Fawlty Towers: Connie Booth talks about working with John

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[@suzannaw3282]

I’ll forever wish there were more than 12 episodes it’s the funniest and purest of comedy

[@thomasgray5406]

I have ambivalent feelings over whether or not more Fawlty Tower episodes should've been made. On one hand it's our instinct to want more of a great series but sometimes the quality somehow gets diluted when they're prolonged as it was with Only Fools and Horses which, after a great start, became utterly tedious and not very funny, esp after 47billion replays. What a strong cast FT had, though! Like most boys of my era, I though Connie Booth was beautiful, on my bedroom wall alongside Clare Grogan!

[@suzannaw3282]

Thomas Gray both faulty towers and only fools and horses are my favourite and I have to disagree that it got worse. I love the sly humour and it feels like a comfort to me just like friends. But each to their own x

[@jimmybisk]

@@suzannaw3282 I was thinking this after re-watching a few clips from it recently. I think the great tragedy is that there was a 4 year gap between series 1 and 2 (I forget the reasons), so theoretically there could potentially have been more - & made with the original cast. There was talk of them making a movie, whereby Basil & Cybil went with Manuel to Spain to see his family - but I'm not sure how well it could have worked without all the regulars. I also have a book about the series where it's alleged that there was a 13th episode made (A forward supposedly by John Cleese - signed as JC at the end cooberates this, claiming he 'may one day release it') & it even contains a 'script' for it which is incredibly funny, as in, you can absolutely see the characters say those lines, but who knows what truth lies in this as the BBC flatly deny making it. The series to my mind is one of the best comedies ever that has really stood the test of time well.

[@khangphamchannel016]

edders redders it’s not overrated, it’s actually good comedy like Black Adder or Miranda. Miranda is probably the last good comedy.

[@khangphamchannel016]

It wouldn’t happened now because Andrew Sachs (Manuel) died :(((

[@DrCrabfingers]

Great to see Connie Booth again, her portrayal of her character was perfect. And she was so sexy! There wasn't a weakly portrayed character in that series, everyone had great lines and had the talent to bring them to life. It remains the most loved British TV series...

[@PurushaDesa]

John Cleese has always spoken of how he works best in collaboration, so it's so cool to hear Connie Booth talk about the writing process.

[@legrandmaitre7112]

"Would, would you... would you care for a rat?" has to be one of the funniest lines in all of TV comedy.

[@ardshielcomplex8917]

"Ees not Rat.....ees Siberian Hampster" (Manuel.....from Baaaarhelonar)

[@kevhead1525]

The last episode was the best. Leave them wanting more.

[@thoughtfortheday7811]

Along with... It's over there between the land and the sky. 😀

[@jonathanbicknell8435]

Not as funny as Basil delving into a blancmange in the hope of finding a roast duck.

[@jfq7223]

​@kevhead1525 Yep, a really beautiful ending with Sybil talking about the weather on the left, the flummoxed inspector in the middle and Basil being dragged out of the room from the right. Almost like a curtain being drawn on the series.

[@jbradbury2]

It just goes to show how important it is to have the right people around you.

[@Mrbobinge]

Oh Connie, the love I had for your Polly character is unspeakable. She was/is my main reason to re-watch.

[@jfq7223]

Join the club friend! And in retrospect Pru was quite beautiful as well. Outstanding in this clip even.

[@spaztekwarrior]

I still remember her staring at the camera and saying, ‘It’s a fair cop...’ after weighing the same as a duck in QFTHG. LOL:)

[@mikereseigh]

Hello Connie. Much love from myself and my wife Jan . Fawlty towers is fantastic. Thank you very much.

[@greebo7857]

It remains the funniest 12 episodes of television ever. "Well, may I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel window? Sydney Opera House perhaps? " It is nearly impossible to choose a favourite episode of Fawlty Towers but if I had to then Communication Problems would be hard to go past. Oh bugger, then there's The Builders with the fantastic David Kelly as O'Reilly. And then.... No, it's impossible. They are all utterly, excruciatingly brilliant.

