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Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British

comedy troupe A comedy troupe is a group of comedians and associated personnel who work together to perform comedy as entertainment. The term is often used interchangeably with comedy group, and the troupe may specialize in a specific genre or style of comedy ...

who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

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in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and influence, including touring stage shows, films, albums, books and musicals. The Pythons' influence on comedy has been compared to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' influence on music. Regarded as an enduring icon of 1970s pop culture, their sketch show has been referred to as being "an important moment in the evolution of

television comedy Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first United States television ...

". Broadcast by the BBC between 1969 and 1974, ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was conceived, written and performed by its members

Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two P ...

, John Cleese,

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...

, Eric Idle,

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

, and

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative

stream-of-consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in ''First Li ...

approach aided by Gilliam's animation, it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content. A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing their work, the Pythons had creative control which allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Following their television work, they began making films, including '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1975), '' Life of Brian'' (1979) and '' The Meaning of Life'' (1983). Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years, while in North America, it has coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' through to absurdist trends in television comedy. " Pythonesque" has entered the English lexicon as a result. At the 41st British Academy Film Awards in 1988, Monty Python received the

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema. In 1998, they were awarded the AFI Star Award by the American Film Institute. Many sketches from their TV show and films are well-known and widely quoted. Both ''Holy Grail'' and ''Life of Brian'' are frequently ranked in lists of greatest comedy films. In a 2005 poll of over 300 comics, comedy writers, producers and directors throughout the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

to find "The Comedian's Comedian", three of the six Pythons members were voted to be among the top 50 greatest comedians ever: Cleese at No. 2, Idle at No. 21, and Palin at No. 30.

Before ''Flying Circus''

Jones and Palin met at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, where they performed together with the Oxford Revue. Chapman and Cleese met at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

. Idle was also at Cambridge, but started a year after Chapman and Cleese. Cleese met Gilliam in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

while on tour with the Cambridge University Footlights

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

'' Cambridge Circus'' (originally entitled ''A Clump of Plinths''). Chapman, Cleese, and Idle were members of the Footlights, which at that time also included the future Goodies ( Tim Brooke-Taylor,

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinto ...

, and

Graeme Garden David Graeme Garden OBE (born 18 February 1943) is a Scottish comedian, actor, author, artist and television presenter, best known as a member of The Goodies and a regular panellist on ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''. Early life and education ...

), and

Jonathan Lynn Jonathan Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English stage and film director, producer, writer, and actor. He is known for directing the comedy films such as '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', ''My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He als ...

(co-writer of ''

Yes Minister ''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes fr ...

'' and ''Yes, Prime Minister''). During Idle's presidency of the club, feminist writer

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literat ...

and broadcaster Clive James were members. Recordings of Footlights' revues (called "Smokers") at Pembroke College include sketches and performances by Cleese and Idle, which, along with tapes of Idle's performances in some of the drama society's theatrical productions, are kept in the archives of the Pembroke Players. The six Python members appeared in or wrote these shows before ''Flying Circus'': * ''

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' (often abbreviated as ''ISIRTA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme that originated from the 1964 Cambridge University Footlights revue, '' Cambridge Circus''. This is a scripted sketch show. It had a devote ...

'' (radio) (1964–1973): Cleese (cast member and writer), Idle and Chapman (writers) * '' The Frost Report'' (1966–1967): Cleese (cast member and writer), Idle (writer of Frost's monologues), Chapman, Palin and Jones (writers) * ''

At Last the 1948 Show ''At Last the 1948 Show'' is a satirical television show made by David Frost's company, Paradine Productions (although it was not credited on the programmes), in association with Rediffusion London. Transmitted on Britain's ITV network in 19 ...

'' (1967): Chapman and Cleese (writers and cast members), Idle (guest star and writer) * ''

Twice a Fortnight ''Twice a Fortnight'' is a 1967 British sketch comedy television series with Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, Jonathan Lynn and Tony Buffery. Graeme Garden suggested to the director, Tony Palmer, that Michael Palin and Terr ...

'' (1967): Palin and Jones (cast members and writers) * '' Do Not Adjust Your Set'' (1967–1969): Idle, Jones, and Palin (cast members and writers), Gilliam (animation)
+ Bonzo Dog Band (musical interludes) * '' We Have Ways of Making You Laugh'' (1968): Idle (cast member and writer), Gilliam (animation) * ''

How to Irritate People ''How to Irritate People'' is a US television broadcast filmed in the UK at LWT on 14 November 1968 and written by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Cleese, Chapman, and Brooke-Taylor also feature in it, along wit ...

'' (1968): Cleese and Chapman (cast members and writers), Palin (cast member) * '' The Complete and Utter History of Britain'' (1969): Palin and Jones (cast members and writers) * '' Doctor in the House'' (1969), Cleese and Chapman (writers) The BBC's satirical television show '' The Frost Report'', broadcast from March 1966 to December 1967, is credited as first uniting the British Pythons and providing an environment in which they could develop their particular styles. The_Four_Yorkshiremen,_2014_(crop)

Following the success of '' Do Not Adjust Your Set'', broadcast on ITV from December 1967 to May 1969,

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

offered Gilliam, Idle, Jones, and Palin their own late-night adult comedy series together. At the same time, Chapman and Cleese were offered a show by the

...
, which had been impressed by their work on ''The Frost Report'' and ''At Last the 1948 Show''. Cleese was reluctant to do a two-man show for various reasons, including Chapman's supposedly difficult and erratic personality. Cleese had fond memories of working with Palin on ''How to Irritate People'' and invited him to join the team. With no studio available at Thames until summer 1970 for the late-night show, Palin agreed to join Cleese and Chapman, and suggested the involvement of his writing partner Jones and colleague Idle—who in turn wanted Gilliam to provide animations for the projected series. Much has been made of the fact that the Monty Python troupe is the result of Cleese's desire to work with Palin and the chance circumstances that brought the other four members into the fold.''The Pythons Autobiography by the Pythons''. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, John Chapman, David Sherlock, Bob McCabe. Thomas Dunne Books; Orion, 2003 By contrast, according to John Cleese's autobiography, the origins of ''Monty Python'' lay in the admiration that writing partners Cleese and Chapman had for the new type of comedy being done on ''Do Not Adjust Your Set''; as a result, a meeting was initiated by Cleese between Chapman, Idle, Jones, Palin, and himself at which it was agreed to pool their writing and performing efforts and jointly seek production sponsorship. According to their official website, the group was born from a Kashmir tandoori restaurant in Hampstead on 11 May 1969, following a taping of ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' which Cleese and Chapman attended. It was the first time all six got together, reportedly going back to Cleese's apartment on nearby

Basil Street Basil Street, originally known as North Street, is a street in London's Knightsbridge. It was laid out in the second half of the eighteenth century on land belonging to Lord Cadogan and runs between Sloane Street in the north and the junction of ...

afterwards to continue discussions.

''Monty Python's Flying Circus''

Development of the series

The Pythons had a definite idea about what they wanted to do with the series. They were admirers of the work of

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 1 ...

, and

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

on '' Beyond the Fringe''—seminal to the British " satire boom"—and had worked on ''Frost'', which was similar in style. They enjoyed Cook and Moore's sketch show '' Not Only... But Also''. One problem the Pythons perceived with these programmes was that though the body of the sketch would be strong, the writers would often struggle to then find a punchline funny enough to end on, and this would detract from the overall sketch quality. They decided that they would simply not bother to "cap" their sketches in the traditional manner, and early episodes of the ''Flying Circus'' series make great play of this abandonment of the punchline (one scene has Cleese turn to Idle, as the sketch descends into chaos, and remark that "This is the silliest sketch I've ever been in"—they all resolve not to carry on and simply walk off the set). However, as they began assembling material for the show, the Pythons watched one of their collective heroes,

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

, whom they had admired on '' The Goon Show'' (a show the Pythons regard as their biggest influence, which also featured

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

, whom Cleese called "the greatest voice man of all time") recording his groundbreaking BBC series '' Q...'' (1969). Not only was ''Q...'' more irreverent and anarchic than any previous

, but Milligan also would often "give up" on sketches halfway through and wander off set (often muttering "Did I write this?"). It was clear that their new series would now seem less original, and Jones in particular became determined the Pythons should innovate. Michael Palin recalls "Terry Jones and I adored the ''Q...'' shows... illiganwas the first writer to play with the conventions of television." (quote at (a), p. 157) Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 56 41 (14415567757)

Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 56 41 (14415567757)

After much debate, Jones remembered an animation Gilliam had created for ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' called "Beware of the Elephants", which had intrigued him with its stream-of-consciousness style. Jones felt it would be a good concept to apply to the series: allowing sketches to blend into one another. Palin had been equally fascinated by another of Gilliam's efforts, entitled "Christmas Cards", and agreed that it represented "a way of doing things differently". Since Cleese, Chapman, and Idle were less concerned with the overall flow of the programme, Jones, Palin, and Gilliam became largely responsible for the presentation style of the ''Flying Circus'' series, in which disparate sketches are linked to give each episode the appearance of a single

(often using a Gilliam animation to move from the closing image of one sketch to the opening scene of another). The BBC states, "Gilliam's unique animation style became crucial, segueing seamlessly between any two completely unrelated ideas and making the stream-of-consciousness work." Writing started at 9 am and finished at 5 pm. Typically, Cleese and Chapman worked as one pair isolated from the others, as did Jones and Palin, while Idle wrote alone. After a few days, they would join with Gilliam, critique their scripts, and exchange ideas. Their approach to writing was democratic. If the majority found an idea humorous, it was included in the show. The casting of roles for the sketches was a similarly unselfish process, since each member viewed himself primarily as a "writer", rather than an actor eager for screen time. When the themes for sketches were chosen, Gilliam had a free hand in bridging them with animations, using a camera, scissors, and airbrush. left, Gilliam, Palin and Jones performing "The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python), The Spanish Inquisition" sketch during the 2014 Python reunion. As a sketch writer and creator of animations, Gilliam did considerably less acting, although he did have some notable sketch roles such as this (Cardinal Fang). While the show was a collaborative process, different factions within Python were responsible for elements of the team's humour. In general, the work of the Oxford-educated members (Jones and Palin) was more visual, and more fanciful conceptually (e.g., the arrival of the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

in a suburban front room), while the Cambridge graduates' sketches tended to be more verbal and more aggressive (for example, Cleese and Chapman's many "confrontation" sketches, where one character intimidates or hurls abuse, or Idle's characters with bizarre verbal quirks, such as "The Man Who Speaks In Anagrams"). Cleese confirmed that "most of the sketches with heavy abuse were Graham's and mine, anything that started with a slow pan across countryside and impressive music was Mike and Terry's, and anything that got utterly involved with words and disappeared up any personal orifice was Eric's". Gilliam's animations ranged from the whimsical to the savage (the cartoon format allowing him to create some astonishingly violent scenes without fear of censorship). Several names for the show were considered before ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was settled upon. Some were ''Owl Stretching Time'', ''The Toad Elevating Moment'', ''A Horse, a Spoon and a Bucket'', ''Vaseline Review'', and ''Bun, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot''. ''Flying Circus'' stuck when the BBC explained it had printed that name in its schedules and was not prepared to amend it. Many variations on the name in front of this title then came and went (popular legend holds that the BBC considered ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' to be a ridiculous name, at which point the group threatened to change their name every week until the BBC relented). ''Gwen Dibley's Flying Circus'' was named after a woman Palin had read about in the newspaper, thinking it would be amusing if she were to discover she had her own TV show. ''Baron Von Took's Flying Circus'' was considered as an affectionate tribute to

Barry Took Barry Took (19 June 192831 March 2002) was an English writer, television presenter and comedian. His decade-and-a-half writing partnership with Marty Feldman led to the television series ''Bootsie and Snudge'', the radio comedy ''Round the Hor ...

