1965 British drama film directed by Gerry O'Hara and starring Klaus Kinski.-Plot:When Sally moves to London to pursue a modelling career, she moves in with Angela and Dee and discovers the world of the carefree bachelor girl in Swinging London...
(1965) - A Countess from Hong KongA Countess from Hong KongA Countess from Hong Kong is a 1967 British comedy film and the last film directed by Charlie Chaplin. It was one of two films Chaplin directed in which he did not play a major role , and his only color film. Chaplin's cameo marked his final screen appearance...
(1967) - Mister Ten Per CentMister Ten Per CentMister Ten Per Cent is a 1967 British comedy film, directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Charlie Drake.-Plot:Percy Pointer, a construction worker and amateur dramatist, writes a drama 'Oh My Lord' and hopes to have it professionally produced. A dishonest producer agrees to back the play,...
(1967) - The Bliss of Mrs. BlossomThe Bliss of Mrs. BlossomThe Bliss of Mrs. Blossom is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath. The screenplay by Alec Coppel and Denis Norden was adapted from a play by Coppel that was based on a short story by Josef Shaftel, who served as the film's producer.-Plot:...
(1968) - The Adding MachineThe Adding Machine (film)The Adding Machine is a 1969 British fantasy drama film directed by Jerome Epstein and starring Milo O'Shea, Phyllis Diller, Billie Whitelaw, Sydney Chaplin and Raymond Huntley...
(1969) - And Now for Something Completely DifferentAnd Now For Something Completely DifferentAnd Now for Something Completely Different is a film spin-off from the television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus featuring favorite sketches from the first two seasons. The title was used as a catchphrase in the television show....
(1971) - Monty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
(1974) - Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
(1979) - Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)