[@thoughtfortheday7811]

Mrs Richards was my personal favourite guest at FT. I love that episode.

[@hesch-tag]

Absolutely, they're all great. My favourite I think is the psychiatrists.

[@paulmccarthy8345]

I'm NUTS about the fire drill.....it's just perfect.

[@keith6591]

@@thoughtfortheday7811 She was brilliant "call that a bath? It's not big enough to drown a mouse" Basil "I wish you were a mouse"

[@thoughtfortheday7811]

@@keith6591 lol oh yes, brilliant!

[@breebw]

Connie Booth was amazing in Faulty Towers. She played the competent hard working employee perfectly. It was very subtle.

[@chateaupig826]

acting normal would be the challenge 😂

[@andrewmorrison85]

I’m wondering where British accent went

[@breebw]

@@andrewmorrison85 Shes a yank. On series she acted a pom :).

[@bluebagger1262]

She is a Seppo, not a Yank.

[@breebw]

@@bluebagger1262 Booth was born in Indianapolis, USA. In the same maternity hospital, in the same week my mother was born. Their respective mothers became friends, and as far as I know Connie spent at least all her young life in the US, before moving to UK.

[@genepoole1771]

Lovely interview. Connie Booth is quite the fox, and interesting.

[@willemvantwillertorganist]

Connie Booth was also a great actor. My compliments

[@Iggywiggywoo]

She does a great British accent in the show.

[@farmergeddon7527]

I don't think she is doing one - Polly's character is American as Basil mocks her once with a ridiculous American accent.

[@trainrover]

Either way, I still have a hunch that Connie must've yearned shirking her Hamptons-like accent

[@daniellinehan63]

Reminds me of great Vincent Price, a Kansas City guy

[@Iggywiggywoo]

@@daniellinehan63 That’s Egghead in the original Batman series and the voice of Ratigan The Rat in Disney’s Basil The Great Mouse Detective.

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

@@farmergeddon7527- Sorry, she was supposed to be an English art student... - Just saying ! In fact, in the original pilot episode, Polly was portrayed as a 'philosophy' student but this was changed to 'art' student by the time the first episode was finalised. 😃

[@johnbutler5650]

Still quite a lovely lady! Absolutely loved her as Polly in Fawlty Towers!

[@thexto34]

Connie Booth looks amazing after all this year's. She looks like she's is her 50's here, not 80

[@zakmartin]

Eighty is the new fifty.

[@SR-iy4gg]

Well, she wasn't 80 in this interview.

[@grahamharper8114]

She looks great, good genes.

[@fordcorsair]

More than the odd touch of the surgeon's knife...

[@E_y_a_l]

@@SR-iy4gg Well, she wasn't 50 either...

[@ianbentley7276]

gorgeous lady

[@SC-jh9qp]

Oh, too short I want more. Polly was the funniest and sexiest character on TV back then, I was in love with her! ❤️

[@steelers6titles]

The whole cast fit together perfectly, which is the case with every top situation comedy. The key to the humor was Cleese and his character; he runs a less-than-four-star establishment, but is never content to just--relax a bit. He is continually hysterically overreacting to everything and anything, ready to pop at any moment. These characters are always counterbalanced by much smarter, calmer individuals who are the ones who actually deal with problems effectively and get everything done. But there is still room for other over-the-top types, like Manuel (Andrew Sachs).

[@jennk6313]

She's still so beautiful. This was taped about 40 years on.

[@iamodmk]

I was today years old hearing with her without a British episode😲

[@einsteinstheory4250]

There will never be a comedy like this again. Yep shame there was only 12 episodes....but....'Quality'

[@KimHojbergJensen]

Found this by coincidence. Very nice. I've been fond of Polly for decades 🙂

[@grimupnorth]

First series was/is the best of any comedy series ever made. Slipped away a bit in the second, with only the 'dead guest' episode really capturing the feel of the first six.