, the man who had brought them together. ''Arthur Megapode's Flying Circus'' was suggested, then discarded. The name ''Baron Von Took's Flying Circus'' had the form of '' Baron Manfred von Richthofen's

Flying Circus Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

'' of WWI fame, and the new group was forming in a time when the Royal Guardsmen's 1966 song " Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" had peaked. The term 'flying circus' was also another name for the popular entertainment of the 1920s known as

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

, where multiple performers collaborated with their stunts to perform a combined set of acts. Differing, somewhat confusing accounts are given of the origins of the Python name, although the members agree that its only "significance" was that they thought it sounded funny. In the 1998 documentary '' Live at Aspen'' during the US Comedy Arts Festival, where the troupe was awarded the AFI Star Award by the American Film Institute, the group implied that "Monty" was selected (Eric Idle's idea) as a gently mocking tribute to Field Marshal Lord Montgomery, a British general of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

; requiring a "slippery-sounding" surname, they settled on "Python". On other occasions, Idle has claimed that the name "Monty" was that of a popular and rotund fellow who drank in his local pub; people would often walk in and ask the barman, "Has Monty been in yet?", forcing the name to become stuck in his mind. The name Monty Python was later described by the BBC as being "envisaged by the team as the perfect name for a sleazy entertainment agent".

Style of the show

''Flying Circus'' popularised innovative formal techniques, such as the

cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Amer ...

, in which an episode began without the traditional opening titles or announcements. An example of this is the "It's" man: Palin, outfitted in

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

garb, making a tortuous journey across various terrains, before finally approaching the camera to state, "It's ...", only to be then cut off by the

title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vi ...

and theme music. On several occasions, the cold open lasted until mid-show, after which the regular opening titles ran. Occasionally, the Pythons tricked viewers by rolling the

closing credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...

halfway through the show, usually continuing the joke by fading to the familiar globe logo used for BBC continuity, over which Cleese would parody the clipped tones of a BBC announcer. On one occasion, the credits ran directly after the opening titles. On the

subversive Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to transform the established social order and its structures of power, authority, hierarchy, and social norms. Sub ...

nature of the show (and their subsequent films), Cleese states "anti-authoritarianism was deeply ingrained in Python". Because of their dislike of finishing with punchlines, they experimented with ending the sketches by cutting abruptly to another scene or animation, walking offstage, addressing the camera (breaking the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

), or introducing a totally unrelated event or character. A classic example of this approach was the use of Chapman's "anti-silliness" character of " the Colonel", who walked into several sketches and ordered them to be stopped because things were becoming "far too silly". Monty python foot

Another favourite way of ending sketches was to drop a cartoonish "16-ton weight" prop on one of the characters when the sketch seemed to be losing momentum, or a knight in full armour (played by Terry Gilliam) would wander on-set and hit characters over the head with a rubber chicken, before cutting to the next scene. Yet another way of changing scenes was when John Cleese, usually outfitted in a dinner suit, would come in as a radio commentator and, in a rather pompous manner, make the formal and determined announcement "And now for something completely different.", which later became the title of the first Monty Python film. The Python

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

is the

Band of the Grenadier Guards The Band of the Grenadier Guards is one of the bands in the British Army. History In 1685 Charles II allowed the band to maintain 12 "hautbois" (oboe) players. His death in 1685 was so significant for the band that until the Second World W ...

' rendition of

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...

's " The Liberty Bell" which was first published in 1893. Under the

Berne Convention The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, was an international assembly held in 1886 in the Swiss city of Bern by ten European countries with the goal to agree on a set of leg ...

's "country of origin" concept, the composition was subject to

United States copyright law The copyright law of the United States grants monopoly protection for "original works of authorship". With the stated purpose to promote art and culture, copyright law assigns a set of exclusive rights to authors: to make and sell copies of the ...

which states that any work first published prior to 1924 was in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

, owing to copyright expiration. This enabled Gilliam to co-opt the march for the series without having to make any

royalty payment A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 24 16 (14598681721)

The use of Gilliam's surreal, collage

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animations was another innovative intertextual element of the Python style. Many of the images Gilliam used were lifted from famous works of art, and from Victorian illustrations and

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

s. The giant foot which crushes the show's title at the end of the opening credits is in fact the foot of Cupid, cut from a reproduction of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

masterpiece ''

Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time ''Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time'' (also called ''An Allegory of Venus and Cupid'' and ''A Triumph of Venus'') is an allegorical painting of about 1545 by the Florentine painter Agnolo Bronzino. It is now in the National Gallery, London. Scholars d ...

'' by Bronzino. This foot, and Gilliam's style in general, are visual trademarks of the programme. The Pythons used the British tradition of cross-dressing comedy by donning frocks and makeup and playing female roles themselves while speaking in falsetto. Jones specialised in playing the working-class housewife, or "ratbag old women" as termed by the BBC. Palin and Idle generally played the role more posh, with Idle playing more feminine women. Cleese played female roles more sparsely, while Chapman was frequently paired with Jones as a ratbag woman or with Idle portraying middle-class women commenting upon TV. Generally speaking, female roles were played by women only when the scene specifically required that the character be sexually attractive (although sometimes they used Idle for this). The troupe later turned to

Carol Cleveland Carol Cleveland (born 13 January 1942) is a British-American actress and comedian, particularly known for her work with Monty Python. Early life Born in East Sheen, London, she moved to the United States with her mother and U.S. Air Force step ...

—often described as the unofficial seventh member—who co-starred in numerous episodes after 1970. In some episodes, and later in the stoning scene in ''

Monty Python's Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It ...

'', they took the idea one step further by playing women who impersonated men. Many sketches are well-known and widely quoted. " Dead Parrot sketch", "

The Lumberjack Song "The Lumberjack Song" is a comedy song by the comedy troupe Monty Python. The song was written and composed by Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Fred Tomlinson. It first appeared in the ninth episode of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', "The An ...

", " Spam" (which led to the coining of the term email spam), " Nudge Nudge", " The Spanish Inquisition", " Upper Class Twit of the Year", " Cheese Shop", "

The Ministry of Silly Walks "The Ministry of Silly Walks" is a sketch from the Monty Python comedy troupe's television show ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', series 2, episode 1, which is entitled "Face the Press". The episode first aired on 15 September 1970. A shortene ...

", "

Argument Clinic "Argument Clinic" is a sketch from ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman. The sketch was originally broadcast as part of the television series and has subsequently been performed live by the group. It relies ...

", " The Funniest Joke in the World" (a sketch referenced in

Google Translate Google Translate is a multilingual neural machine translation service developed by Google to translate text, documents and websites from one language into another. It offers a website interface, a mobile app for Android and iOS, and an API ...

), and Four Yorkshiremen sketch" are just a few examples. Most of the show’s sketches satirise areas of public life, such as: Dead Parrot (poor customer service), Silly Walks (bureaucratic inefficiency), Spam (ubiquity of Spam post World War II), and Four Yorkshiremen (nostalgic conversations). Featuring regularly in skits,

Gumbys Very few characters of the BBC television series ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' appeared in more than one episode, and when they did, it was usually to link sketches together. A few well-known characters are described below. "It's" man Played ...

(characters of limited intelligence and vocabulary) were part of the Pythons' satirical view of television of the 1970s which condescendingly encouraged more involvement from the "man on the street".

Introduction to North America and the world

The

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

(CBC) added ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' to its national September 1970 fall line-up. They aired the 13 episodes of series 1, which had first run on the BBC the previous autumn ( October 1969 to January 1970), as well as the first six episodes of series 2 only a few weeks after they first appeared on the BBC ( September to November 1970). The CBC dropped the show when it returned to regular programming after the Christmas 1970 break, choosing to not place the remaining seven episodes of series 2 on the January 1971 CBC schedule. Within a week, the CBC received hundreds of calls complaining of the cancellation, and more than 100 people staged a demonstration at the CBC's

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

studios. The show eventually returned, becoming a fixture on the network during the first half of the 1970s. Lumebrjack Song O2 Arena

Sketches from ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' were introduced to American audiences in

August 1972 August 1972 was the eight month of that leap year. It began on a Tuesday and ended after 31 days on a Thursday. The following events occurred in August 1972: August 1, 1972 (Tuesday) *"Bug Suspect Got Campaign Funds", the first article in the f ...

, with the release of the Python film ''

And Now for Something Completely Different ''And Now for Something Completely Different'' is a 1971 British sketch comedy film based on the television comedy series ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' featuring sketches from the show's first two series. The title was taken from a catchphrase ...

'', featuring sketches from series 1 and 2 of the television show. This 1972 release met with limited box office success. The ability to show ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' under the American NTSC standard had been made possible by the commercial actions of American television producer Greg Garrison. Garrison produced the NBC series '' The Dean Martin Comedy World'', which ran during the summer of 1974. The concept was to show clips from comedy shows produced in other countries, including tape of the Python sketches "Bicycle Repairman" and "The Dull Life of a Stockbroker". Payment for use of these two sketches was enough to allow Time-Life Films to convert the entire Python library to NTSC standard, allowing for the sale to the PBS network stations which then brought the entire show to US audiences. Through the efforts of Python's American manager Nancy Lewis, during the summer of 1974, Ron Devillier, the programming director for nonprofit

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television station KERA in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas, started airing episodes of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''. Ratings shot through the roof, providing an encouraging sign to the other 100 PBS stations that had signed up to begin airing the show in October 1974—exactly five years after their BBC debut. There was also cross-promotion from FM radio stations across the US, whose airing of tracks from the Python LPs had already introduced American audiences to this bizarre brand of comedy. The popularity on PBS resulted in the 1974 re-release of the 1972 ''...Completely Different'' film, with much greater box office success. The success of the show was captured by a March 1975 article headline in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', "Monty Python's Flying Circus Is Barnstorming Here". Asked what challenges were left, now that they had made TV shows, films, written books, and produced records, Chapman responded, "Well, actually world supremacy would be very nice", before Idle cautioned, "Yes, but that sort of thing has got to be done properly". In 1975 ABC broadcast two 90-minute ''Monty Python'' specials, each with three shows, but cut out a total of 24 minutes from each, in part to make time for commercials, and in part to avoid upsetting their audience. As the judge observed in '' Gilliam v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.'', where Monty Python sued for damages caused by broadcast of the mutilated version, "According to the network, appellants should have anticipated that most of the excised material contained scatological references inappropriate for American television and that these scenes would be replaced with commercials, which presumably are more palatable to the American public." Monty Python won the case. With the popularity of Python throughout the rest of the 1970s and through most of the 1980s, PBS stations looked at other British comedies, leading to UK shows such as ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...

