| Monty
Python |
The Python team
Back row: Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam.
Front row: Terry Jones, John Cleese, Michael Palin |
| Medium |
Television, Film, Theatre,
Audio Recordings Books |
| Nationality |
British (5 members)
British, formerly American (1 member)[1] |
| Years active |
1969-1989 |
| Genres |
Sketch comedy, Surreal humour |
| Influences |
The Goons, Spike Milligan |
| Influenced |
Virtually all of later British comedy; Douglas
Adams and Eddie Izzard are widely seen as their most direct heirs. |
| Notable works and roles |
Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-1974)
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)
|
| Members |
Graham Chapman
John Cleese
Terry Gilliam
Eric Idle
Terry Jones
Michael Palin |
| Website |
PythOnline |
Monty Python, or The Pythons, is the collective name of the creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British
television comedy sketch
show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October
1969. A total of 45 episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the original television series into something much
larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, five theatrically-released films,
numerous albums, several books and a spin-off stage musical, and
launching the members on to individual stardom.
The television series, broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974, was conceived, written and
performed by Graham Chapman, John Cleese,
Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a
sketch show but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach (aided by Terry Gilliam's animations), it pushed the boundaries of what was then considered acceptable, both in terms of style and
content.
The group's influence on comedy has often been compared to The Beatles' influence on
music.[2][3] A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing
their work, they changed the way performers entertained audiences. The Pythons' creative control allowed them to experiment with
form and content, discarding the established rules of television comedy. Their influence on British comedy of all kinds has been
apparent for many years, while in America it has coloured the work of many cult
performers from the early editions of Saturday Night Live through to more
recent absurdist trends in television comedy. 'Pythonesque' has entered the English lexicon as a
result.
There are differing accounts 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 the group implied that 'Monty' was selected as a
gently-mocking tribute to Field Marshal Lord Montgomery, a legendary British general of World War II; 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. These explanations aside, some believe[attribution needed] that 'Monty Bodkin', the name of a character in several books by humourist P.
G. Wodehouse, served on some level as an inspiration.
In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, three of the six members were voted
among the top 50 greatest comedians ever, by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Palin was at number 30, Idle was voted 21st
and Cleese was at two, just beaten to the top by Peter Cook.
Before Monty Python
Cleese and Chapman in
At Last the 1948 Show.
Palin and Jones first met at Oxford University, while Cleese and Chapman met at
Cambridge. Idle was also at Cambridge, but started a year after Cleese and
Chapman. Cleese met Gilliam in New York while on tour with the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus (originally entitled A Clump of Plinths).
Chapman, Cleese and Idle were all members of the Footlights, which at that time also included the future Goodies—Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill
Oddie and Graeme Garden—as well as Jonathan
Lynn (co-writer of Yes Minister and Yes,
Prime Minister). During the time of Idle's presidency of the Club, feminist writer
Germaine Greer and broadcaster Clive James were also
members. Recordings of Footlights revues (called "Smokers") at Pembroke
College include sketches and performances by Idle and Cleese. They are currently kept in the archives of the
Pembroke Players, along with tapes of Idle's performances in some of the college drama
society's theatrical productions.
Variously, the Python members appeared in or wrote, or both, for the following shows before being united for Monty Python's
Flying Circus. In particular, The Frost Report is credited as first uniting
the British Pythons and providing an environment in which they could develop their particular styles:
Several of these also featured other important British comedy writers or performers, or both, including Ronnie Corbett, Ronnie Barker, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden,
Bill Oddie, Marty Feldman, Jonathan Lynn,
David Jason and David Frost.