[@geoffpoole483]

Fawlty Towers was basically a farce rather than a sitcom. Most sitcoms take a couple of series to gel but Fawlty Towers worked from the get-go. I think the second series was a bit inconsistent, possibly because Clees and Booth's marriage was on the rocks but also because the first series was very hard to beat. Basil's character was summed up in just one scene when a con man posing as a peer of the realm showed up. The first series is over 45 years old but has barely dated at all (apart from some of Basil's fashion choices).

[@larryagrapides9790]

What a delightful woman, in such contrast to so many others.

[@pj1909]

Polly in her vest top corrupted my teenage mind

[@inetawright3431]

She is still beautiful the show was so funny

[@jamescashin288]

The funniest half hour ever on Television!

[@Omnicient.]

Have a look at the opening titles to The Psychiatrist and in one of the windows upstairs...

[@richardmattocks]

Connie with an American accent hurts my brain. Only she could have tamed Cleese’s writing style to become “funny without being Pythonesque”

[@trespire]

I'm chuckling to myself just at the mention of Manuels rat.

[@mattynungwankbo3702]

Still gorgeous.

[@TheHighExecutioner]

Yaaay! Fawlty Vaulty ❤

[@Parawingdelta2]

I worked as a waiter at a holiday camp near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Many of the waiters were Spanish. None like Manuel and they got all the girls too!

[@ardshielcomplex8917]

Bluddy Spanyards, anything to wreak revenge after the Armada.

[@laurieprice535]

My favourite episode was the one with the hotel inspectors but every episode was great

[@chaz725]

Gorgeous woman then and even more gorgeous now . Xx

[@martynsmith8254]

I think it works well precisely because it only consisted of 12 episodes. It didn't grow stale, it didn't risk tarnishing the earlier episodes. Although IMV the last truly great episode was The Waldorf Salad. The final three episodes, The Anniversary, The Rat and especially The Kipper and The Corpse, over-rely on farce and are subsequently weaker than the other nine

[@patagualianmostly7437]

Kinda agree.... I did not particularly enjoy the "Waldorf" episode.... But yes.... It did at least NOT make the mistake of bleeding slowly to death, as so many sitcoms do by being over done ad nauseam. Such was the fate of Only Fools & Horses..... it just became a farce of what had gone before...reinvention rarely works.... Quit at the Top. "Leave 'em laughing...." Not cringing.

[@OldSkoolUncleChris]

Disagree the rat is a classic

[@soylentteal]

"Basil the Rat" was my favorite episode.

[@mombaassa]

Sadly, the rat who played Basil, was not given a credit. ☹

[@froggreen2067]

Hal, is that you again?

[@soylentteal]

Affirmative, Frog. I read you.

[@marktibbetts3799]

That RAT episode was freaking hilarious

[@martinpye549]

My first real crush. I was 9.

[@jamiesmith4293]

This would usually be green screened. How'd you deal with the feathering around her hair? It looks pretty decent.

[@appledoreman]

Obviously, everyone has their own opinion about which is the best British comedy. Personally, I think it's a tie between Porridge & F. Towers. The former has more laughs per minute, but the latter hits greater heights of hilarity.

[@ImadSul12]

She is American? I cant believe it!

[@lifeofabronovich7792]

Yup, from Indianapolis. She spent a long time in England though and was even married to John Cleese (Basil Fawlty) in real life.

[@bondoqbn7318]

Legend

[@peteowen3539]

For me FT is up there with Blackadder and I’m Alan Partridge as the pinnacle of British comedy.

[@bobfranklin2121]

Her accent is so American, she does a great job in Fawlty Towers

[@tbx59]

He's a confidence trickster

[@qbitsday3438]

favorite is "checking the Walls"

[@blindtoby8967]

Reminds me too much of my life.

[@davidsheriff8989]

It was a sharp comedy....prolonged comedies do not work.....short sharp and sweet...

[@allanwright5231]

My favourite clip was when basil bet on the horses and won he gives the money to Polly . His wife catches Polly giving Basil the money and hassle him about the money. So he gives it back to Polly. Somehow Cybill gets the money and gives it to the contractor working on Fawlty towers

[@uhlijohn]

Connie played Polly? She has an American or Canadian accent.

[@Kwippy]

Such a shame that comedy like this can never get made today, wokies would never allow it.

