MONTY PYTHON - CLEESE LASHES OUT AT 'INSECURE' WIFE

MONTY PYTHON star JOHN CLEESE has slammed his estranged spouse ALYCE for demanding half his earnings in their bitter divorce battle, blaming insecurity for her actions.
The British actor is currently embroiled in divorce proceedings with his third wife, Alyce Faye Eichelberger Cleese. The couple separated in January (08) after 19 years of marriage.
And Cleese, 68, is outraged Alyce is trying to claim half of his earnings and properties for herself.
Speaking to reporters at a fundraiser for England's Bristol Zoo on Thursday (24Jul08), he ranted: "Guess how much I'm paying her at the moment? I'm paying her GBP900,000 a year. And we had no children.
"It really is astonishing. When I told my friends, they just put their heads in their hands.
"I've suggested it would be much easier and more fair if we went to mediation. But I guess Alyce is just feeling insecure and wants to get everything she can."
But the comedian admitted he had found something to smile about in the midst of the ongoing ordeal - his newfound "friendship" with 33-year-old marketing executive Veronica Smiley.
He added: "The tabloid newspapers go on about her being half my age, but I'm not sure that matters. She's absolutely gorgeous and incredibly intelligent... All my friends were quite jealous when they saw her."