John Cleese will lecture in Bailey Oct. 13 on film 'Life of Brian'

Actor-comedian-writer John Cleese will make his second appearance on campus as a Cornell Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large and will present a screening of Monty Python's "Life of Brian" followed by a public lecture Friday, Oct. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in Bailey Hall.

The screening and lecture are free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets will be available starting Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 9 a.m. at Cornell's Willard Straight ticket office.

Cleese's return to Cornell -- his first visit as professor-at-large was Feb. 4-6, 1999 -- will include several classes with Cornell students, including a screenwriting class he will lead in tandem with William Goldman, renowned Hollywood screenwriter. Cleese also will engage several Cornell religious leaders and students in a discussion about the controversial "Life of Brian" film, among other presentations and activities limited to the Cornell community during his visit.

During his career, using humor as a teaching tool, Cleese -- and his Monty Python cohorts -- have exposed millions of people to relatively advanced concepts in philosophy, science, history, religion, politics, human relations and physics. Cleese is known best for his work appearing in and co-writing the television series "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "Fawlty Towers." His films include: "A Fish Called Wanda," "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "Life of Brian," "Time Bandits" and "Fierce Creatures."

Cleese holds an M.A. in law from Cambridge University and an honorary LL.D. from St. Andrews University, where he was rector for several years. He has co-authored two books, Families and How to Survive Them and Life and How to Survive It. For the past three decades, he has produced a series of interactive multimedia training programs for business.

The Program for Professors-at-Large began in 1965 to bring distinguished scholars to campus for formal and informal exchanges with faculty and students. They make periodic visits to campus over six-year terms and are full members of the Cornell faculty. Award-winning novelist Toni Morrison visited last week as an A.D. White Professor-at-Large. (See story.)