[@mwsc04]

I've watched and love FT since the 1980's and had NO idea she wasn't British! Too bad she doesn't do many interviews, this one was pure gold.

[@joesimon2018]

John often said that she was a far better writing partner than Graham Chapman

[@468130]

It must have took a lot of courage to change careers after being famous for all these years .Ps. She still looks good.

[@ire1398]

She’s doing the same thing Terry Gilliam does: American accent, British words.

[@samiam9008]

From NY ?? never knew she was from the US. Greatest British comedy

[@ardshielcomplex8917]

Well New York was British, before those damned traitorous colonials revolted doncha know !

[@samiam9008]

@@ardshielcomplex8917 we would like to give it back after the last sad episode of trump ism.

[@gerardmcnally]

He look at lady, and she go crazy ....

[@ophelian4646]

"I no' nothing, I'm from Barcelona."

[@Applecompuser]

It must be hard to be married and also work together. When there is a work problem it must impact the relationship and verse vice. FT is a great show tho.

[@choctaw6838]

Thank god Connie never mentioned the bet. (Dragonfly)

[@SgtMjr]

No ees Hamster!

[@nineteen8486]

First crush …

[@theobolt250]

All I get from this is, that it's not fair! Not fair to the actors. There goes so much study, trying, probing whatnot in good comedy. It IS really hard work. Yet we we see it on the stage or the telly... it looks so naturally easy. Almost effortless. No, it's not fair. 😜

[@ImNewbeh]

[@billybeads3328]

She sounds very English and is still a good looking woman

[@Elaba_]

There's a rat in my kitchen what I am going to do?

[@jimbomagee2950]

Yes its typical Brit humour. Showcases their class structure. The boss making sure every one knows he is the boss and quite happy to be a loud mouth bully to his so called underlings by continuously beating up on the little spanish guy. And it typifies their absolute inability to provide and give service I do not recall one amusing let alone a funny incident in the whole episodes that I did see.But then I am an admirer of the skill of Fools and horses

[@DMG00111-p]

Think you've been over thinking it

[@sandrajovic9304]

she's as lovely as she ever was. and her brain is huge. I'm just wondering why she has an American accent...

[@jhunt376]

Sandra Jovic because she is American. As many Americans do.

[@Awibrahor]

jhunt376 *are

[@sandrajovic9304]

@@jhunt376 *do

[@jas1000]

Born in Indiana I think

[@ernshaw78]

I've noticed similarly a lot of Canadians and Englishers in our American TV shows. It's almost like they were from other countries.

[@Fotozones]

She's American????? I have watched this series since the 70's and I never knew that.

[@Chrisdavies33]

Dear God ….Connie I’d ask the Surgeon for a Refund 🙈🙈

[@djmoch1001]

It's so odd hearing her natural American voice after knowing her as Polly and her lovely British voice on Fawlty Towers. What a lovely lady she is.

[@AssdMusicChannel]

@@BonRain8734 he's just saying how jarring it is to hear her out of character, her accent on FT was flawlessly done, I didn't know she was American until recently

[@kenwu7]

@@AssdMusicChannel And me not until this comment 😂

[@smithmeister]

What about when she does the 'I'm just a girl who can't say no.." bit? That's very talented to be American, doing a posh English accent, back into cod American.

[@fintonmainz7845]

She has an American accent in Fawlty towers. What are you smoking?

[@kenwu7]

@@fintonmainz7845 No she doesn't, what are YOU smoking? 😄

[@MrStevemur]

They were so perfectionistic. What other sit-com writers would worry that a restaurant inspector and a rat turning up together would be too contrived? They were great chefs in an industry that’s all fast-food.

[@PhilMoskowitz]

So many funny moments in this show. But nothing can beat Basil giving his automobile a rightly good thrashing.

[@glenisbarwick2566]

And now John Cleese has been cancelled. Doesn't anyone understand comedy is not real?

