Which comedian played Basil Fawlty in the television sitcom Fawlty Towers?

John Cleese played Basil Fawlty in the television sitcom Fawlty Towers.

Cleese co-created the series with Connie Booth and played Basil, the tense and often exasperated owner of a fictional hotel in Torquay. The character’s attempts to maintain respectable service repeatedly collapse into arguments, misunderstandings, and increasingly chaotic behavior.

Fawlty Towers ran for two series, with six episodes in each, in 1975 and 1979. Despite its short run, it became one of Britain’s most acclaimed television comedies. Cleese’s physical performance and sharply escalating frustration are central to the show’s style.

The series is sometimes associated with Monty Python because Cleese was a founding performer in that troupe. However, Fawlty Towers was a separate sitcom, co-written by Cleese and Booth rather than being a Monty Python production.