Following the success of Do Not Adjust Your Set (originally intended to be a children's programme) with the adult
demographic, ITV offered Palin, Jones, Idle and Gilliam their
own series together. At the same time Cleese and Chapman were offered a show by the BBC, having 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 personality. Cleese had fond memories of working with
Palin and invited him to join the team. With the ITV series still in pre-production Palin agreed and suggested the involvement of
his writing partner Jones and colleague Idle—who in turn suggested that Gilliam could 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.[4]
Flying Circus and the Python style
Terry Gilliam's
Beware of the Elephants animation
The Pythons had a very definite idea about what they wanted to do with the series. They were all great admirers of the work of
Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore on Beyond the Fringe, and had worked on Frost, which was similar in style. They also enjoyed
Cook and Moore's sketch show Not Only... But Also. However, one problem the
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
quality of the sketch. 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, recording his new series Q5 (1969). Not only was the programme more irreverent and anarchic than any previous television
comedy, Milligan 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 somewhat less original, and Jones in particular became determined the Pythons
should innovate further.
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, it was Jones, Palin and Gilliam who
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 stream-of-consciousness (often using a Gilliam animation to move from the closing
image of one sketch to the opening scene of another).
Each day of writing started at 9am and finished at 5pm. Typically, Cleese and Chapman worked as one pair of writers isolated
from the others, as did Jones and Palin, while Idle wrote alone. After a few days of working in this configuration, they would
all join together with Gilliam, critique their scripts and exchange ideas. Their approach to writing was democratic. If the majority found the idea to be humorous, it would be 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 desperate for screen time. When the themes for sketches were finally chosen,
Gilliam had carte blanche to decide how to bridge them with animations, armed with his
camera, scissors, and airbrush.
While the show was a collaborative process, different factions within Python were clearly responsible for different elements
of the team's humour. In general, the work of the Oxford-educated members was more visual, and more fanciful conceptually (e.g.
the arrival of the Spanish Inquisition 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 ends up
intimidating or hurling abuse at another, or Idle's characters with bizarre verbal quirks, such as The Man Who Speaks In
Anagrams). Asked about this, Cleese has 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."[5] Gilliam's animations, meanwhile, 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 bandied about before the title Monty Python's Flying Circus was settled upon. Some of
the more memorable were "Owl Stretching Time", "The Toad Elevating Moment", "Vaseline Review" and "Bun,
Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot". "Flying Circus" stuck when the BBC explained to the group that it had already printed
that name in its schedules and was not prepared to amend it, leaving the Pythons no choice in the matter. Many variations then
came and went. 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. Barry Took's Flying
Circus (also Baron Von Took's Flying Circus) was an affectionate tribute to the man who had brought them together.
Arthur Megapode's Flying Circus was suggested, then discarded. Cleese then added "Python", liking the image of a slippery,
sly individual that it conjured up. The specific origin of "Monty" is somewhat confused (see above).
Graham Chapman as the Colonel
Flying Circus pioneered some innovative formal techniques, such as the cold open, in
which an episode began without the traditional opening titles or announcements.[6] An example of this is the "It's" man: Palin in Robinson Crusoe 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 and the
theme song. On several occasions the cold open would last until mid show, after
which the regular opening titles would run. Occasionally the Pythons would attempt to trick viewers by rolling the
closing credits 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. They also
experimented with ending segments by cutting abruptly to another scene or animation, walking offstage, addressing the camera
(breaking the fourth wall), or introducing a totally unrelated event or character. A classic
example of this approach was the use of Chapman's "Colonel" character, who walked into several sketches and ordered them to be
stopped because things were becoming "far too silly." 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 would wander
on-set and hit characters over the head with a rubber chicken, before cutting to the next
scene. Another innovative way of changing scenes was when John Cleese would come in as a
radio commentator and say "And now for something completely different"
The Monty Python theme music is "Liberty Bell" march composed by
John Philip Sousa. It was not the Pythons' first choice, but the available recording
from the BBC archives was in the public domain and therefore free.[6]
The use of Gilliam's surreal, collage stop motion 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
engravings. 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 masterpiece Venus, Cupid, Folly, and
Time by Bronzino. This foot, and Gilliam's style in general, have come to be
considered the visual trademarks of the series.
The Pythons built on and extended the great British tradition of cross-dressing
comedy. Rather than dressing a man as a woman purely for comic effect, the (entirely male) Python team would write humorous parts
for women, then don frocks and makeup and play the roles themselves. Thus a scene requiring a housewife would feature one of the
male Pythons wearing a housecoat and apron, speaking in falsetto. While this accentuated the humour, it was not, in itself, the
joke (had a woman played the role, the lines would have had the same comic effect). Generally speaking, female roles were only
played by a real woman (usually Carol Cleveland) when the scene specifically required
that the character be sexually attractive. In some episodes and the later Monty
Python's Life of Brian they took the idea one step further by playing women who impersonated men.