[@RetroReminiscing]

ha ha ha yes, it was a good thrashing

[@kathrynjaneway5346]

Every scene he was in was the funniest moment

[@brianthompson8813]

One of the hottest bodys from the 70s.80s

[@spaztekwarrior]

I remember the first time I discovered she wasn’t actually British. :) She was so great as Polly. :)

[@tristamrossi46]

SpazTek Warrior just found that out, she fooled me all along

[@sudo_nym]

Me too. Her English accent was spot on.

[@jeremygraves1720]

I have always thought she was

[@sudo_nym]

Weghweh Hwewehwhe Yeah, it blew me away when I learned. As an Englishman, her English accent was spot on. It fooled me.

[@hamishmcpenguin603]

Am I having a moment here? She played an American and spoke with an American accent all the way through - Or am I not getting the irony in the comments?

[@jcee6886]

What a beautiful speaking voice.

[@tanyakasim3988]

Agree!

[@caitlynmcmenamy1920]

She was perfect as Polly! I was very surprised to learn she wasnt English!

[@tanyakasim3988]

So was I, until she sang "I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say No." 🤔☺️

[@lazandsen]

She probably had to have coaching to learn the English accent for a British sitcom. Also in the old days, many actors had to learn Received pronounciation type of English.

[@argustuft2394]

@@tanyakasim3988 She was deliberately singing in an American accent because she was mimicking Gloria Grahame's rendition of "I Cain't Say No" in Oklahoma! She actually nails Grahame's delivery.

[@GAmbrose]

What? She uses her American accent in the show

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

@@tanyakasim3988 But she actually meant to play it as an American. She was mimicking Gloria Grahame singing "I Cain't Say No" from the film ' Oklahoma! '... - Just saying.

[@OFR]

The fact that she's so highly intelligent makes her sexier than ever. Love her.

[@caitlynmcmenamy1920]

OFR are you male? I'm curious because it has been my experience that men don't appreciate nor do they desire an intelligent woman and/or a woman with a sense of humor. Men,simple creatures as they are,enjoy a female who is rather stupid ,has a large chest and as young as she can be and still be "legal".

[@mauljoker2979]

And you are a sexist, plainly a sexist, and oh no! poor you! is it because man reject you? is because you are so fuck ugly that no man will ever go anywhere near you? probably, that’s why you are on the internet complaining about how bad men are

[@paultuley3305]

@Proxy Effect But she is talking out of her Arse.

[@peterjoyfilms]

@@caitlynmcmenamy1920 That's a sexist lazy stereotype.

[@cantatanoir6850]

@@caitlynmcmenamy1920 You are hanging out with the wrong men.

[@river8760]

She has a posh American accent. She almost sounds English at times, I can see why she was able to sound English on the show so easily. Such a hilarious show! Super talented actors.

[@TralfazConstruction]

My favorite moment of the show was Polly/Connie saying "Dragonfly". Also, what has stayed in memory is how she tosses-off the remark, "Enough to keep me in waitressing". It's no wonder that those few episodes of Fawlty Towers are so precious.

[@michelestidhamwhitmore8313]

Your so right .I can hear her voice and how it changes when she remembers dragonfly.

[@TralfazConstruction]

@@michelestidhamwhitmore8313 Prunella Scales' "Sybil" is even smiling a little as "Polly" is enunciating the word. It might have easily required another take but instead it is ours for posterity.

[@DenkyManner]

I'm glad she talked about the show but I wish there was more. I wonder if she didn't talk about it for so long because of the marriage breaking up and it was all a bit too painful for her. They both speak very fondly of each other, John says on the commentary track they see each other often and are great friends. And of course they had a child together. Or/and she didn't want to be thought of only in connection with the show

[@ianbentley7276]

she was gorgeous, still looks nice.

[@jonathanwilder5246]

The Waldorf Salad is my favorite.Being an American,I have seen so many fellow yanks acting like that both here and abroad.Just too funny.

[@grimupnorth]

Sorry. It's the only Fawlty Towers episode that I cannot watch. I suppose it is because the rolls are reversed, with Fawlty no longer berating the guests. I just didn't like seeing Basil put down like that.

[@telecomgear]

I prefer to call that episode Ugly American. Its too cringy.

