"Major Gowen Major Gowen, usually known as the Major, is a fictional character played by Ballard Berkeley in the BBC sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"". Major Gowen is an old, befuddled, slightly senile, retired artillery officer permanently residing in the hotel. He appears in all 12 episodes, along with the other permanent residents Miss Gatsby and Miss Tibbs. He enjoys talking about the world (especially the cricket scores and workers' strikes) and is always on the lookout for the newspaper. He has trouble forgiving Germany for the Second World War. He often appears slightly hard of hearing, which leads to some confusion"
"the place in a week"",the way he'd handle guests' demands. In the next episode, the idea of him running a hotel was seen as him being a Basil Fawlty. In the 2004 film ""Shrek 2"", John Cleese's character of King Harold references the character by using Fawlty's excuse of ""war wound shrapnel"" with ""Crusade war shrapnel"". Basil Fawlty Basil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"", played by John Cleese. Basil has become an iconic British comedy character that is widely recognised around the world, despite only 12 half-hour episodes ever having been made. Basil, who"
"Basil Fawlty Basil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"", played by John Cleese. Basil has become an iconic British comedy character that is widely recognised around the world, despite only 12 half-hour episodes ever having been made. Basil, who runs the titular hotel in Torquay, is a misanthropic, pessimistic and somewhat snobbish man, whose main aspiration is to become a member of more ""respectable"" (richer) social circles. He sees the successful running of the hotel as a means of achieving this dream, yet his job frequently requires him to be pleasant to people he despises"
"character to allow the girl the chance to make this wish come true. Manuel (Fawlty Towers) Manuel is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"", played by Andrew Sachs. He reappeared for a small sketch with John Cleese in ""We Are Most Amused"" in November 2008. Manuel himself appeared on the audio adaptations of ""Fawlty Towers"" as a linking narrator, explaining things from his point of view, when the series was released in audio format. The first two episodes released did not feature him at all, as the dialogue was edited and a short burst of piano music"
"Manuel (Fawlty Towers) Manuel is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"", played by Andrew Sachs. He reappeared for a small sketch with John Cleese in ""We Are Most Amused"" in November 2008. Manuel himself appeared on the audio adaptations of ""Fawlty Towers"" as a linking narrator, explaining things from his point of view, when the series was released in audio format. The first two episodes released did not feature him at all, as the dialogue was edited and a short burst of piano music would indicate a change of scene. However, when the whole series was re-released,"
"Germans"". Booth, who had not done television acting in front of an audience before, wanted to keep Polly as a relatively minor character. According to Cleese, they realised Polly would be a ""beacon of sanity"", whose sense of ""instinctive decency"" leads her to save Basil from his foibles. He credits Booth's performance in a scene of ""The Anniversary"", where she argues with Basil over his plan for Polly to impersonate Sybil in order to save his embarrassment, as ""marvellous"". Polly Sherman Polly Sherman is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"". Played by Connie Booth, she is Fawlty"
"police go undercover. The Blue Parrot The Blue Parrot is a low budget 1953 British crime film directed by John Harlow and starring Dermot Walsh, Jacqueline Hill, Ballard Berkeley, Richard Pearson and John Le Mesurier. The film was produced by Stanley Haynes for Act Films Ltd. Jacqueline Hill later became well known for playing Barbara, one of the original companions of BBC TV's Doctor Who.. Ballard Berkeley found fame in later life as The Major in Fawlty Towers. British crime reporter Percy Hoskins provided the story. Soho night club The Blue Parrot is at the centre of murder and racketeering"
"as ""The Saint"" (1962) and ""Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)"" (1969). Sachs is best known for portraying Manuel, the Spanish waiter in the sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"" (1975 and 1979), a role for which he was nominated for a BAFTA award. (The award went to co-star John Cleese.) During the shooting of the ""Fawlty Towers"" episode ""The Germans"", Sachs was left with second degree acid burns due to a fire stunt. He was hit with a faulty prop on the set of the show by John Cleese and suffered a severe headache. Sachs recorded four singles in character as Manuel; the first"
