Speaking of Fawlty Towers...
A few interesting but little-known facts about this hilarious BBC sit-com:
- Only 12 episodes were made (2 seasons of 6 episodes each)
- John Cleese and Connie Booth, who together created and wrote all episodes, were married at the time of season 1, but divorced before recording season 2
- The character, Basil Fawlty, was based on a real British hotel owner named Donald Sinclair, who ran the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, U.K.
The Pythons stayed at the hotel while filming on location.
Cleese described Donald Sinclair as "the rudest man I've ever come across in my life"
Sinclair's behavior included once throwing a timetable at a guest who asked when the next bus to town would be leaving.
Also, after Eric Idle left his briefcase on the floor for a few minutes, Sinclair took the briefcase and put it behind a wall in the back garden on the suspicion that it contained a bomb.
- The first Fawlty Towers script was rejected by the BBC.
BBC executive Jimmy Gilbert stated:
"This is full of cliched situations and stereotypical characters and I cannot see it as being anything other than a disaster."
- Although the series is set in Torquay in Devon, no part of it was shot in Southwest England.
For the exterior filming, the Woodburn Grange Country Club in Buckinghamshire was used instead of a hotel.
- During the series, Andrew Sachs, who played "Manuel," was seriously injured twice.
The first time was when John Cleese hit him on the head with a metal frying pan, although he wanted to use a rubber one.
The original producer and director, John Howard Davies, said that he made Basil use a metal one and that he was responsible for most of the violence on the show which he felt was "essential to the comedy farce they were creating."
Later, when Andrew Sachs clothes were treated to give off smoke after he escapes the burning kitchen in "The Germans," the corrosive chemicals ate through them and gave Sachs severe burns.
More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawlty_Towers
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There are still some around on eBay, etc. A must for any fan!
