Hello friends,

It’s 2019. Welcome back to FanX, Salt Lake City’s convention for comics, celebrities, characters, cuteness, craziness and–yes–yours truly, Gary P. Unicorn.

John Cleese, perhaps the tallest comedian from the UK this side of Stephen Merchant, made it to FanX. To the delight of thousands, he graced the stage in the Grand Ballroom at the Salt Palace Convention Center on Friday and nearly brought the house down. A founding member of the legendary comedy troupe “Monty Python,” Cleese displayed his charm and wonderfully dry humor in hopes of entertaining FanX folks for the better part of an hour.

He most certainly did not disappoint.

Panels at FanX typically consist of the following: a panel host who is clearly comfortable in front of big crowds (though not necessarily interesting), a celebrity guest, interaction between the host and guest and a large chunk of time dedicated to audience members for the purpose of engaging in a Q&A with the respective guest.

These panels range from mildly interesting (that broody fella from the “Vampire Diaries,” for example) to the enthralling (James Martsters of “Buffy” fame) to the hysterical (the aforementioned John Cleese). If nothing else, they serve as a form of in-house experience for fans who want to get fairly up close and somewhat personal with a celebrity without needing to shell out hard-earned money for a signature.

Here are but a few (language appropriate) highlights from the John Cleese panel:

-This is his first fan convention in North America.

-He believes Republicans are “an endangered species.”

-Speaking on himself, unprompted, Cleese says, “I am a genius. Warm-hearted. A very wonderful human being.”

-Cleese delivered several lawyer jokes; comparisons to rats (in favor of the rats) and more, made all the more humorous upon his admission that he was very nearly an attorney himself before stumbling into comedy.

-On himself again, “It’s astounding how funny I am being. I deserve a round of applause!”

-On writing comedy, Cleese suggests surrounding oneself with things they know well that can also be seen as funny; he spent time in a hotel while writing “Fawlty Towers,” for example.

-Mentioned collaborating with Graham Chapman, and how it’s become difficult since Chapman is dead. For this they use an ouija board.

-He spent several minutes (and with much colorful language) roasting his fellow “Python” cast members: “Eric (Idle) is a very unpleasant man. Terry (Jones) is Welsh; they were put on the planet for menial tasks … the funny thing about Terry is that he expects me to treat him like an equal!”

-He frequently mentioned his advanced age and how it’s both a blessing (“You stop worrying about things.”) and a curse, which he demonstrated by doing his “silly walk” (from “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”) in a “geriatric” fashion.

-At random, he stated that “The most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States, has never read a book.” This was met with a mix of raucous applause and nervous laughter.

There is so, so much more. Whether he was self-depreciating, making jokes about his mother (who lived 101 years but “never noticed” any of the events of the 20th century) or playfully insulting audience members, there’s no mistaking just how special the experience was, and how absolutely hilarious.

As a study of comedy and one who’s contributed to various comedic ventures over the years, Cleese and company were massively influential on me early on. Having the opportunity to see one of the greatest comedians in modern history do what he’s best at, for an hour, right in front of me, will forever be one of the greatest experiences of my life. The fact that he’s a bonafide Utah Jazz fan? Well … what can I say? He’s perfect.

More to come from FanX.

-Gary

P.S. While I’ll refrain from repeating the brief story Cleese told about his encounter with Rupert Murdoch, I’ll instead mention that, while perhaps inappropriate, it was among the more brilliant ways to close a panel.