For Monty Python star John Cleese, ‘life is a comedy’

"Some people think life is a tragedy and we are all going to die, and some people think life is a comedy. I belong to the second group," John Cleese tells me from the other end of the telephone line.
For the British comedy actor and co-founder of the legendary Monty Python comedy group, death and what he sees as its humorous side are an endless source of material. Thinking back on the "Dead Parrot" sketch from Monty Python's legendary "Flying Circus" series, first aired in 1969, or the memorable (and shockingly hilarious) eulogy he delivered for his friend and comedy partner Graham Chapman in 1989, the 79-year-old Cleese seems comfortable with the subject.

"I always had a catholic sense of humor. I don't mean Roman Catholic, I mean wide parameters. I sometimes enjoyed quite subtle humor and sometimes slapstick. I enjoy those and everything in between but in later years...