'' gaining a US audience, and leading, over time, to many PBS stations having a "British Comedy Night" which airs many popular UK comedies. In 1976, Monty Python became the top rated show in Japan. The popularity of the show in the Netherlands saw the town of Spijkenisse near Rotterdam open a 'silly walks' road crossing in 2018. Believed to be a world first, the official sign asks pedestrians to cross the road in a comical manner.

Departure of Cleese

Having considered the possibility at the end of the second season, Cleese left the ''Flying Circus'' at the end of the third. He later explained that he felt he no longer had anything fresh to offer the show, and claimed that only two Cleese- and Chapman-penned sketches in the third series ("Dennis Moore" and the "Cheese Shop") were truly original, and that the others were bits and pieces from previous work cobbled together in slightly different contexts. He was also finding Chapman, who was at that point in the full throes of alcoholism, difficult to work with. According to an interview with Idle, "It was on an

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled an ...

flight on the way to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, when John (Cleese) turned to all of us and said 'I want out.' Why? I don't know. He gets bored more easily than the rest of us. He's a difficult man, not easy to be friendly with. He's so funny because he never wanted to be liked. That gives him a certain fascinating, arrogant freedom." Jones noted his reticence in 2012, "He was good at it, when he did it he was professional, but he’d rather not have done it. The others all loved it, but he got more and more pissed off about having to come out and do filming, and the one that really swung it, in my view, was when we had to do the day on the Newhaven lifeboat." The rest of the group carried on for one more "half" season before calling a halt to the programme in 1974. While the first three seasons contained 13 episodes each, the fourth ended after just six. The name ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' appears in the opening animation for season four, but in the end credits, the show is listed as simply ''Monty Python''. Although Cleese left the show, he was credited as a writer for three of the six episodes, largely concentrated in the "Michael Ellis" episode, which had begun life as one of the many drafts of the "Holy Grail" motion picture. When a new direction for "Grail" was decided upon, the subplot of Arthur and his knights wandering around a strange department store in modern times was lifted out and recycled as the aforementioned TV episode. Songwriter

Neil Innes Neil James Innes (; 9 December 1944 – 29 December 2019) was an English writer, comedian and musician. He first came to prominence in the pioneering comedy rock group Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the M ...

contributed to some sketches, including "Appeal on Behalf of Very Rich People".

Life beyond the ''Flying Circus''

Filmography

''And Now for Something Completely Different'' (1971)

The Pythons' first feature film was directed by

Ian MacNaughton Edward Ian MacNaughton (30 December 1925 – 10 December 2002) was a Scottish actor-turned-television producer and director, best known for his work with the ''Monty Python'' team. MacNaughton was director and producer for all but four of the f ...

, reprising his role from the television series. It consisted of sketches from the first two seasons of the ''Flying Circus'', reshot on a low budget (and often slightly edited) for cinema release. Material selected for the film includes: "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "Upper Class Twit of the Year", "Hell's Grannies", "Self-Defence Class", " How Not to Be Seen", and "Nudge Nudge". Financed by ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

''s UK executive Victor Lownes, it was intended as a way of breaking Monty Python into America, and although it was ultimately unsuccessful in this, the film did good business in the UK, and later in the US on the " Midnight movie" circuit after their breakthrough television and film success, this being in the era before home video would make the original material much more accessible. The group did not consider the film a success.

''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1975)

In 1974, between production on the third and fourth seasons, the group decided to embark on their first "proper" feature film, containing entirely new material. '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' was based on

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

and was directed by Jones and Gilliam. Again, the latter also contributed linking animations (and put together the opening credits). Along with the rest of the Pythons, Jones and Gilliam performed several roles in the film, but Chapman took the lead as King Arthur. Cleese returned to the group for the film, feeling that they were once again breaking new ground. ''Holy Grail'' was filmed on location, in picturesque rural areas of Scotland, with a budget of only £229,000; the money was raised in part with investments from rock groups such as Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

, as well as UK music industry entrepreneur

Tony Stratton-Smith Tony Stratton-Smith (29 October 1933 – 19 March 1987) was an English rock music manager, and entrepreneur. He founded the London-based record label Charisma Records in 1969 and managed rock groups such as the Nice, Van der Graaf Generator and ...

(founder and owner of the

Charisma Records Charisma Records (also known as The Famous Charisma Label) was a British record label founded in 1969 by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith. He had previously acted as manager for rock bands such as The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der ...

label, for which the Pythons recorded their comedy albums). The backers of the film wanted to cut the famous

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...

scene (a

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...

send-up in which the Black Knight loses his limbs in a duel), but it was eventually kept in the movie. "Tis but a scratch" and "It's just a flesh wound…" are often quoted. ''Holy Grail'' was selected as the second-best comedy of all time in the ABC special '' Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time''. and viewers in a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

poll placed it sixth.

''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979)

Following the success of ''Holy Grail'', reporters asked for the title of the next Python film, though the team had not even begun to consider a third one. Eventually, Idle flippantly replied "Jesus Christ – Lust for Glory", which became the group's stock answer to such questions. However, they soon began to seriously consider a film lampooning the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

era in the same way ''Holy Grail'' had lampooned Arthurian legend. Despite sharing a distrust of organised religion, they agreed not to mock Jesus or his teachings directly. They also mentioned that they could not think of anything legitimate to make fun of about him. Instead, they decided to write a satire on credulity and hypocrisy among the followers of someone rianwho had been mistaken for the "Messiah", but who had no desire to be followed as such. Terry Jones adds it was a satire on those who for the next 2,000 years "couldn't agree on what Jesus was saying about peace and love". The focus therefore shifted to a separate individual, Brian Cohen, born at the same time, and in a neighbouring stable. When Jesus appears in the film (first, as a baby in the stable, and then later on the Mount, speaking the Beatitudes), he is played straight (by actor Kenneth Colley) and portrayed with respect. The comedy begins when members of the crowd mishear his statements of peace, love, and tolerance ("I think he said, 'Blessed are the cheesemakers). Directing duties were handled solely by Jones, having amicably agreed with Gilliam that Jones' approach to film-making was better suited for Python's general performing style. ''Holy Grail's'' production had often been stilted by their differences behind the camera. Gilliam again contributed two animated sequences (one being the opening credits) and took charge of set design. The film was shot on location in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, the finances being provided this time by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' George Harrison, who together with

Denis O'Brien Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for a period of several ye ...

formed the production company Hand-Made Films for the movie. Harrison had a cameo role as the "owner of the Mount". Despite its subject matter attracting controversy, particularly upon its initial release, it has (together with its predecessor) been ranked among the greatest comedy films."Life of Brian tops comedy poll"
BBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2019 In 2006 it was ranked first on a Channel 4 list of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films. In 2013, Richard Burridge, a theologian decorated by Pope Francis, called ''Life of Brian'' an "extraordinary tribute to the life and work and teaching of Jesus—that they couldn't actually blaspheme or make a joke out of it. They did a great satire on closed minds and people who follow blindly. Then you have them splitting into factions...it is a wonderful satire on the way that Jesus's own teaching has been used to persecute others. They were satirising fundamentalism and persecution of others and at the same time saying the one person who rises above all this was Jesus".

''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' (1982)

Monty Python performed four consecutive dates at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in September 1980 during preparations for ''Meaning of Life''. The performances were filmed and released in the concert film, ''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' (directed by Terry Hughes), with the Pythons performing sketches from the television series in front of an audience. The released film also incorporated footage from the German television specials (the inclusion of which gives Ian MacNaughton his first on-screen credit for Python since the end of ''Flying Circus'') and live performances of several songs from the troupe's then-current ''

Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album ''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album'' is the final studio album by Monty Python, released in 1980. As the title suggests, the album was put together to complete a contract with Charisma Records. Besides newly written songs and sketches ...

''. Monty Python's 4-night stint as headliners at the Hollywood Bowl set a record for a comedy act at the venue that has since been equalled by Dave Chappelle in May 2022.

''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983)

The Pythons' final film returned to something structurally closer to the style of ''Flying Circus''. A series of sketches loosely follows the ages of man from birth to death. Directed again by Jones solo, ''The Meaning of Life'' is embellished with some of the group's most bizarre and disturbing moments, as well as various elaborate musical numbers, which include " Galaxy Song" (performed by Idle) and "

Every Sperm Is Sacred "Every Sperm Is Sacred" is a musical sketch from the film ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life''. A satire of Catholic teachings on reproduction that forbid masturbation and contraception, the song was released on the album '' Monty Python Sings ...

" (performed by Palin and Jones). The film is by far their darkest work, containing a great deal of

black humour Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

, garnished by some spectacular violence (including an operation to remove a

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

from a living patient without

anaesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...

and the morbidly obese Mr. Creosote exploding over several restaurant patrons after finally giving in to the smooth maître d' telling him to eat a mint – "It's only a wafer-thin mint..."). At the time of its release, the Pythons confessed their aim was to offend "absolutely everyone", adding "It is guaranteed to offend". The Liver Donor scene (which sees someone come to a man's door to take his liver) is a satire on bureaucracy, a common Python trope. Besides the opening credits and the fish sequence, Gilliam, by now an established live-action director, no longer wanted to produce any linking cartoons, offering instead to direct one sketch, "

The Crimson Permanent Assurance ''The Crimson Permanent Assurance'' is a 1983 British swashbuckling comedy short film that plays as the beginning of the feature-length motion picture '' Monty Python's The Meaning of Life''. Having originally conceived the story as a six-minu ...

". Under his helm, though, the segment grew so ambitious and tangential that it was cut from the movie and used as a supporting feature in its own right. (Television screenings also use it as a prologue.) This was the last project on which all six Pythons collaborated, except for the 1989 compilation '' Parrot Sketch Not Included,'' where they are all seen sitting in a closet for four seconds. This was the last time Chapman appeared on screen with the Pythons.