[@TralfazConstruction]

I vow to make a Waldorf Salad each time I see this episode. My mother made those with seeming ease when we youngsters were too young to fully appreciate it. I believe that my mother added a touch of honey to her Waldorf Salads. That's what sticks in memory.

[@100pcRenewables]

I think it's my favourite too.

[@RetroReminiscing]

ha ha

[@geebee2276]

100% agree - she has aged so well … still has that sexy look and soft voice. Love the attention to detail that both her and John went into as screenwriters.

[@charlieross-BRM]

I think her voice is much nicer now, mellow. But then she was acting out a person always on the edge, harried by a crazy boss non-stop. Not hard on the eyes either.

[@cloudstrife1983]

Hard to believe she's around same age as John. She looks much younger

[@FIREBRAND38]

Well it helps that this interview was for a 2009 documentary.

[@tribeshift]

@@FIREBRAND38 - she still looks amazing!

[@indieshack4476]

I remember at the time people saying there should have been more episodes and either Connie or John said it's not that easy, it took them roughly a month to write each episode

[@leejones3061]

More like 4 months to write an episode

[@indieshack4476]

@@leejones3061 ...or maybe this - a month sounds optimistic.

[@elmonte5lim]

Cranking out 'The Goon Show', week upon week, cost Spike Milligan a marble or two. Two shows that can never be equalled. I suspect that pedigrees like that, may not be available without paying a price. My gratitude for them, will only end when I check out.

[@miguelteixeira4134]

The greatest comedy ever. 12 perfect episodes.

[@Auggies1956]

Still beautiful.

[@constipatedlecher]

SHE'S AMERICAN?!?!?!? My mind is shattered

[@Romany1111]

So happy sh'e finally agreed to participate in a Fawlty Towers show. Smart, beautiful, sexy.

[@wakeupuk3860]

Connie Booth does not really get the prestige for writing Fawlty Towers as much as John does, especially the 'Britishness' of most of it. Having been to American, trained and worked with many Americans who often just don't get our humour, especially our form of sarcasm which I often use, would usually go straight over the heads of Americans and a few times got me into trouble and very nearly beaten up in Nevada. Thus, the fact she co-wrote this, is nothing short of a master class effort.

[@Rimpreza]

So nice to hear her talk about the series! Very rare footage

[@ticketwiki9496]

Best line to me was when the German's were there and Faulty said "don't mention the war, I did but I think I got away with it" That reminds me so much of my father.

[@chateaupig826]

That kid Tristan

[@djizzah]

What a nice person, here in Australia like everywhere else, the show was a huge hit

[@trainrover]

person is legalese, i.e., what somebody is REDUCED TO on paper...better off refering to her as a woman ;)

[@chatteyj]

Was it a hit in France and Mongolia?

[@jennyoshea1958]

A very fine actress and very beautiful ⭐️🌼💫

[@Dane_Youssef]

I was as shocked as anyone to find out that "Polly" was American--and that "Basil" was married to "Polly," not Sybill.

[@tgsiii2179]

It's almost IMPOSSIBLE to pick a favorite episode, scene or even line......but, as a musician, the exchange I've quoted most over the years is when Basil is trying to type up menus or something, and Sybil keeps harassing him, and says, "......and TURN OFF THAT RACKET !!!!", Basil then replies, "Racket?!?!......that's Brahms!...... Brahms' Third Racket !!!!!!!"

[@Raider577]

If you watch her closely in the episode 'Communication Problems'. You can see her trying not to laugh when she is at reception trying to point out to Mrs Richards where her glasses are.

[@seankayll9017]

That entire episode is genius. Up in the top three comedy moments with Del Boy falling through the bar and Mainwaring's "Don't tell him, Pike".

[@MrA6s4]

My favorite episode.......Ah, Mrs. Richards.

[@Raider577]

@@MrA6s4 My second favourite after Basil the Rat.

[@patagualianmostly7437]

@@MrA6s4 Yes.... Joan Sanderson..... Brilliant actress with perfect timing.

[@rohanthaseneviratne177]

Such an attractive woman!