John Cleese has no problem making jokes about his own death. He still wants to delay it as long as possible.
As a member of the iconic (and once six-member) comedy troupe Monty Python, it is well known that not even Jesus himself is holy to the British John Cleese (84). He has also made fun of death – sometimes in his own ranks. on the death of his friend and colleague Terry Jones four years ago: “Two gone, four to go.” However, in a new interview with “Saga Magazine”, the 84-year-old revealed that he apparently plans to be the last python to bite the dust.
He would spend 17,000 pounds (around 20,000 euros) a year on complex stem cell therapies in order to “buy a few extra years” from Grim Reaper, “The Independent” quotes. In fact, he has been doing this for 20 years, bringing the total amount of his treatments to an impressive 400,000 euros. That’s the reason why, despite a career spanning 50 years, he is “surprisingly poor” – but at the same time “still looks pretty good for my 84 years.”
Young and poor also thanks to his (ex) wives
But there is another factor that is crucial for his youthful feelings and simultaneous poverty – his love life. Cleese joked in the interview that the $20 million divorce from his ex-wife Alyce Faye Eichelberger really wasn’t good for his bank account and was the main reason why he still couldn’t retire when he was well into his 80s.
His current wife, Jennifer Wade, 32 years his junior, is his second fountain of youth alongside stem cell treatment. It’s a shame “that I’ll probably die so much sooner than her,” Cleese jokes with his usual bitter, angry tone. However, one thing gives him hope that he too will be able to spend a few more years on earth: “I’m not fit, but the way I see it, the doctors can’t yet tell me for sure what I’ll die of.”
In addition to Cleese, Terry Gilliam (83), Michael Palin (80) and Eric Idle (81) also live from the Monty Python troupe. Terry Jones died in 2020 after suffering from dementia for several years. Already in 1989 they had to say goodbye to Graham Chapman, who had succumbed to cancer at the age of just 48.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