''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit shows

Members of Python contributed their services to charitable endeavours and causes—sometimes as an ensemble, at other times as individuals. The cause that has been the most frequent and consistent beneficiary has been the human rights work of Amnesty International. Between 1976 and 1981, the troupe or its members appeared in four major fund-raisers for Amnesty—known collectively as the '' Secret Policeman's Ball'' shows—which were turned into multiple films, TV shows, videos, record albums, and books. The brainchild of John Cleese, these benefit shows in London and their many spin-offs raised considerable sums of money for Amnesty, raised public and media awareness of the human rights cause, and influenced many other members of the entertainment community (especially rock musicians) to become involved in political and social issues. Among the many musicians who have publicly attributed their activism—and the organisation of their own benefit events—to the inspiration of the work in this field of Monty Python are Bob Geldof (organiser of Live Aid), U2,

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

, and Sting.Secret Policeman's Ball recruits New York's finest to Amnesty celebration
''The Guardian''. Retrieved 24 April 2012 Bono told ''Rolling Stone'' in 1986, "I saw ''The Secret Policeman’s Ball'' and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..." Sting states, "before he BallI did not know about Amnesty, I did not know about its work, I did not know about torture in the world." On the impact of the Ball on Geldof, Sting states, "he took the ‘Ball’ and ran with it." ''Ball'' co-founder Cleese and Jones had an involvement (as performer, writer or director) in all four Amnesty benefit shows, Palin in three, Chapman in two, and Gilliam in one. Idle did not participate in the Amnesty shows. Notwithstanding Idle's lack of participation, the other five members (together with "Associate Pythons" Carol Cleveland and

) all appeared together in the first ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit—the 1976 '' A Poke in the Eye'' held at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

in London's West End—where they performed several Python sketches. In this first show, they were collectively billed as ''Monty Python''. Peter Cook deputised for the absent Idle in a courtroom sketch. In the next three shows, the participating Python members performed many Python sketches, but were billed under their individual names rather than under the collective Python banner. The second show featured newcomer Rowan Atkinson and Scottish comedian

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

. The ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' were the first stage shows in the UK to present comedic performers (such as Monty Python and Rowan Atkinson) in the same setting and shows as their contemporaries in rock music (which included Eric Clapton, Sting and Phil Collins). After a six-year break, Amnesty resumed producing ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit shows which were held at the London Palladium in 1987 (sometimes with, and sometimes without, variants of the title) and by 2006 had presented a total of twelve shows. Since 1987 the Balls featured newer generations of British comedic performers, such as

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in ...

, and puppets from the satirical TV show '' Spitting Image'', with many attributing their participation in the show to their desire to emulate the Python's pioneering work for Amnesty. Cleese and Palin made a brief cameo appearance in the 1989 Amnesty show; apart from that, the Pythons have not appeared in shows after the first four.

Going solo

Each member has pursued various film, television, and stage projects since the break-up of the group, but often continued to work with one another. Many of these collaborations were very successful, most notably '' A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), written by Cleese, in which he starred along with Palin. The pair also appeared in ''

Time Bandits ''Time Bandits'' is a 1981 British fantasy adventure film co-written, produced, and directed by Terry Gilliam. It stars Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Ralph Richardson, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Peter Vaug ...

'' (1981), a film directed by Gilliam, who wrote it together with Palin. Gilliam directed ''

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The ...

'' (1977), and also directed and co-wrote ''

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

'' (1985), which featured Palin, ''

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' is a 1988 adventure fantasy film co-written and directed by Terry Gilliam, and starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Robin Williams and Uma Thurman. An interna ...

'' (1988), which featured Idle; he followed these with writing and directing an additional six (as of 2021) films. '' Yellowbeard'' (1983) was co-written by Chapman and featured Chapman, Idle, and Cleese, as well as many other English comedians including Peter Cook,

, and

Marty Feldman Martin Alan Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was a British actor, comedian and comedy writer. He was known for his prominent, misaligned eyes. He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on the ITV sitcom ''Boot ...

. Palin and Jones wrote the comedic TV series ''

Ripping Yarns ''Ripping Yarns'' is a British television adventure comedy anthology series. It was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. It was transmitted on BBC 2. Following an initial pilot episode in January 1976, it ran for two ser ...

'' (1976–79), starring Palin. Jones also appeared in the pilot episode and Cleese appeared in a nonspeaking part in the episode "Golden Gordon". Jones' film '' Erik the Viking'' also has Cleese playing a small part. In 1996 Terry Jones wrote and directed an adaptation of

Kenneth Grahame Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is most famous for ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1908), a classic of children's literature, as well as '' The Reluctant Dragon''. Both books w ...

's novel ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

''. It featured four members of Monty Python: Jones as Mr. Toad, Idle as Ratty, Cleese as Mr. Toad's lawyer, and Palin as the Sun. Gilliam was considered for the voice of the river. The film included Steve Coogan who played Mole. Cleese has the most prolific solo career, appearing in dozens of films, several TV shows or series (including '' Cheers'', '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'', Q's assistant in the James Bond movies, and ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman ( Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler ( Debra Messi ...

''), many direct-to-video productions, some video games and a number of commercials. His BBC sitcom ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Televisio ...

'' (written by and starring Cleese together with his wife

Connie Booth Connie Booth (born 2 December 1940) is an American-born actress and writer. She has appeared in several British television programmes and films, including her role as Polly Sherman on BBC Two's ''Fawlty Towers'', which she co-wrote with her t ...

) is the only comedy series to rank higher than the ''Flying Circus'' on the

BFI TV 100 The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best British television programmes of any ...

's list, topping the whole poll. Cleese's character,

Basil Fawlty Basil Fawlty is the main character of the 1970s British sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'', played by John Cleese. The proprietor of the hotel Fawlty Towers, he is a cynical and misanthropic snob, desperate to belong to a higher social class. His attemp ...

, was ranked second (to Homer Simpson) on Channel 4's 2001 list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters. Idle enjoyed critical success with '' Rutland Weekend Television'' in the mid-1970s, out of which came the Beatles parody

the Rutles The Rutles () were a rock band that performed visual and aural pastiches and parodies of the Beatles. This originally fictional band, created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes for a sketch in Idle's mid-1970s BBC television comedy series ''Rutland We ...

(responsible for the cult

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

All You Need Is Cash ''All You Need Is Cash'' (also known as ''The Rutles'') is a 1978 television film that traces (in mockumentary style) the career of a fictitious English rock group called the Rutles. As '' TV Guide'' described it, the group's resemblance to ...

''), and as an actor in ''

Nuns on the Run ''Nuns on the Run'' is a 1990 British comedy film starring Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane, also featuring Camille Coduri and Janet Suzman. The film was written and directed by Jonathan Lynn and produced by HandMade Films. Many of the outdoor s ...

'' (1990) with

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. H ...

. In 1976 Idle directed music videos for George Harrison songs " This Song" and "

Crackerbox Palace "Crackerbox Palace" is the ninth track on George Harrison's 1976 album, ''Thirty Three & 1/3''. The song was released as the second single from the album and reached number 19 in the American pop charts. History The song was inspired by Harrison ...

", the latter of which also featured cameo appearances from Neil Innes and John Cleese. Idle has had success with Python songs: " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" went to no. 3 in the UK singles chart in 1991. The song had been revived by Simon Mayo on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, and was consequently released as a single that year. The theatrical phenomenon of the Python musical ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

'' has made Idle the most financially successful of the troupe after Python. Written by Idle (and featuring a pre-recorded cameo of Cleese as the voice of God), it has proved to be an enormous hit on Broadway, London's West End and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. This was followed by '' Not the Messiah'', which revises ''The Life of Brian'' as an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

. For the work's 2007 premiere at the Luminato festival in

(which commissioned the work), Idle himself sang the "baritone-ish" part.

After ''Python'' reunions

Since ''The Meaning of Life'', their last project as a team, the Pythons have often been the subject of reunion rumours. In 1988 Monty Python won the

for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema, with four of the six Pythons (Jones, Palin, Gilliam and Chapman) collecting the award. The final appearance of all six together occurred during the 1989 ''

Parrot Sketch Not Included – 20 Years of Monty Python ''Parrot Sketch Not Included – 20 Years of Monty Python'' is a British television special to Monty Python, put together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the debut of the comedy group's television series, ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''. Pr ...

'' TV special. The death of Chapman in October 1989 put an end to the speculation of any further reunions. However, there were several occasions after 1989 when the remaining five members gathered together for appearances — albeit not formal reunions. In 1996 Jones, Idle, Cleese, and Palin were featured in a film adaptation of ''The Wind in the Willows'', which was later renamed '' Mr. Toad's Wild Ride''.Nathan Bevan (5 March 2011)
"The life and times of Monty Python’s Terry Jones"
''Western Mail''. Wales Online. Retrieved 19 August 2019 In 1997 Palin and Cleese rolled out a new version of the " Dead Parrot sketch" for ''

''. Monty Python were the inaugural recipients of the Empire Inspiration Award in 1997. Palin, Jones and Gilliam received the award on stage in London from Elton John while Cleese and Idle appeared via satellite from Los Angeles. In 1998 during the US Comedy Arts Festival, where the troupe were awarded the AFI Star Award by the American Film Institute, the five remaining members, along with what was purported to be Chapman's ashes, were reunited on stage for the first time in 18 years. The occasion was in the form of an interview called '' Monty Python Live at Aspen'', (hosted by Robert Klein, with an appearance by

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

) in which the team looked back at some of their work and performed a few new sketches. On 9 October 1999, to commemorate 30 years since the first ''Flying Circus'' television broadcast, BBC2 devoted an evening to Python programmes, including a documentary charting the history of the team, interspersed with new sketches by the Monty Python team filmed especially for the event. The surviving Pythons had agreed in principle to perform a live tour of America in 1999. Several shows were to be linked with Q&A meetings in various cities. Although all had said yes, Palin later changed his mind, much to the annoyance of Idle, who had begun work organising the tour. This led to Idle refusing to take part in the new material shot for the BBC anniversary evening. In 2002, four of the surviving members, bar Cleese, performed "The Lumberjack Song" and "

Sit on My Face "Sit on My Face" is a short song by the members of the comedy troupe Monty Python which originally appeared on the album ''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album'' and later appeared on the compilation ''Monty Python Sings''. Written by Eric ...

" for George Harrison's memorial concert. The reunion also included regular supporting contributors Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland, with a special appearance from

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

In an interview to publicise the DVD release of ''The Meaning of Life'', Cleese said a further reunion was unlikely. "It is absolutely impossible to get even a majority of us together in a room, and I'm not joking," Cleese said. He said that the problem was one of busyness rather than one of bad feelings. A sketch appears on the same DVD spoofing the impossibility of a full reunion, bringing the members "together" in a deliberately unconvincing fashion with modern bluescreen/greenscreen techniques. Idle responded to queries about a Python reunion by adapting a line used by George Harrison in response to queries about a possible Beatles reunion. When asked in November 1989 about such a possibility, Harrison responded: "As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

remains dead." Idle's version of this was that he expected to see a proper Python reunion, "just as soon as Graham Chapman comes back from the dead", but added, "we're talking to his agent about terms." ''

The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons ''The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons'' is the official autobiography of the Monty Python team, released in 2003. It covers the whole of Python history, from their childhoods all the way through to the 30th anniversary celebrations in 1999. ...

