Hot Property: John Cleese finally sells Monecito ranch for about a reported $16.5 million

If life were simpler, we would keep those people who get Monty Python humor and vote the rest off the island. And if actor extraordinaire John Cleese didn’t split your sides in that, surely you got some belly laughs from “A Fish Called Wanda.”

And now we hope Cleese is laughing all the way to the bank. After being listed for about a year, his 14.6-acre Montecito equestrian ranch was finally sold. It had been originally listed at $28 million, and though public records don’t report the sale, area real estate sources said it was in the vicinity of $16.5 million.

The buyer was none other than cellphone pioneer Craig McCaw, the beleaguered ex-husband of Wendy McCaw, owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press. Their divorce settlement was reportedly the largest in Washington state history and one of the largest ever in the United States. Craig McCaw is now married to Susan Rasinski McCaw, a former U.S. ambassador to Austria.

Cleese, too, has entered the realm of marital morass. He has parted from his third wife, psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger – which may be the reason for the sale of this property. The property is known as Stalloreggi, which means “the King’s stables.” It has professional equine facilities, including a 16,000-square-foot barn. There is a completely padded central corridor area suitable for all-weather workouts (as if Montecito is plagued by bad weather?). There are two indoor-outdoor accessible exercise rooms, one with a lunge arena and one with a European hot walker. There are trails leading to the ocean or nearby scenic Romero Canyon.

And that’s just for the horses. Things are pretty nice for the humans as well, with a Mediterranean-style home with views of the gardens and mountains. There are three bedrooms, four bathrooms and a cobalt blue swimming pool. The square footage of the main house was unavailable from public records. Think big.

Cleese announced recently that he is writing a stage musical of his 1988 hit movie, “A Fish Called Wanda.” He is collaborating with his daughter, Camilla, on the project. He is clearly hoping to mirror the success of Eric Idle’s popular stage production of Monty Python’s “Spamalot.”