Conversation so far:
What were Fawlty Towers?
Cleese achieved greater prominence in the United Kingdom as the neurotic hotel manager Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers.
When did he begin there?
The first series was screened from 19 September 1975 on BBC 2.
Was it successful?
initially to poor reviews, but gained momentum when repeated on BBC 1 the following year.
What else did you find interesting about this?
The series won three BAFTA awards when produced and in 2000.
Did it win any other awards ?
it topped the British Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes.
Did they gain any notable reviews or compliments?
CANNOTANSWER.
Anything else I should know?
Cleese based Basil Fawlty on a real person, Donald Sinclair.

Question: What characteristics did they share?
Self-contained rewrite: What characteristics did Basil Fawlty share with Donald Sinclair?