'' (2003), compiled from interviews with the surviving members, reveals that a series of disputes in 1998, over a possible sequel to ''Holy Grail'' that had been conceived by Idle, may have resulted in the group's split. Cleese's feeling was that ''The Meaning of Life'' had been personally difficult and ultimately mediocre, and did not wish to be involved in another Python project for a variety of reasons (not least amongst them was the absence of Chapman, whose straight man-like central roles in the ''Grail'' and ''Brian'' films had been considered to be an essential anchoring performance). The book also reveals that Cleese saw Chapman as his "greatest sounding board. If Graham thought something was funny, then it almost certainly was funny. You cannot believe how invaluable that is.' Ultimately it was Cleese who ended the possibility of another Python movie. A full, if nonperforming, reunion of the surviving Python members appeared at the March 2005 premiere of Idle's musical ''

'', based on ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. It opened in Chicago and has since played in New York on Broadway, London, and numerous other major cities across the world. In 2004 it was nominated for 14

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

and won three: Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

, and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Sara Ramirez, who played the

Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...

, a character specially added for the musical. The original Broadway cast included

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

as King Arthur, Michael McGrath as Patsy,

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Scree ...

as Sir Robin,

Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, ...

Sir Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

and other roles (e.g., the French Taunter, Knight of Ni, and Tim the Enchanter), Christopher Sieber as Sir Galahad and other roles (e.g., the Black Knight and Prince Herbert's Father). Cleese played the voice of God, a role played in the film by Chapman. Owing in part to the success of ''Spamalot'',

announced on 13 July 2005 that it would begin to re-air the entire run of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' and new one-hour specials focusing on each member of the group, called '' Monty Python's Personal Best''. Each episode was written and produced by the individual being honoured, with the five remaining Pythons collaborating on Chapman's programme, the only one of the editions to take on a serious tone with its new material. Neil Innes by Luke Ford adjust

In 2009, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first episode of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', a six-part documentary entitled '' Monty Python: Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut)'' was released, featuring interviews with the surviving members of the team, as well as archive interviews with Graham Chapman and numerous excerpts from the television series and films. Each episode opens with a different re-recording of the theme song from ''Life of Brian'', with

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

vocalist and Python fan Bruce Dickinson performing the sixth. Also in commemoration of the 40th anniversary, Idle, Palin, Jones, and Gilliam appeared in a production of '' Not the Messiah'' at the Royal Albert Hall. The European premiere was held on 23 October 2009. An official 40th anniversary Monty Python reunion event took place in New York City on 15 October 2009, where the team received a Special Award from the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. In June 2011, it was announced that '' A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman'', an animated 3D movie based on the memoir of Graham Chapman, was in the making. The memoir ''A Liar's Autobiography'' was published in 1980 and details Chapman's journey through medical school, alcoholism, acknowledgement of his gay identity, and the tolls of surreal comedy. Asked what was true in a deliberately fanciful account by Chapman of his life, Terry Jones joked: "Nothing ... it's all a downright, absolute, blackguardly lie." The film uses Chapman's own voice—from a reading of his autobiography shortly before he died of cancer—and entertainment channel

Epix Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment LLC subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a subsidiary of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. The channel's pr ...

announced the film's release in early 2012 in both 2D and 3D formats. Produced and directed by London-based Bill Jones, Ben Timlett, and Jeff Simpson, the new film has 15 animation companies working on chapters that will range from three to 12 minutes in length, each in a different style. John Cleese recorded dialogue which was matched with Chapman's voice. Michael Palin voiced Chapman's father and Terry Jones voiced his mother. Terry Gilliam voiced Graham's psychiatrist. They all play various other roles. Among the original Python group, only Eric Idle was not involved. On 26 January 2012, Terry Jones announced that the five surviving Pythons would reunite in a

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

comedy film called ''

Absolutely Anything ''Absolutely Anything'' is a 2015 British science fantasy comedy film directed by Terry Jones, who also co-wrote it with Gavin Scott. It stars Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Rob Riggle, Eddie Izzard and Joanna Lumley, with the voi ...

''. The film would combine computer-generated imagery and live action. It would be directed by Jones based on a script by Jones and

Gavin Scott Gavin Duncan Scott (born 1950) is an English novelist, broadcaster and writer of the Emmy-winning mini-series ''The Mists of Avalon'', '' Small Soldiers'', ''The Borrowers'' and ''Legend of Earthsea''. He spent ten years making films for British ...

, and in addition to the Python members it would also star

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress and model. After some minor television roles, her film debut was ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She appeared in British costume ...

and

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

(in his final film role). The plot revolves around a teacher who discovers aliens (voiced by the Pythons) have given him magical powers to do "absolutely anything". Eric Idle responded via Twitter that he would not, in fact, be participating, although he was later added to the cast.

''Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go''

In 2013, the Pythons lost a legal case to Mark Forstater, the film producer of ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'', over royalties for the derivative work ''

''. They owed a combined £800,000 in legal fees and back royalties to Forstater. They proposed a reunion show to pay their legal bill. On 19 November 2013, a new reunion was reported, following months of "secret talks". The original plan was for a live, one-off stage show at the O₂ Arena in London on 1 July 2014, with "some of Monty Python's greatest hits, with modern, topical, Pythonesque twists" according to a press release. The tickets for this show went on sale in November 2013 and sold out in just 43 seconds. Nine additional shows were added, all of them at the O₂, the last on 20 July. They have said that their reunion was inspired by '' South Park'' creators

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...

, who are massive Monty Python fans.

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and Charlie Watts featured in a promotional video for the shows: "Who wants to see that again, really? It's a bunch of wrinkly old men trying to relive their youth and make a load of money—the best one died years ago!" Michael Palin stated that the final reunion show on 20 July 2014 would be the last time that the troupe would perform together. It was screened to 2,000 cinemas around the world. Prior to the final night, Idle stated, "It is a world event and that’s really quite exciting. It means we’re actually going to say goodbye publicly on one show. Nobody ever has the chance to do that. The Beatles didn’t get a last good night." The last show was broadcast in the UK on

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

TV and internationally in cinemas by Fathom Events through a Dish Network satellite link.

Python members

Graham Chapman

was originally a medical student, joining the

Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. He completed his medical training and was legally entitled to practise as a doctor. Chapman is best remembered for the lead roles in ''Holy Grail'', as King Arthur, and ''Life of Brian'', as Brian Cohen. He died of metastatic throat cancer on 4 October 1989. At Chapman's memorial service, Cleese delivered an irreverent eulogy that included all the euphemisms for being dead from the "Dead Parrot" sketch, which they had written; and was also the first person to say “fuck” at a British memorial service. Chapman's comedic fictional memoir, '' A Liar's Autobiography: Volume VI'', was adapted into an animated 3D film in 2012.

John Cleese

John Cleese is the oldest Python. He met his future Python writing partner, Chapman, in Cambridge. Outside of Python, he is best known for setting up the

Video Arts Video Arts is a UK-based video production company which produces and sells soft-skills training programmes, e-learning courses and learning platforms. Video Arts also distributes third party titles. It was founded in 1972 by John Cleese, Sir ...

group and for the sitcom ''

'' (co-written with

, whom Cleese met during work on Python and to whom he was married for a decade). In ''Fawlty Towers'' Cleese starred as hotel owner

, and received the 1980

British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance The British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance is an award given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts at their annual BAFTA Television Awards ceremony. This category has had minor name changes: *From 195 ...

. Cleese has also co-authored several books on psychology and wrote the screenplay for the award-winning '' A Fish Called Wanda'', in which he starred with Michael Palin, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Terry Gilliam

, an American by birth, is the only member of the troupe of non-British origin. He started off as an animator and strip cartoonist for

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

's ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

'' magazine, one issue of which featured Cleese. Moving from the US to England, he animated features for ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' and was then asked by its makers to join them on their next project: ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''. He co-directed ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' and directed short segments of other Python films (for instance "

", the short film that appears before ''The Meaning of Life'').

Eric Idle

Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 51 26 (14578960366)

When Monty Python was first formed, two writing partnerships were already in place: Cleese and Chapman, as well as Jones and Palin. That left two in their own corners: Gilliam, operating solo due to the nature of his work, and Eric Idle. Regular themes in Idle's contributions were elaborate

wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phon ...

and musical numbers. After ''Flying Circus'', he hosted ''

'' four times in the first five seasons. Idle's initially successful solo career faltered in the 1990s with the failures of his 1993 film '' Splitting Heirs'' (written, produced by, and starring him) and 1998's '' An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn'' (in which he starred). He revived his career by returning to the source of his worldwide fame, adapting Monty Python material for other media. Idle wrote the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning musical ''

'', based on ''Holy Grail''. Following the success of the musical he wrote '' Not the Messiah'', an

derived from the ''Life of Brian''. Representing Monty Python, Idle featured in a one-hour symphony of British Music when he performed at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony.

Terry Jones

has been described by other members of the team as the "heart" of the operation. Jones had a lead role in maintaining the group's unity and creative independence. Python biographer George Perry has commented that should " ouspeak to him on subjects as diverse as fossil fuels, or

Rupert Bear Rupert Bear is a British children's comic strip character and franchise created by artist Mary Tourtel and first appearing in the ''Daily Express'' newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival ''D ...

, or mercenaries in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

or Modern China ... in a moment you will find yourself hopelessly out of your depth, floored by his knowledge." Many others agree that Jones is characterised by his irrepressible, good-natured enthusiasm. However, Jones' passion often led to prolonged arguments with other group members—in particular Cleese—with Jones often unwilling to back down. Since his major contributions were largely behind the scenes (direction, writing), and he often deferred to the other members of the group as an actor, Jones' importance to Python was often under-rated. However, he does have the legacy of delivering possibly the most famous line in all of Python, as Brian's mother Mandy in ''Life of Brian'', "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!", a line voted the funniest in film history on two occasions. Jones died on 21 January 2020 from complications of dementia.

Michael Palin

Sir Michael Palin attended

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he met his Python writing partner Jones. The two also wrote the series ''Ripping Yarns'' together. Palin and Jones originally wrote face-to-face, but soon found it was more productive to write apart and then come together to review what the other had written. Therefore, Jones and Palin's sketches tended to be more focused than that of the others, taking one bizarre situation, sticking to it, and building on it. After ''Flying Circus'', Palin hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' four times in the first 10 seasons. His comedy output began to decrease in amount following the increasing success of his travel documentaries for the BBC. Palin released a book of diaries from the Python years entitled ''Michael Palin Diaries 1969–1979'', published in 2007. Palin was awarded a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

in the 2019 New Year Honours, which was announced by Buckingham Palace in December 2018.

