FIRST OFF . . .

Comedian-actor John Cleese won libel damages in London Wednesday from a newspaper that claimed he had increasingly come to resemble Basil Fawlty, the manic hotel owner he played in the hit television series “Fawlty Towers.” His lawyer, Roderick Dadak, said Cleese did not tweak people’s ears or routinely fly into manic or irrational rages and “the claim that in real life he resembles Basil Fawlty is absurd.” In an out-of-court settlement approved by the High Court, Cleese, 49, accepted undisclosed “substantial” damages (to be donated to a charity of his choice) from publisher Robert Maxwell’s Mirror Group Newspapers, which also agreed to pay Cleese’s legal costs and to publish an apology. The company lawyer, Simon Gallant, said the article should not have been published and apologized for embarrassing and distressing Cleese. The Daily Mirror reported in August, 1987, that Cleese, a founding member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, had got into the habit of painfully tweaking the ears of fellow cast members and flew into a rage when they objected during the filming of “A Fish Called Wanda.” The newspaper quoted an unidentified “friend” who said colleagues were complaining that Cleese had become increasingly like the sour, abusive hotel keeper he created in the 1970s series “Fawlty Towers.” Dadak said Cleese had actually gotten along well with fellow cast members.