20 Facts About Basil Fawlty

Basil Fawlty is the main character of the 1970s British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese.

The proprietor of the hotel Fawlty Towers, he is a cynical and misanthropic snob, desperate to attract hotel guests from the British upper class.

Basil Fawlty Towers was inspired by the Monty Python group's stay at the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay.

Basil Fawlty denounced Minneapolis-born Monty Python group member Terry Gilliam's table manners as too American.

Basil Fawlty, who runs the titular hotel in Torquay, is a misanthropic, lazy, and egotistical snob.

Basil Fawlty is alleged to have served in the British Army.

Basil Fawlty often wears military ties, and sports a military-type moustache.

Basil Fawlty is generally desperate to avoid his wife's wrath, and his plans often conflict with hers, but he mostly fails to stand up to her.

Basil Fawlty is often verbally abusive towards him and though he is much taller than Sybil, he often finds himself on the receiving end of her temper, expressed both verbally and physically.

Basil Fawlty has been married to Sybil since the 1960s, although Sybil once sarcastically stated that they have been married since 1485.

In "The Kipper and the Corpse", Sybil refuses to help Basil Fawlty dispose of the body of recently deceased guest Mr Leeman.

Basil Fawlty gets his revenge towards the end of the episode, when he asks a number of disgruntled guests to direct their complaints towards Sybil.

In "The Psychiatrist", he has an argument with Sybil during which Basil Fawlty calls his wife a "rancorous, coiffured old sow".

In "The Germans", Basil Fawlty blames the failure of the hotel's fire extinguisher on "bloody Wilson", referring to the then Labour Prime Minister.

Cleese has described Basil Fawlty as "buried in the past", as he utterly despises living in the England of the 1970s and instead pines for the "good old days" when the British Empire still existed.

Basil Fawlty takes many of his frustrations out on the hapless waiter Manuel, physically abusing and bullying him in a variety of ways.

Basil Fawlty has particular respect for doctors, having once aspired to be one himself, and shows a reverential attitude to Dr Abbott in "The Psychiatrist", and Dr Price in "The Kipper and the Corpse".

Basil Fawlty is known for his tight-fisted attitude to the hotel's expenses, employing completely incompetent builder O'Reilly in "The Builders" simply because he was cheap.

In February 2023, a revival of Fawlty Towers was announced with Cleese reprising the role as an older Basil still running the hotel whilst trying to fit into the modern world.

In Hotel de Botel, the Basil character was called Koos Overwater and was played by Dutch comedian and actor Andre van Duin.