Associate Pythons

Several people have been accorded unofficial "associate Python" status over the years. Occasionally such people have been referred to as the 'seventh Python', in a style reminiscent of

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

(or other associates of the Beatles) being dubbed "the Fifth Beatle". The two collaborators with the most meaningful and plentiful contributions have been

and

. Both were present and presented as Associate Pythons at the official Monty Python 25th-anniversary celebrations held in Los Angeles in July 1994.

is the only non-Python besides

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...

to be credited with writing material for ''Flying Circus''. He appeared in sketches and the Python films, as well as performing some of his songs in '' Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl''. He was also a regular stand-in for absent team members on the rare occasions when they recreated sketches. For example, he took the place of Cleese at the

Concert for George The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arrang ...

. Gilliam once noted that if anyone qualified for the title of the seventh Python, it would be Innes. He was one of the creative talents in the off-beat Bonzo Dog Band. He would later portray Ron Nasty of

and write all of the Rutles' compositions for ''

'' (1978), a

film co-directed by Idle. By 2005, a falling out had occurred between Idle and Innes over additional Rutles projects, the results being Innes' critically acclaimed Rutles "reunion" album ''The Rutles: Archaeology'' and Idle's straight-to-DVD ''The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch'', each undertaken without the other's participation. According to an interview with Idle in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' in May 2005, his attitude is that Innes and he go back "too far. And no further." Innes died of a heart attack on 29 December 2019 near Toulouse, where he had lived for several years.

was the most important female performer in the Monty Python ensemble, commonly referred to as "the female Python". She was originally hired by producer/director John Howard Davies for just the first five episodes of the ''Flying Circus''. The Pythons then pushed to make Cleveland a permanent recurring performer after producer/director

brought in several other actresses who were not as good as she was. Cleveland went on to appear in about two-thirds of the episodes, as well as in all of the Python films, and in most of their stage shows, as well. According to ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'', her most recognisable film roles are playing Zoot and Dingo, two maidens in the Castle Anthrax in ''Holy Grail''.

Other contributors

Cleese's first wife,

, appeared as various characters in all four series of ''Flying Circus''. Her most significant role was the "best girl" of the eponymous Lumberjack in "The Lumberjack Song", though this role was sometimes played by Carol Cleveland. Booth appeared in a total of six sketches and also played one-off characters in Python feature films ''And Now for Something Completely Different'' and ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''.

was "discovered" by Chapman when a version of ''Footlights Revue'' (a 1974 BBC2 television show featuring some of Adams' early work) was performed live in London's West End. In Cleese's absence from the final TV series, the two formed a brief writing partnership, with Adams earning a writing credit in one episode for a sketch called " Patient Abuse". In the sketch—a satire on mind-boggling bureaucracy—a man who had been stabbed by a nurse arrives at his doctor's office bleeding profusely from the stomach, when the doctor makes him fill in numerous senseless forms before he can administer treatment. He also had two cameo appearances in this season. Firstly, in the episode "The Light Entertainment War", Adams shows up in a surgeon's mask (as Dr. Emile Koning, according to the on-screen captions), pulling on gloves, while Palin narrates a sketch that introduces one person after another, and never actually gets started. Secondly, at the beginning of "Mr. Neutron", Adams is dressed in a "pepperpot" outfit and loads a missile onto a cart being driven by Terry Jones, who is calling out for scrap metal ("Any old iron ..."). Adams and Chapman also subsequently attempted a few non-Python projects, including '' Out of the Trees''. He also contributed to a sketch on the soundtrack album for ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Other than Carol Cleveland, the only other non-Python to make a significant number of appearances in the ''Flying Circus'' was Ian Davidson. He appeared in the first two series of the show, and played over 10 roles. While Davidson is primarily known as a scriptwriter, it is not known if he had any contribution toward the writing of the sketches, as he is only credited as a performer. In total, Davidson is credited as appearing in eight episodes of the show, which is more than any other male actor who was not a Python. Despite this, Davidson did not appear in any Python-related media subsequent to series 2, though footage of him was shown on the documentary '' Python Night – 30 Years of Monty Python''. Stand-up comedian

, a devoted fan of the group, has occasionally stood in for absent members. When the BBC held a "Python Night" in 1999 to celebrate 30 years of the first broadcast of ''Flying Circus'', the Pythons recorded some new material with Izzard standing in for Idle, who had declined to partake in person (he taped a solo contribution from the US). Izzard hosted ''The Life of Python'' (1999), a history of the group that was part of Python Night and appeared with them at a festival/tribute in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

, in 1998 (released on DVD as ''Live at Aspen''). Izzard has said that Monty Python was a significant influence on her style of comedy and Cleese has referred to her as "the lost Python". Series director of ''Flying Circus'', Ian MacNaughton, is also regularly associated with the group and made a few on-screen appearances in the show and in the film ''And Now for Something Completely Different''. Apart from Neil Innes, others to contribute musically included Fred Tomlinson and the Fred Tomlinson Singers. They made appearances in songs such as "

" as a backup choir. Other contributors and performers for the Pythons included John Howard Davies, John Hughman, Lyn Ashley, Bob Raymond,

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

, Rita Davies, Stanley Mason, Maureen Flanagan, and David Ballantyne.

Cultural influence and legacy

Monty Python Live 02-07-14 13 00 13 (14415341590)

By the time of Monty Python's 25th anniversary, in 1994, the point was already being made that "the five surviving members had with the passing years begun to occupy an institutional position in the edifice of British social culture that they had once had so much fun trying to demolish". A similar point is made in a 2006 book on the relationship between Python and philosophy: "It is remarkable, after all, not only that the utterly bizarre ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was sponsored by the BBC in the first place, but that Monty Python itself grew into an institution of enormous cultural influence." Also A self-contained comedy unit responsible for both writing and performing their work, Monty Python's influence on comedy has been compared to

' influence on music. Author Neil Gaiman writes, "A strange combination of individuals gave us Python. And you needed those people, just in the same way that with the Beatles you had four talented people, but together you had the Beatles. And I think that's so incredibly true when it comes to Python."

Comedy stylists

Monty Python have been named as being influential to the comedy stylings of a great many people including:

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...

, David Cross, Rowan Atkinson, Seth MacFarlane, Seth Meyers,

,"Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Larry Divney 'Speaking Freely' transcript"
Retrieved 10 March 2020

Vic and Bob Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

, Russell Brand, Jerry Seinfeld, and "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

, creator of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', was influenced by Python's "high velocity sense of the absurd and not stopping to explain yourself", and pays tribute through a couch gag used in seasons five and

six 6 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 6 or six may also refer to: * AD 6, the sixth year of the AD era * 6 BC, the sixth year before the AD era * The month of June Science * Carbon, the element with atomic number 6 * 6 Hebe, an asteroid People ...

. Appearing on ''Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly)'', Jim Carrey—who refers to Monty Python as the "Super Justice League of comedy"—recalled the effect on him of Ernest Scribbler (played by Palin) laughing himself to death in " The Funniest Joke in the World" sketch.

, co-writer of the '' Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of British comedy films (from ''

Shaun of the Dead ''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed ( Nick Frost). The ...

'' to '' The World's End''), stated his "love of comedy was hugely informed by Monty Python." In an interview with ''Parade'', Seinfeld stated, "Monty Python was a gigantic influence on me. They were just about silly, funny things that meant nothing, and that’s the stuff I love. There’s a wonderful childlike freedom in those kinds of things." ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' served as an inspiration for voice actor Rob Paulsen in voicing Pinky from the animated television series ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, until ...

'' and ''

Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and the fourth col ...

'', giving the character "a goofy whack job" of a British accent. Comedian John Oliver states, "Writing about the importance of Monty Python is basically pointless. Citing them as an influence is almost redundant. It's assumed. This strange group of wildly talented, appropriately disrespectful, hugely imaginative and massively inspirational idiots changed what comedy could be for their generation and for those that followed." On how Python's freeform style influenced sketch comedy,

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

of the US television show ''

'' states, "Sketch endings are overrated. Their key was to do something as long as it was funny and then just stop and do something else."

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

, co-creator of '' The Office'' with Ricky Gervais, stated, "I don’t remember where I got this grand idea that I could somehow be John Cleese. That was my overriding passion from my mid-teens. Cleese had grown up in Weston-Super-Mare, not far from Bristol where I grew up, and he was tall and he was very funny and very British and it’s almost like I thought ‘well if they want tall people from the west country I can do that.'"

Places

; In space * Seven

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

s are named after Monty Python or its members: 9617 Grahamchapman, 9618 Johncleese, 9619 Terrygilliam, 9620 Ericidle, 9621 Michaelpalin,

9622 Terryjones 96 may refer to: * 96 (number) * one of the years 96 BC, AD 96, 1996, 2096, etc. Places * Ninety Six, South Carolina * Ninety-Six District, a former judicial district in the Carolinas, USA * Ninety Six National Historic Site, in Ninety Six, Sou ...

, and 13681 Monty Python. * In 2010, the commercial space company

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

launched a wheel of cheese into

low earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

and returned it safely to Earth on

COTS Demo Flight 1 SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1 was the first orbital spaceflight of the Dragon cargo spacecraft, and the second overall flight of the Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by SpaceX. It was also the first demonstration flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital ...

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...

, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, said this was done as a tribute to Monty Python. ;Terrestrial * After John Cleese spoke negatively about the town of

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

in New Zealand, recommending it as a good place to commit suicide, the town renamed a compost heap "Mt. Cleese".

"Pythonesque"

Among the more visible cultural influences of Monty Python is the inclusion of terms either directly from, or derived from, Monty Python, into the lexicon of the English language. * The most obvious of these is the term " Pythonesque", which has become a byword in

surreal humour Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayals of surrea ...

, and is included in standard dictionaries. Terry Jones commented on his disappointment at the existence of such a term, claiming the initial aim of Monty Python was to create something new and impossible to categorise, and "the fact that Pythonesque is now a word in the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' shows the extent to which we failed". * The term has been applied to animations similar to those constructed by Gilliam (e.g., the cut-out style of '' South Park'', whose creators have often acknowledged a debt to Python, including contributing material to the aforementioned 30th-anniversary theme night). * ''

Good Eats ''Good Eats'' is an American television cooking show, created and hosted by Alton Brown, which aired in North America on Food Network and later Cooking Channel. Likened to television science educators Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye, Brown explores the ...