Many of the sketches have become extremely well-known outside the hardcore of Python fans, and are still widely quoted to this
day. "The Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song",
"Spam", "Nudge Nudge", "The Spanish Inquisition", "Upper
Class Twit of the Year", "Four Yorkshiremen sketch", "Cheese Shop" and "The Ministry of Silly Walks"
are just a few examples.
Life after the Flying Circus
The end of Flying Circus
Having considered the possibility at the end of the second series, Cleese finally left the Flying Circus at the end of
Series Three. He claimed he felt he was merely repeating himself, that he had nothing fresh to offer the show and that many of
his sketches in the third series were merely rewrites of his earlier work. He was also finding Chapman, who was at that point in
the full throes of alcoholism, increasingly difficult to work with. According to an interview with Eric Idle "it was on an Air
Canada flight on the way to Vancouver, 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."[7] Cleese said in an interview years later that he had wanted to leave after the second series but was
talked into staying by the other Pythons. He said that he thought they did only two original sketches in the Third Series
("Dennis Moore" and the "Cheese Shop"), and that the other sketches were bits and pieces from previous work cobbled together in
slightly different contexts.[citation needed]
The rest of the group carried on for one more series (dropping the "Flying Circus" from the show's title, which became just
"Monty Python") before calling a halt to the programme in 1974. The name "Monty Python's Flying Circus" appears in the opening
animation for Series Four, but in the end credits the show is listed as simply "Monty Python". Despite Cleese's officially
leaving the group, he made a cameo appearance in the fourth series. Several episodes credit him as a co-writer since some
sketches were recycled from scenes cut from the "Holy Grail" script. While the first three series contained 13 episodes each, the
fourth was cut short at only six.
In 1975 the series was first broadcast in America and soon gained a cult following.
Ron Deveiller, an executive from PBS television station KERA in Dallas, Texas found Monty Python episodes on a shelf when searching
for programming for his station. He watched one episode, then another, and before he was done he had acquired the entire series
to put on the air. The series was eventually aired on PBS stations across the country, and by this chance event Python invaded
America. A couple of sketches ("Bicycle Repairman" and "The Dull Life of a Stockbroker") aired in 1974 on the NBC series
ComedyWorld, a summer replacement series for The Dean Martin
Show.
Films
And Now For Something Completely Different (1971)
-
DVD cover for
And Now For Something Completely Different
This was the Pythons' first feature film, composed of some of the best sketches from the first two series of the Flying
Circus, re-shot on an extremely low budget (and often slightly edited) for cinema release. Some famous sketches included are: the
"Dead Parrot" sketch, "The Lumberjack Song", "Upperclass Twits", "Hell's Grannies", and the "Nudge Nudge" sketch. Financed by
Playboy's UK executive Victor Lowndes, it was intended as a way of breaking Monty Python in
America, and although it was ultimately unsuccessful in this, the film did good business in the UK. The group did not consider
the film a success, but it enjoys a cult following today.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
-
The group (including Cleese) reformed in 1974 to write and star in their first feature film of new material. The film,
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, was based around
Arthurian Legend and directed by Jones and Gilliam, the latter also drawing the film's
linking animations and opening credits. Along with the rest of the Pythons, Jones and Gilliam performed several roles in the
film, but it was Chapman who took the lead as King Arthur. Holy Grail was filmed on a budget of nearly £150,000; this
money was raised in part with investments from rock groups such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin - and UK music industry entrepreneur Tony
Stratton-Smith (founder/owner of the Charisma Records label for which the Pythons
recorded).