"The Blue Parrot The Blue Parrot is a low budget 1953 British crime film directed by John Harlow and starring Dermot Walsh, Jacqueline Hill, Ballard Berkeley, Richard Pearson and John Le Mesurier. The film was produced by Stanley Haynes for Act Films Ltd. Jacqueline Hill later became well known for playing Barbara, one of the original companions of BBC TV's Doctor Who.. Ballard Berkeley found fame in later life as The Major in Fawlty Towers. British crime reporter Percy Hoskins provided the story. Soho night club The Blue Parrot is at the centre of murder and racketeering investigations, and the"
"Sybil Fawlty Sybil Fawlty is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"". She is played by Prunella Scales. Her age is listed as 34 years old as seen on her medical chart in the 1975 episode ""The Germans"", thus presumably indicating that she was born in 1941. Scales was 43 years old when ""Fawlty Towers"" began. She is Basil Fawlty's wife, and the only regular character in the series who usually refers to him by his first name (Major Gowen addresses Basil by his first name in ""Communication Problems""). Sybil is a far more effective worker and manager"
"character of Sybil was used by special permission of John Cleese. Sybil Fawlty Sybil Fawlty is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"". She is played by Prunella Scales. Her age is listed as 34 years old as seen on her medical chart in the 1975 episode ""The Germans"", thus presumably indicating that she was born in 1941. Scales was 43 years old when ""Fawlty Towers"" began. She is Basil Fawlty's wife, and the only regular character in the series who usually refers to him by his first name (Major Gowen addresses Basil by his first name in"
"Donald Sinclair (hotel owner) Donald William Sinclair (10 July 1909 – 1981) was the co–proprietor of the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, England. He helped manage the hotel after an extensive career as an officer in the Merchant Navy and the Royal Navy. During World War II, he twice survived the sinking of the ship he was serving on. He was the inspiration for the character Basil Fawlty in ""Fawlty Towers"", owing to his allegedly stuffy, snobbish and eccentric treatment of his guests, including John Cleese (whose character in the 2001 film Rat Race, was also named Donald Sinclair) and other"
"""that golfing puff-adder"", ""the dragon"", ""toxic midget"", ""the sabre-toothed tart"", ""my little kommandant"", ""my little piranha fish"", ""my little nest of vipers"" and ""you rancorous, coiffured old sow"". Despite these nasty nicknames, Basil is terrified of her. There is only one time he loses patience and snaps at her (Basil: ""Shut up, I'm fed up."" Sybil: ""Oh, you've done it now.""). Prunella Scales speculated in an interview for ""The Complete Fawlty Towers"" DVD box set that Sybil married Basil because his origins were of a higher social class than hers. Polly Sherman, played by Connie Booth, is a waitress and"
"Xander Berkeley Alexander Harper Berkeley (born December 16, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles of Sheriff Thomas McAllister on the crime drama ""The Mentalist"", George Mason on the political thriller series ""24"", Percy Rose on the action thriller series ""Nikita"", and the Man on ""The Booth At The End"". His notable film roles include Todd Voight in """", Gregory in AMC's ""The Walking Dead"" and Trevor Lyle in ""Candyman"". Berkeley was born on December 16, 1955, in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived most of his life in New Jersey. He is of Scottish"
"cancer. I do not know where he found the strength."" A year before his death, Hall told the ""Mirror"": ""Cancer is a bully and I hate bullies. This old boy cancer will get about as much change out of me as all the other bullies I've met - nothing."" Brian Hall (actor) Brian Charles Hall (20 November 1937 – 17 September 1997) was an English actor. He played hotel chef Terry Hugh in the British sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"". Hall played many hard-boiled tough guy Cockney roles: his role as the amiable chef Terry in ""Fawlty Towers"" was a casting against"
"Polly Sherman Polly Sherman is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"". Played by Connie Booth, she is Fawlty Towers' long-suffering waitress and maid. Polly is the hotel waitress during the series, and one of only three staff members seen there, the others being Manuel and Terry. Although she at one point claims to be employed part-time, she is shown working there as a maid, and is occasionally saddled with more duties than this, which she will often go along with for the extra money. Polly is, by far, the most sensible character in the series, and often"
"I was here!"" On Thursday 16 October 2008, Sachs, who famously portrayed Manuel in television comedy ""Fawlty Towers"", was scheduled to be a phone-in guest on Brand's evening radio show. The show was to be pre-recorded due to Brand's work commitments. After being unable to reach Sachs on his home telephone, Brand and his co-host of the week, fellow Radio 2 DJ Jonathan Ross, left Sachs four voice messages. In the first message, Brand joked about ""Fawlty Towers"" and the fact that both he and Sachs had appeared in ""The Bill"", but was interrupted by Ross shouting out ""he fucked"