'' creator

Alton Brown Alton Crawford Brown Jr. (born July 30, 1962) is an American television personality, food show presenter, chef, author, voice actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show ''Good Eats'' that ran for ...

cited Python as one of the influences that shaped how he created the series, as well as how he authors the script for each episode. Later episodes included Gilliam-style animations to illustrate key points. * Film critic

Robbie Collin Robbie Collin is a British film critic. Collin studied aesthetics and the philosophy of film at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He edited the university's student newspaper, '' The Saint''. Collin has been the chief film critic at ''The D ...

writes, "You can find the Pythonesque everywhere in cinema. Most successful Hollywood comedies bear some kind of Python-print. The ''

Austin Powers ''Austin Powers'' is a series of American spy action comedy films: '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997), '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) and ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002). The films were produced an ...

'' series chugs along on Pythonisms. Then there are

Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948) is an American-British screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian. Guest is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed, and starred in ...

's mockumentaries, such as ''Waiting for Guffman'' and ''Best in Show'', which revel in the quiet absurdity of the everyday—well-staked-out Python territory. And there's a tensile weirdness in the films of

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

that's also deeply Pythonesque."

TV

The Japanese

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series, ''

Girls und Panzer , abbreviated as ''GuP'' or ''Garupan'' , is a Japanese anime franchise created by Actas which depicts a competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport. The series was directed by Tsutomu ...

'', featured the special episode, "Survival War!", which referenced the 'Spam' sketch, but the word "spam" was censored to avoid legal issue with the Pythons.

Things named after Monty Python

Beyond a dictionary definition, Python terms have entered the

lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...

in other ways. Monty Python Live 02-07-14 13 04 42 (14598710791)

* The term "

spam Spam may refer to: * Spam (food), a canned pork meat product * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ** Messaging spam, spam targeting users of instant messaging ( ...

" in reference to bulk, unsolicited email is derived from the show's 1970 " Spam" sketch. As the waitress recites the Spam-filled menu, a chorus of

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

patrons drown out all conversations with a song, repeating "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam… Spammity Spam! Wonderful Spam!". * The

Python programming language Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability with the use of significant indentation. Python is dynamically-typed and garbage-collected. It supports multiple programming p ...

Guido van Rossum Guido van Rossum (; born 31 January 1956) is a Dutch programmer best known as the creator of the Python programming language, for which he was the " benevolent dictator for life" (BDFL) until he stepped down from the position on 12 July 20 ...

is named after the troupe, and Monty Python references are often found in sample code created for that language. The default

integrated development environment An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source code editor, build automation tools a ...

of the programming language is named

IDLE Idle generally refers to idleness, a lack of motion or energy. Idle or ''idling'', may also refer to: Technology * Idle (engine), engine running without load ** Idle speed * Idle (CPU), CPU non-utilisation or low-priority mode ** Synchronous ...

, an alternative one is named

eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

, both in honour of Eric Idle. Additionally, a 2001

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

joke by van Rossum and

Larry Wall Larry Arnold Wall (born September 27, 1954) is an American computer programmer and author. He created the Perl programming language. Personal life Wall grew up in Los Angeles and then Bremerton, Washington, before starting higher education at S ...

involving the merger of Python with

Perl Perl is a family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages. "Perl" refers to Perl 5, but from 2000 to 2019 it also referred to its redesigned "sister language", Perl 6, before the latter's name was offici ...

was dubbed "Parrot" after the Dead Parrot sketch. The name "Parrot" was later used for a project to develop a virtual machine for running

bytecode Bytecode (also called portable code or p-code) is a form of instruction set designed for efficient execution by a software interpreter. Unlike human-readable source code, bytecodes are compact numeric codes, constants, and references (norma ...

for interpreted languages such as Perl and Python. Its package index is also known as the "Cheese Shop" after the sketch of the same name. There is also a python refactoring tool called bicyclerepair named after

Bicycle Repair Man ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' is a British Surreal humour, surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known as "Monty Python", for BBC ...

sketch. * In 1985, a fossil of a previously unknown species of gigantic prehistoric snake from the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

was discovered in Riversleigh, Queensland, Australia. The Australian

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

who discovered the fossil snake was a Monty Python fan, and he gave the snake the

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

name of ''

Montypythonoides ''Morelia'' is a genus of large snakes in the family Pythonidae found in Indonesia, New Guinea, and throughout Australia. Currently, up to eight species are recognized. In general, these snakes are arboreal to semiarboreal, spending much of thei ...

riversleighensis'' in honour of the Monty Python team. * In 2006,

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...

, known for their "celebrity flavours", introduced to the line-up "Vermonty Python", a coffee liqueur ice cream with a chocolate cookie crumb swirl and fudge cows. The name "Minty Python" had been suggested before in 1996 in a contest to select the quintessential British ice cream flavour. * In 1999, in connection with the group's 30th anniversary, a beer named "Holy Grail Ale" was released by the Black Sheep Brewery in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. * The endangered

Bemaraha woolly lemur The Bemaraha woolly lemur (''Avahi cleesei''), also known as Cleese's woolly lemur, is a species of woolly lemur native to western Madagascar, named after John Cleese. The first scientist to discover the species named it after Cleese, star of Mon ...

(''Avahi cleesei'') is named after John Cleese. * Geneticists discovered a mutant gene which caused mutant flies to live twice as long as normal ones. They dubbed the gene "Indy," which is an acronym for the line of dialogue: "I'm not dead yet!", from the film '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. * The band

Toad the Wet Sprocket Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, w ...

took its name from the Rock Notes sketch on the comedy album, ''

''.

World records

Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 27 13 (14415368570)

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Cáceres, Alcoy, Aragon and Catalonia. Sa ...

, 23 April 2007, the cast and creators of ''Spamalot'' gathered in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

under the tutelage of the two Terrys (Jones and Gilliam) to set a new record for the world's largest coconut orchestra. They led 5,567 people "clip-clopping" in time to the Python classic, " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", for the ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' attempt. On 5 October 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of Monty Python's first show, the "first official Monty Python Guinness world record attempt" tried to break the record for "the largest gathering of people dressed as

." A recurring character on the show, a Gumby wears a handkerchief on their head, has spectacles, braces, a knitted tank top, and wellington boots. The shirt sleeves and trouser legs are always rolled up, exposing their socks and knees. Dimwitted, their most famous catchphrases are "My brain hurts!" and repeated shouts of "Hello!" and "Sorry!".

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:300 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1969 till:01/09/2015 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:bass value:red id:lguitar value:orange id:kboards value:yellow id:drums value:green id:Vocals value:pink id:Vocal value:purple id:Ad value:purple id:Ads value:purple id:fix value:blue id:Lines value:black legend:Films id:Lines2 value:gray(0.75) legend:Reunions id:Lines3 value:gray(0.5) legend:Live Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1969 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1969 BarData = bar:Graham text:"Graham Chapman" bar:John text:"John Cleese" bar:Eric text:"Eric Idle" bar:Michael text:"Michael Palin" bar:TerryJ text:"Terry Jones" bar:TerryG text:"Terry Gilliam" bar:Carol text:"Carol Cleveland" bar:Neil text:"Neil Innes" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Eric from:01/01/1969 till:21/04/1983 color:bass bar:Eric from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/1989 color:bass bar:Eric from:01/01/1998 till:01/06/1998 color:bass bar:Eric from:01/05/2002 till:01/05/2003 color:bass bar:Eric from:01/06/2009 till:01/02/2010 color:bass bar:Eric from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2014 color:bass bar:Eric from:01/03/2015 till:01/09/2015 color:bass bar:Michael from:01/01/1969 till:21/04/1983 color:lguitar bar:Michael from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/1989 color:lguitar bar:Michael from:01/01/1998 till:31/12/1999 color:lguitar bar:Michael from:01/05/2002 till:01/05/2003 color:lguitar bar:Michael from:01/06/2012 till:31/12/2012 color:lguitar bar:Michael from:01/06/2009 till:01/02/2010 color:lguitar bar:Michael from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2014 color:lguitar bar:Michael from:01/03/2015 till:01/09/2015 color:lguitar bar:TerryJ from:01/01/1969 till:21/04/1983 color:kboards bar:TerryJ from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/1989 color:kboards bar:TerryJ from:01/01/1998 till:31/12/1999 color:kboards bar:TerryJ from:01/05/2002 till:01/05/2003 color:kboards bar:TerryJ from:01/06/2012 till:31/12/2012 color:kboards bar:TerryJ from:01/06/2009 till:01/02/2010 color:kboards bar:TerryJ from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2014 color:kboards bar:TerryJ from:01/03/2015 till:01/09/2015 color:kboards bar:TerryG from:01/01/1969 till:21/04/1983 color:drums bar:TerryG from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/1989 color:drums bar:TerryG from:01/01/1998 till:31/12/1999 color:drums bar:TerryG from:01/05/2002 till:01/05/2003 color:drums bar:TerryG from:01/06/2012 till:31/12/2012 color:drums bar:TerryG from:01/06/2009 till:01/02/2010 color:drums bar:TerryG from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2014 color:drums bar:TerryG from:01/03/2015 till:01/09/2015 color:drums bar:John from:01/01/1969 till:01/10/1973 color:fix bar:John from:02/10/1974 till:21/04/1983 color:fix bar:John from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/1989 color:fix bar:John from:01/01/1998 till:31/12/1999 color:fix bar:John from:01/06/2012 till:31/12/2012 color:fix bar:John from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2014 color:fix bar:John from:01/03/2015 till:01/09/2015 color:fix bar:Graham from:01/01/1969 till:21/04/1983 color:vocal bar:Graham from:01/01/1989 till:04/10/1989 color:vocal bar:Carol from:01/01/1969 till:21/04/1983 color:vocals bar:Carol from:01/06/1999 till:31/12/1999 color:vocals bar:Carol from:01/05/2002 till:01/05/2003 color:vocals bar:Carol from:01/06/2009 till:01/02/2010 color:vocals bar:Carol from:01/06/2012 till:31/12/2012 color:vocals bar:Carol from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2014 color:vocals bar:Neil from:01/01/1974 till:01/06/1980 color:vocals bar:Neil from:01/05/2002 till:01/05/2003 color:vocals LineData = at:28/09/1971 color:black layer:back at:09/04/1975 color:black layer:back at:17/08/1979 color:black layer:back at:31/03/1983 color:black layer:back at:08/09/2012 color:black layer:back at:01/06/2015 color:black layer:back at:01/07/1989 color:lines2 layer:back at:31/03/1998 color:lines2 layer:back at:08/10/1999 color:lines2 layer:back at:28/11/2002 color:lines2 layer:back at:23/10/2009 color:lines2 layer:back at:10/07/2014 color:lines2 layer:back at:01/06/1970 color:Lines3 layer:back at:01/06/1971 color:Lines3 layer:back at:01/06/1972 color:Lines3 layer:back at:01/06/1973 color:Lines3 layer:back at:01/06/1974 color:Lines3 layer:back at:01/06/1976 color:Lines3 layer:back at:01/06/1980 color:Lines3 layer:back at:10/07/2014 color:Lines3 layer:back

Media

Television

;'' Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (1969–74) :The show that started the Python phenomenon, see also

List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' is a British Surreal humour, surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known as "Monty Python", for BBC ...

