‘Fish II’: Another Revolution?

Regarding “Cleese & Co. Building a Better ‘Fish,’ ” Calendar, Nov. 25: The interview with John Cleese about “Death Fish II,” the long-awaited sequel to “A Fish Called Wanda,” failed to mention that it will have to live up to the social revolution that resulted from the original “Wanda” film.

In depicting the public ridicule of those disabled by a stuttering disorder, the film brought together persons who stutter from all over the world to challenge not only how filmmakers have negatively portrayed them for laughs but how society isolates stutterers by such ridicule. As the organizer for this protest, I had an exchange of letters with John Cleese that readers might find surprising, conciliatory and even funny.

From Ira Zimmerman to John Cleese , dated Jan . 11, 1994:

We (National Stuttering Project) have regretfully been remiss in acknowledging your brilliantly funny work in the hit movie, “A Fish Called Wanda,” and how that has, in the final analysis, helped people who stutter worldwide.

As a result of the film, the following things have occurred that have helped children and adults who stutter:

* It resulted in the worldwide public awareness of the cruelty shown to stutterers.

* The world became aware that stutterers are a part of life, and that stuttering is nothing to be ashamed of, and people who stutter are not afraid to publicly voice their opinions, when necessary.

* It opened up a dialogue within the motion picture and TV industry on how stutterers should be portrayed and how that portrayal affects the lives of millions of people worldwide.

* To the jerks in this world, Academy Award winner Kevin Kline reminded them on TV and in print, “The character I portrayed in ‘A Fish Called Wanda’ was not meant to be taken as a role model for any civilized person when talking to a stutterer.”

* As reported on the NBC-TV program “Saturday Night Live,” “The National Stuttering Project, protesting the portrayal of stuttering in the film ‘A Fish Called Wanda’ has received a contribution of $2,500 from MGM/UA. The payment was made in small amounts at irregular intervals.”

* And perhaps most importantly, I believe the film prompted the opening of the Michael Palin Center for Stammering Children located in London, England. (A similar Center for Children Who Stutter is being established in Southern California at Cal State Fullerton.)

Enclosed is my personal check for $6.50, which was the money I got when I demanded a refund from a movie theater manager after seeing “A Fish Called Wanda.” You deserve this and much, much more. Ira Zimmerman,

Advocacy Chairperson,

National Stuttering Project

*

Response from John Cleese dated April 13 , 1994:

I am extremely pleased that the National Stuttering Project feels on balance “A Fish Called Wanda” helped people who stutter.

I much appreciate your taking the time to write such a long letter and I look forward to showing it to my wife, when she returns from New York in a few days. She has a slight stutter, which tends to manifest itself when she is excited. Which is most of the time.

And thank you too for the magnificent cheque. Please don’t tell MGM or they will claim most of it for themselves.

John Cleese *

I hope the world is ready for “Death Fish II.”