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Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) [2][3] were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, which aired on the BBC from 1969 to 1974.
Learn about Monty Python: discover its members ranked by popularity, see when it formed, view trivia, and more.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Monty Python's Life of Brian; Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl; Monty Python's The Meaning of Life; Characters. The Spanish ...
- Before Monty Python
- Flying Circus and The Python Style
- Life After The Flying Circus
- Films
- Python Involvement in The Secret Policeman's Ball Benefit Shows
- Python (Monty) Pictures
- Going Solo
- Post-Python Reunions
- The Pythons
- Associate Pythons
Palin and Jones first met at Oxford University, while Cleese and Chapman met at the University of Cambridge. Idle was also at Cambridge, but started a year after Cleese and Chapman. Cleese met Gilliam in New York while on tour with the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus (originally entitled A Clump of Plinths). Chapman, Cleese a...
The Pythons had a very definite idea about what they wanted to do with the series. They were all great admirers of the work of Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore on Beyond the Fringe, and had worked on Frost, which was similar in style. They also enjoyed Cook and Moore's sketch show Not Only... But Also. However, one problem...
The end of Flying Circus
Having considered the possibility at the end of the second series, Cleese finally left the Flying Circusat the end of series three. He claimed he felt he was merely repeating himself, that he had nothing fresh to offer the show and that many of his sketches in the third series were merely rewrites of his earlier work. He was also finding Chapman, who was at that point in the full throes of alcoholism, increasingly difficult to work with. According to an interview with Eric Idle "it was on an...
This was the Pythons' first feature film, comprised of some of the best sketches from the first series of the Flying Circus, re-shot on an extremely low budget (and often slightly edited) for cinema release. Financed by Playboy's UK executive Victor Lowndes, it was intended as a way of breaking Monty Python in America, and although it was ultimately unsuccessful in this, the film did good business in the UK. The group did not consider the film a success, but it enjoys a cult following today.
The group (including Cleese) reformed in 1974 to write and star in their first feature film of new material. The film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, was based around Arthurian Legend and directed by Jones and Gilliam, the latter also drawing the film's linking animations and opening credits. Along with the rest of the Pythons, Jones and Gilliam performed several roles in the film, but it was Chapman who took the lead as King Arthur. Holy Grailwas filmed on a budget of nearly £150,000; this...
Following the success of Holy Grail, a reporter asked Idle for the title of the next Python film, despite the fact that the team had not even begun to consider a second movie. Idle flippantly replied "Jesus Christ - Lust for Glory", which became the group's stock answer once they realised that it shut reporters up. However, they soon began to seriously consider a film lampooning the life of Christ in the same way Holy Grailhad lampooned King Arthur. Despite being non-believers, they agreed th...
Various members of Monty Python have contributed their services to multiple charitable endeavors and causes over the years - sometimes as an ensemble - at other times as individual members. The cause that has been the most frequent and consistent beneficiary of Monty Python's generosity has been the human rights work of Amnesty International. Betwe...
The five surviving members of the main Monty Python team are directors of Python (Monty) Pictures Limited which was incorporated in 1973 and now manages ongoing activities resulting from their previous work together. In the accounts return, the company describes its activities as the 'exploitation of television and cinematographic productions'. In ...
Each member pursued other film and television projects after the break-up of the group, but often continued to work with one another. Many of these collaborations were very successful, such as Fawlty Towers (written by and starring Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth), and A Fish Called Wanda (1988) (also written by Cleese, and in which he starre...
The Pythons last full work together as an ensemble was for the film Meaning Of Lifein 1983. Since then, the Pythons have often been the subject of reunion rumours. The death of Chapman in 1989 (on the eve of their 20th anniversary) seemed to put an end to this speculation. However, there have been several occasions since 1983 when the surviving fiv...
Graham Chapman
Born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England on 8 January 1941, Chapman was originally a medical student, but changed to theatre when he joined Footlights at Cambridge (he did in fact complete his medical training and was legally entitled to practice as a doctor). Chapman is best remembered for taking the lead roles in The Holy Grail, as King Arthur, and Life of Brian, as Brian Cohen. These were largely straight roles, but in the Flying Circus, he had tended to specialise in characters clo...
John Cleese
Born on 27 October 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England, Cleese's family surname had originally been Cheese. His father, however, had it changed to Cleese when he joined the army during World War I. Cleese attended Clifton College, Bristol where he developed a taste for performing by appearing in house plays, then moved on to Cambridge, where he met his future Python writing partner, Graham Chapman. Along with Gilliam's animations, Cleese's work with Chapman provided Python with...
Terry Gilliam
Gilliam, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, on 22 November 1940, is the only non-British member of the troupe (although now a British citizen). He started off as an animator and strip cartoonist for Harvey Kurtzman's Help! magazine, one issue of which featured Cleese. Moving from the US to England, he animated features for Do Not Adjust Your Set and then joined Monty Python's Flying Circuswhen it was created. He was the artist-animator of the distinctive, surreal cartoons which linked the s...
Several people have been accorded unofficial "Associate Python" status over the years. Occasionally such people have been referred to as the 7th Python - in a style reminiscent of associates of the Beatles being dubbed "The 5th Beatle." The two collaborators with the most meaningful and plentiful contributions have been Neil Innes and Carol Clevela...
Apr 6, 2024 · Now, the only surviving members remaining now of The Monty Python are the legendary Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin - w ho this week heartbreakingly revealed he still struggles to believe his...
The official online home for all things Monty Python. Pages of everything you’ll ever need to know about Monty Python and their movies, TV shows, books, live stage shows, apps and latest projects, as well as exclusive videos, news and a Fanwall where all your #montypython content will live.
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Aug 16, 2024 · Whether it’s about the “Dead Parrot” sketch or the “Ministry of Silly Walks,” the peculiar, unique style of Monty Python seeped into the culture and hence influenced Guido van Rossum’s sense of humor. monty python. Why Monty Python? 🧐. So, why did Guido name his new programming language Python?