DVD cover for
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The film was shot on location in Scotland, particularly around Doune Castle, Glen Coe, and the privately owned Castle Stalker. Because of the small budget, the film had to make do without horses. This led to one of
the film's most memorable running jokes, as every time the script calls for the knights to be majestically riding their steeds,
they are actually play-riding along on foot while their squires behind them bang together coconut half-shells to imitate the
sound of horses' hooves (a common radio sound effect now shown on screen for comic effect - though this joke had actually been
seen previously in a 1956 episode of A Show Called Fred, produced by
Richard Lester and starring Peter Sellers). The
German name of the movie Die Ritter der Kokosnuss is actually based on this joke, as it literally translates as The
Knights of the Coconut. The chain mail armour worn by the various knights was actually silver-painted wool, whilst the many
castles seen throughout the film were either Doune Castle shot from different angles, or cardboard models held up against the
horizon (this is used as a small joke, when Arthur and his knights arrive at Camelot, they all remark "Camelot!", then Patsy,
Arthur's squire/steed, remarks "It's only a model." to which Arthur replies "Shh!").
The filming was apparently unpleasant. The weather was poor and the "chain mail" soaked up rain; the budget only allowed for
low-quality hotels which could not provide sufficient hot water for the team to bathe every evening; Gilliam and Jones argued
with each other and with the other Pythons; and the extent of Chapman's alcoholism became apparent when he began to suffer from
delirium tremens during the filming. Terry
Gilliam later said in an interview that "everything that could go wrong did go wrong".[citation needed] The Pythons recall that the filming
of Holy Grail is the only time any of them can remember the usually amiable Palin losing his temper. This occurred when
Jones and Gilliam insisted on repeatedly re-shooting a scene in which Palin played a character called "the mud eater". The scene
was ultimately cut from the film.
The film proved a success and in 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Monty
Python and the Holy Grail the 5th greatest comedy film of all time.
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
-
DVD cover for
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Following the success of Holy Grail, a reporter asked Idle for the title of the next Python film, despite the fact that
the team had not even begun to consider a second movie. Idle flippantly replied "Jesus Christ - Lust for Glory", which became the
group's stock answer once they realised that it shut reporters up. However, they soon began to seriously consider a film
lampooning the life of Christ in the same way Holy Grail had lampooned King Arthur.
Despite being non-believers, they agreed that Jesus was “definitely a good guy” and found nothing to mock in his actual
teachings; on the other hand, they shared a distrust of organised religion, and decided to write a satire on credulity and
hypocrisy among the followers of a spurious “Messiah”.
The focus therefore shifted to a separate individual born at the same time, in the neighbouring stable, who is subsequently
mistaken for the messiah. When Jesus does appear in the film (as he does on two occasions, first in the stable, and then later
speaking the Beatitudes - Matt 5:1-48), he is played straight (by British actor Kenneth
Colley) - the comedy begins when members of the crowd mishear his statement “Blessed are the Peacemakers” (“I think he
said, 'blessed are the cheesemakers'”).
The team decided to write the script during a concentrated script-writing session over a two-week period away from the
distractions of the UK. They based themselves in the Caribbean for the writing sessions. After
the irritations of Holy Grail's unpleasant locations, they elected to shoot this film in Tunisia. In contrast to Holy Grail, many of the Pythons remember this as their most enjoyable experience
working together as a group. Impresario Bernard Delfont became nervous upon reading the
script, and abruptly withdrew funding (that he had previously agreed to provide) shortly before filming was due to commence. The
project was saved by George Harrison, who immediately set up Handmade Films to finance Brian - budgeted at that time at £5 million. He later quipped that he
did so because having read the script he simply wanted to see the film. The Pythons have joked that it is the most anyone has
ever paid for a cinema ticket.
The experiment with co-direction on Holy Grail proved to be a one-off, as it led to creative friction. Instead, Jones
was left to direct by himself. Though Cleese had originally wanted to play Brian, the rest of the group favoured Chapman, having
been impressed by the “noble” quality he brought to his portrayal of King Arthur (they were also conscious that Cleese's
performance as Reg had been the highlight of the read-throughs, and he would not have been able to play both parts). Though
Chapman only plays Brian, Biggus Dickus and one of the wisemen, the rest of the cast between them play over 40 characters.
