Age: 86
male
John Marwood Cleese (born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, writer and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s he became a member of Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and the four Monty Python films: And Now for Something Completely Different, Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. In the mid 1970s, Cleese and his first wife Connie Booth, co-wrote and starred in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers. Later, he co-starred with Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis and former Python colleague Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures. He also starred in Clockwise, and has appeared in many other films, including two James Bond films, two Harry Potter films, and three Shrek films. With Yes Minister writer Antony Jay he co-founded the production company Video Arts, responsible for making entertaining training films. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Cleese, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Helmut Doork, a former famous circus clown now past his prime, faces struggles in a circus during World War II. After causing an accident, he is demoted but stands up for himself with his wife's encouragement. When he overhears plans to fire him, he drunkenly mocks Hitler and is arrested by the Gestapo. Imprisoned for political reasons, he boasts about his past fame in prison. Doork befriends a fellow prisoner named Johann Keltner who opposes the Nazis. When Jewish prisoners arrive, Doork tries to entertain them, leading to his beating by other inmates. Despite the risks, he continues performing for the children until SS guards intervene, resulting in Keltner's death and Doork's isolation. The commandant assigns him to assist in transporting Jewish children to Auschwitz, and Doork ends up leading them to their deaths in the gas chamber, feeling remorseful and ultimately choosing to stay with them in their final moments.