. ;''

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus ''Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus'' (''Monty Python's Flying Circus'') are a pair of 45-minute Monty Python German television comedy specials produced by WDR for West German television. The two episodes were respectively first broadcast in Janua ...

'' (1972) :Two 45-minute specials were made by WDR for West German television. The first was recorded in German, while the second was in English with German

dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...

. ;'' Monty Python's Personal Best'' (2006) :Six one-hour specials, each episode presenting the best of one member's work.

Films

Five Monty Python productions were released as theatrical films: ;''

'' (1971) :A collection of sketches from the first and second TV series of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' re-enacted and shot for film. ;'' Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1975) :King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering humorous obstacles along the way. Some of these turned into stand-alone sketches. ;''

'' (1979) :Brian is born on the first Christmas, in the stable next to Jesus'. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah. ;'' Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' (1982) :A videotape recording directed by Terry Hughes of a live performance of sketches, it was originally intended for a TV/video special. It was transferred to 35 mm and given a

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

in the US. ;''

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'', also known simply as ''The Meaning of Life'', is a 1983 British musical sketch comedy film written and performed by the Monty Python troupe, directed by Terry Jones. ''The Meaning of Life'' was the last f ...

'' (1983) :An examination of the meaning of life in a series of sketches from conception to death and beyond.

Albums

* ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known ...

'' (1970) * ''

Another Monty Python Record ''Another Monty Python Record'' is the second album produced by the Monty Python comedy group, released in 1971. Dissatisfied with their monaural BBC debut album released the previous year, the group took full control of the follow-up, which w ...

'' (1971) * ''

Monty Python's Previous Record ''Monty Python's Previous Record'' is the third album by Monty Python. Released in 1972, it marked the group's first collaborations with regular sound engineer Andre Jacquemin as well as musician Neil Innes, who had previously appeared with fu ...

'' (1972) * ''

The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief ''The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief'' is the fourth album by the comedy group Monty Python, released in 1973. Most of the material was newly written for the album along with a handful of sketches from the third series of ''Flying Ci ...

'' (1973) * ''

Monty Python Live at Drury Lane ''Monty Python Live at Drury Lane'' is a live album released by Monty Python in 1974. It was recorded on the final night of their four-week run at the Drury Lane Theatre in London earlier that year and edited onto disc with new studio linking ...

'' (1974) * ''

The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail ''The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' is the first film soundtrack album by Monty Python, released in 1975. It features selected scenes from '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' intersperse ...

'' (1975) * ''

Monty Python Live at City Center ''Monty Python Live at City Center'' is a US-only live album by Monty Python, recorded at the New York City Center in April 1976 and rush released by Arista Records the following month. In order to get the album out in the shops quickly, the reco ...

'' (1976) * '' The Monty Python Instant Record Collection'' (1977) * ''

'' (1979) * ''Monty Python Examines The Life of Brian'' (promo) (1979) * ''

'' (1980) * '' The Monty Python Instant Record Collection'' (US version) (1981) * ''

'' (1983) * ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life: Audio Press Kit'' (promo) (1983) * '' The Final Rip Off'' (1987) * ''

Monty Python Sings ''Monty Python Sings'' is a compilation album of songs by English comedy troupe Monty Python. Released in 1989 to celebrate their 20th anniversary, it contains popular songs from their previous albums and films. The album was dedicated to the me ...

'' (1989) * '' The Ultimate Monty Python Rip Off'' (1994) * ''

Again'' (2014) * ''

The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album ''Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck'' is the name of a bootleg of an unreleased album by Monty Python, mostly made up of outtakes from the 1980 sessions for their ''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album, Contractual Obligation Album' ...

'' (unreleased)

Theatre

;''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' : Between 1974 and 1980 (''Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' was released in 1982, but was performed in 1980), the Pythons made three sketch-based stage shows, comprising mainly material from the original television series. ;''

Monty Python's Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion picture ...

'' : Written by Idle and directed by

, with music and lyrics by

John Du Prez John Du Prez (born Trevor Jones; 14 December 1946) is a British musician, conductor and composer. He was a member of the 1980s salsa-driven pop band Modern Romance and has since written several film scores including ''Oxford Blues'' (1984), '' ...

and Idle, it starred

, and

; ''Spamalot'' is a musical adaptation of the film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. It ran in Chicago from 21 December 2004 to 23 January 2005, and began performances on Broadway on 17 March 2005. It won three

s. It was one of eight UK musicals commemorated on

Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...

stamps, issued in February 2011. ;'' Not the Messiah'' : the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

commissioned Idle and John Du Prez to write the music and lyrics of an oratorio based on ''Monty Python's Life of Brian''. Entitled ''Not the Messiah'', it had its world premiere as part of Luminato, a "festival of arts and creativity" taking place 1–10 June 2007 in

, Ontario, Canada. ''Not the Messiah'' was conducted by

Peter Oundjian Peter Oundjian (born 21 December 1955) is a Canadian-American violinist and conductor. Early life Born in Toronto, Ontario, as the youngest of five children from an Armenian father and English mother, Oundjian also claims Scottish ancestry throug ...

, music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, who is Idle's cousin. It was performed by a narrator, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with guest soloists and choir. According to Idle, "I promise it will be funnier than

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

, though probably not as good". ; ''

Monty Python Live ''Monty Python Live'' is a two-disc DVD set featuring three TV specials and a live concert film of the British comedy group Monty Python. The set includes: * ''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' * ''Parrot Sketch Not Included – 20 Year ...

'': One Down, Five to Go : (1–5, 15–16, 18–20 July 2014). The Pythons have stated this is the last live reunion of the remaining members of Monty Python. Held at London's O₂ Arena, tickets for the first night's show sold out in 43 seconds. The set list included a mix of live performances of their most popular sketches, clips from their shows, and elaborate dance numbers. Each night featured a different celebrity "victim" of the "Blackmail" sketch. The final show was screened to 2,000 cinemas around the world.

Books

Books by Monty Python * ''

Monty Python's Big Red Book ''Monty Python's Big Red Book'' is a humour book comprising mostly material derived and reworked from the first two series of the ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' BBC television series. Edited by Eric Idle, it was first published in the UK in 1971 ...

'' (1971) . * ''

The Brand New Monty Python Bok ''The Brand New Monty Python Bok'' was the second book to be published by the British comedy troupe Monty Python. Edited by Eric Idle, it was published by Methuen Publishing, Methuen Books in 1973 and contained more print-style comic pieces than th ...

'' (1973) . * ''The Fairly Incomplete & Rather Badly Illustrated Monty Python Song Book'' (1994) Script books * ''

Monty Python and the Holy Grail ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' is a 1975 British comedy film satirizing the Arthurian legend, written and performed by the Monty Python comedy group (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) an ...

'' (1977) . * ''

Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK ''Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK'' is a large format book by Monty Python, released in 1979 to tie in with their film ''Monty Python's Life of Brian''. As the title suggests, it consists of two separate books joined togeth ...

'' (1979, plus script-only reprint) . * ''

'' (1983) . * ''Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words'' Volume 1 (1989) . * ''Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words'' Volume 2 (1989) . * ''Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus'' (edited by Alfred Biolek) (1998) Compilations * ''The Complete Works of Shakespeare and Monty Python. Volume One – Monty Python'' (1981) . * ''The Monty Python Gift Boks'' (1986) * ''A Pocketful of Python Volume 1'' (edited by Terry Jones) (1999) * ''A Pocketful of Python Volume 2'' (edited by John Cleese) (1999) * ''A Pocketful of Python Volume 3'' (edited by Terry Gilliam) (2000) * ''A Pocketful of Python Volume 4'' (edited by Michael Palin) (2000) * ''A Pocketful of Python Volume 5'' (edited by Eric Idle) (2002) Books about Monty Python by Pythons * ''Monty Python Speaks!'' (edited by David Morgan) (1999) * ''

'' (edited by Bob McCabe) (2003, plus various reformatted editions) * ''Monty Python Live!'' (2009) * ''Monty Python at Work'' (by Michael Palin, compilation of republished diary entries) (2014) * ''So, Anyway'' ... (by John Cleese, Autobiography to age 30) (2014) * ''Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'' (by Eric Idle, Autobiography) (2018) . Other books about Monty Python * ''Monty Python: The Case Against'' (by Robert Hewison) (1981)

Games

* ''

'' (1990) a computer game released by

Virgin Games Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westwoo ...

for 8-bit systems such as the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

and the

Sinclair ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colour ...

, and for the 32-bit

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

* ''

Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time ''Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time'' is a collection of minigames, screensavers, desktop wallpaper and icons for Mac OS System 7 and Windows released in 1994 by 7th Level, Inc. It was brought on board the Mir Space Station by astronaut An ...

'' (1994) released by 7th Level for PC / Mac / DOS * '' Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail'' (1996), official game released by 7th Level * ''

'' (1997), also released by 7th Level. * ''Python-opoly'' (2007), a Monty Python-themed property game released by Toy Vault Inc. * ''Monty Python Fluxx'' (2008), a card game released by Looney Labs * '' Monty Python's Cow Tossing'' (2011), a smartphone game. * ''The Ministry of Silly Walks'' (2014), a smartphone game

References

External links

* * * *
Monty Python
nbsp;– Official YouTube page

nbsp;– photo essay by ''TIME'' magazine
2014 interview on return to live shows

Monty Python on youtube
{{Authority control British comedy troupes British television comedy British surrealist artists British surrealist writers Surreal comedy Surrealist groups Virgin Records artists Arista Records artists BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award European Film Awards winners (people) Charisma Records artists 1969 establishments in England 1983 disestablishments in England British comedy musicians British satirists British parodists British novelty song performers Black comedy Religious comedy and humour

Before ''Flying Circus''

''Monty Python's Flying Circus''

Development of the series

Style of the show

Introduction to North America and the world

Departure of Cleese

Life beyond the ''Flying Circus''

Filmography

''And Now for Something Completely Different'' (1971)

''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1975)

''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979)

''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' (1982)

''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983)

''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit shows

Going solo

After ''Python'' reunions

''Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go''

Python members

Graham Chapman

John Cleese

Terry Gilliam

Eric Idle

Terry Jones

Michael Palin

Associate Pythons

Other contributors

Cultural influence and legacy

Comedy stylists

Places

"Pythonesque"

TV

Things named after Monty Python

World records

Timeline

Media

Television

Films

Albums

Theatre

Books

Games

See also

References

Further reading

External links