So he can fund his £12m divorce

John Cleese is planning a world tour to help pay off the £12million his third divorce will cost him.

Yesterday it was announced that he has finalised the terms of his divorce from third wife Alyce Eichelberger, handing over assets worth $13 million, followed by alimony of $1 million a year for the next seven years.

The settlement is said to represent more than half of Cleese’s total wealth.

So far 15 American dates have been announced for his Final Wave at the World or The Alimony Tour, Year One, starting in late October. No UK shows have been announced.

Publicity for the tour says: ‘John Cleese will perform a comedy set in which he will be discussing his career in the zany and hilarious world of comedy, as well as his most pressing medical problems, his inability to find a suitable female companion, his mistrust of folk-dancing, and his latest plan for world peace.’

A judge is expected to sign Cleese’s divorce papers at the Santa Barbara Superior Court in California soon. ‘The papers have been lodged and everything is agreed,’ his spokesman said. ’It's now just a formality.’

Cleese, who married psychotherapist Eichelberger in 1992, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘What I find so unfair is that if we both died today, her children would get much more than mine.

‘At least I will know in future if I go out with a lady they will not be after me for my money.’

Published: 19 Aug 2009