[[John Cleese]] played numerous authority figures, either ridiculous or put-onbesieged by insanity. Gilliam claims that Cleese is the funniest of the Pythons in drag, as he barely needs to be dressed up to look hilarious, with his square chin and 6' 5" (196 cm) frame (see the "Mr. and Mrs. Git" sketch).{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} Cleese also played intimidating maniacs, such as an instructor in the "Self-Defence Against Fresh Fruit" sketch. His character [[Mr. Praline]], the put-upon consumer, featured in some of the most popular sketches, most famously in "[[Dead Parrot]]".<ref>{{cite book | title = The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words, Volume One | first1 = Graham | last1 = Chapman | first2 = John | last2 = Cleese | first3 = Terry | last3 = Gilliam | first4 = Eric | last4 = Idle | first5 = Terry | last5 = Jones | first6 = Michael | last6 = Palin | editor-first = Roger | editor-last = Wilmut | year = 1989 | publisher = Pantheon Books | ___location = New York, New York | isbn = 0-679-72647-0 | page = 320 (Appendix)}}</ref> One star turn that proved most memorable among Python fans was "[[The Ministry of Silly Walks]]", where he worked for the eponymous government department. The sketch displays the notably tall and loose-limbed Cleese's physicality in a variety of silly walks. Despite its popularity, particularly among American fans, Cleese himself particularly disliked the sketch, feeling that many of the laughs it generated were cheap and that no balance was provided by what could have been the true satirical centrepoint.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} Another of his trademarks is his over-the-top delivery of abuse, particularly his screaming "You bastard!"
Cleese often played foreigners with ridiculous accents, especially Frenchmen, most of the time with Palin. Sometimes this extended to the use of actual French or German (such as "The Funniest Joke in the World", "Mr. [[Adolf Hitler|Hilter]]", or "La Marche Futile" at the end of "The Ministry of Silly Walks"), but still with a very heavy accent (or impossible to understand, as for example Hilter's speech).