"a ""sweet, sweet man"". Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried ""Andrew"" Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016) was a British actor. Born in Berlin, Germany, he and his family emigrated to London in 1938, to escape persecution under the Nazis. He made his name on British television and rose to fame in the 1970s for his portrayals of the comical Spanish waiter Manuel in ""Fawlty Towers"". He went on to have a long career in acting and voice-over work for television, film and radio. In his later years, he continued to have success with roles in films such as ""Quartet"","
"Teddy Turner (actor) Joseph Edward Turner (13 June 1917 – 29 August 1992) was a Yorkshire-born English actor and comedian who played dustbin man Chalky Whiteley in the soap opera, ""Coronation Street"". He also played the part of the similarly named farmer Bill Whiteley in ""Emmerdale"" from 1989 to 1991. In the late 1970s he played the part of Mrs. Pumphrey's manservant Hodgekin in ""All Creatures Great and Small,"" Gordon in ""Open All Hours"" and subsequently the part of Banks in the popular 1980s sitcom, ""Never the Twain"". He also made occasional appearances in Last of the Summer Wine. He"
"became known as Basil Fawlty was developed in an episode (""No Ill Feeling"") of the third ""Doctor"" series (titled ""Doctor at Large""). In this edition, the main character checks into a small-town hotel, his very presence seemingly winding up the aggressive and incompetent manager (played by Timothy Bateson) with a domineering wife. The show was broadcast on 30 May 1971. Cleese said in 2008 that the first ""Fawlty Towers"" script he and Booth wrote was rejected by the BBC. At a 30th anniversary event honouring the show, Cleese said, Cleese was paid £6,000 for 43 weeks' work and supplemented his"
"Mike Hagerty Michael Gerard Hagerty (born May 10, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for playing comedic blue-collar workers, including his recurring roles as a building superintendent on ""Friends"" and the manager of a muffler shop on HBO's ""Lucky Louie"". Hagerty is recognized for his small character roles in a wide range of popular comedies, including ""Martin"", ""Cheers"", ""The Wayans Bros."", ""Curb Your Enthusiasm"", ""Friends"", ""Seinfeld"", and ""The Wonder Years"". He was also a regular on ""The George Carlin Show"". He began his acting career with The Second City. Although the majority of his career has been spent"
"Michael Eklund Michael Eklund is a Canadian television and film actor who is known for playing the role of the villain or antihero. His characters are often described as being ""creepy"". Some of his roles include a kidnapper who terrorizes Halle Berry's character in the 2013 psychological thriller ""The Call"", serial killer Barton Mathis in the second season of the superhero TV series ""Arrow"", drug trafficker Zane Morgan in the second season of the psychological horror drama series ""Bates Motel"" (2014), Martin, the leader of a hedonist group called ""The Rowdy 3"" on the sci-fi TV series ""Dirk Gently’s Holistic"
"Beefeater is similar to the rude and pompous Basil Fawlty, a character in the British television sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"". He is Britain's hero using a power-rod used by his father (The Beefeater of the Second World War), to try to protect Britain, but instead causes havoc as he goes. Michael Morice is a staff member at the Justice League London embassy. Supporting him is his wife and Esteban, the latter of whom has a poor grasp of English (both resembling characters from ""Fawlty Towers""). Michael finds the original Beefeater's costume and power-rod in the attic. After accidentally blowing a hole"
"Tom Noonan Tom Noonan (born April 12, 1951) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his role as Francis Dollarhyde in ""Manhunter"" (1986), Frankenstein's Monster in ""The Monster Squad"" (1987), Cain in ""RoboCop 2"" (1990), The Ripper in ""Last Action Hero"" (1993), Bill Lacey in ""Tales from the Darkside"" (1984), Sammy Barnathan in ""Synecdoche, New York"" (2008) and as the voice of everyone else in ""Anomalisa"" (2015). Noonan was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the son of Rosaleen and Tom Noonan, a jazz musician and dentist. He has an older brother, John Ford Noonan, a playwright, and"
"Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor, producer, and director. He first rose to fame for his roles on the CBS sitcoms ""All's Fair"" and ""The Mary Tyler Moore Hour"" and his comedic film roles in ""Night Shift"" (1982), ""Mr. Mom"" (1983), ""Johnny Dangerously"" (1984), and ""Beetlejuice"" (1988). He earned further acclaim for his dramatic portrayal of the title character in Tim Burton's ""Batman"" (1989) and ""Batman Returns"" (1992). He is also known for playing The Vulture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with """" (2017) and in the"
"Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor, producer, and director. He first rose to fame for his roles on the CBS sitcoms ""All's Fair"" and ""The Mary Tyler Moore Hour"" and his comedic film roles in ""Night Shift"" (1982), ""Mr. Mom"" (1983), ""Johnny Dangerously"" (1984), and ""Beetlejuice"" (1988). He earned further acclaim for his dramatic portrayal of the title character in Tim Burton's ""Batman"" (1989) and ""Batman Returns"" (1992). He is also known for playing The Vulture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with """" (2017) and in the"
"he won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor. Tom Noonan Tom Noonan (born April 12, 1951) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his role as Francis Dollarhyde in ""Manhunter"" (1986), Frankenstein's Monster in ""The Monster Squad"" (1987), Cain in ""RoboCop 2"" (1990), The Ripper in ""Last Action Hero"" (1993), Bill Lacey in ""Tales from the Darkside"" (1984), Sammy Barnathan in ""Synecdoche, New York"" (2008) and as the voice of everyone else in ""Anomalisa"" (2015). Noonan was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the son of Rosaleen and Tom Noonan, a jazz musician"
"Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American actor, author, and musician. He is known for film roles such as annoying insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ""Groundhog Day"" and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in ""Memento"", as well as such television characters as Commissioner Hugo Jarry (""Deadwood""), Bob Bishop (""Heroes""), Sandy Ryerson (""Glee""), Stu Beggs (""Californication"" and ""White Famous""), and Action Jack Barker (""Silicon Valley""). Tobolowsky has a monthly audio podcast, ""The Tobolowsky Files"", of autobiographical stories of his acting and personal life. In 2015, he co-hosted a short-lived second podcast, ""Big Problems – An Advice Podcast"", with"
"acclaimed webseries, ""The Booth at the End"". Berkeley is a painter and a sculptor, as well as a make-up artist. Berkeley met Sarah Clarke on the set of ""24"" in 2001, and married her the following year. Berkeley and Clarke live with their daughters, Olwyn Harper (born in 2006) and Rowan Amara (born in 2010), in Maine and in Los Angeles, California. Xander Berkeley Alexander Harper Berkeley (born December 16, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles of Sheriff Thomas McAllister on the crime drama ""The Mentalist"", George Mason on the political thriller series ""24"","
"his fake deaths which occurred between 2003 and 2006, where he was presumed dead 3 times, which the actor found ""hard to play"" due to being unrealistic. At the character's inception in 1987, the role was recast two times, originated first by Joseph Adams from April 10, 1987 to July 17, 1987. Further, James Acheson played the role briefly from July 21, 1987 to October 26, 1987, before Matthew Ashford stepped into the role on October 30, 1987; Ashford notably went on to play the role through October 12, 1993, reappearing from February 5, 2001 to October 27, 2003 and"
"Brandon Walsh Brandon Walsh, played by Jason Priestley, was the original lead character in the popular 1990s American television drama ""Beverly Hills, 90210"", and the first character introduced in the ""Beverly Hills, 90210"" franchise. Brandon was best known for his altruistic nature and strong moral values. Unlike his close friend Dylan McKay, who was portrayed as an anti hero, Brandon's motives were often unselfish and he was more of a traditional hero than Dylan. His friendliness made him so popular among his peers that, during the show's run, his sister Brenda, and friends Dylan and Steve all revealed that they"
"died of cancer in 1992 at the age of 75. Teddy Turner (actor) Joseph Edward Turner (13 June 1917 – 29 August 1992) was a Yorkshire-born English actor and comedian who played dustbin man Chalky Whiteley in the soap opera, ""Coronation Street"". He also played the part of the similarly named farmer Bill Whiteley in ""Emmerdale"" from 1989 to 1991. In the late 1970s he played the part of Mrs. Pumphrey's manservant Hodgekin in ""All Creatures Great and Small,"" Gordon in ""Open All Hours"" and subsequently the part of Banks in the popular 1980s sitcom, ""Never the Twain"". He also"
"Brian Hall (actor) Brian Charles Hall (20 November 1937 – 17 September 1997) was an English actor. He played hotel chef Terry Hugh in the British sitcom ""Fawlty Towers"". Hall played many hard-boiled tough guy Cockney roles: his role as the amiable chef Terry in ""Fawlty Towers"" was a casting against type. He played leading roles in police drama """" (1971–72), crime drama ""McVicar"" (1980), and sitcom ""You Must Be The Husband"" (1987). He also had several guest-starring roles in ""The Professionals"", ""The Long Good Friday"", ""The Bill"", ""London's Burning"", ""The Sweeney"" and ""Minder"" in Series 1 episode ""You Gotta"