Brian also featured brief cameos from George Harrison and Spike Milligan, who just
happened to be on holiday in Tunisia at the time; Keith Moon was also set to make a cameo
appearance but died before he could film his part.
Upon its release, Christian groups organised protests against the film, based on its perceived blasphemy, particularly in the
final scene, a comical song sung by the victims of a mass crucifixion (Idle's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"). On its initial release in the UK, the
film was banned by several town councils (some of which actually had no cinemas within their boundaries). The film was also
banned for eight years in the Republic of Ireland and for a year in Norway (it was marketed in Sweden as 'the movie that is so funny, it was banned
in Norway!'). The film was not released in Italy until 1990, eleven years after it was made. The
film was not shown in Jersey until 2001, and even then, Bailiff of Jersey Frank Ereaut's
government wanted it to be watched only by adults, even though the BBFC had rated it suitable for anyone aged 14 or over.
Mary Whitehouse and other campaigners picketed and distributed leaflets at cinemas
showing the film, ironically providing free publicity. Shortly after the film's release, Cleese and Palin appeared in a debate on
the BBC2 discussion programme Friday Night, Saturday Morning, in
which Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn
Stockwood, the Bishop of Southwark, put the case against the film. Cleese has frequently said that he enjoyed the debate,
since he felt that the film was 'completely intellectually defensible'. Appearing on the Dick Cavett show during the controversy,
Cleese said "Either these people are stupid, which they obviously are not, or they have become so enraged that they're incapable
of thinking, because they have in fact made me rich." Palin, however, was visibly angry. This discussion (and the earnest
reverence for Python among comedy fans) was famously parodied by the Not the Nine
O'Clock News, in a sketch featuring a furious debate about The General Synod's Life of Christ, a Biblical film
accused of being “a lampoon of the Comic Messiah himself - Our Lord, John Cleese.”
For their part, the Pythons have always maintained (most recently on the DVD commentary) that the film is heretical rather than blasphemous, since it mocks the practices of organised religion rather than the
God being worshipped.
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
-
Poster for
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Python's final film returned to something closer to the style of Flying Circus. A series of sketches loosely followed
the ages of man from conception to death.
Directed again by Jones, The Meaning of Life is embellished with some of Python's most bizarre and disturbing moments, as
well as various elaborate musical numbers. The film is by far their darkest work, containing a great deal of spectacular violence
and black humour: at the time of its release, the Pythons confessed their aim was to offend
"absolutely everyone". A short film by Gilliam - The Crimson Permanent
Assurance - originally planned as a sketch within the film, eventually grew so ambitious that it was cut from the movie
and used as a supporting feature in its own right (on video and DVD, and also in television screenings, this section is tagged
onto the start of the film as a prologue).
Though a commercial and critical success, The Meaning of Life is generally not regarded as being of the same quality as
its predecessors. Many feel that it lacks the structure of Holy Grail and Life of Brian. Idle claims it was just
"one re-write away from being perfect". The Pythons had originally wanted to do one final re-write introducing one lead character
(along the lines of Arthur or Brian) who could be followed through the ages of man. However, Cleese refused as he had grown tired
of the already protracted writing process for the film.
Crucially, this was the last project that all six Pythons would collaborate on, except for the 1989 compilation
Parrot Sketch Not Included where we see the
Python cast sitting in a closet for 4 seconds - which would also be the last time Chapman was filmed on screen with the rest of
the Pythons.
Python involvement in the Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows
Various members of Monty Python have contributed their services to multiple charitable endeavors and causes over the years -
sometimes as an ensemble - at other times as individual members. The cause that has been the most frequent and consistent
beneficiary of Monty Python's generosity has been the human rights work of Amnesty International. Between 1976 and 1981, the troupe and/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. These benefit shows 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 organization of their own benefit events to the
inspiration of the work in this field of Monty Python are U2,
Bob Geldof, Pete Townshend and Sting. The shows are also credited by Amnesty with helping the organization develop public awareness in the USA
where one of the spin-off films was a major success.
Two of the six Pythons - Cleese and Jones - had an involvement (as performer, writer and/or director) in all four Amnesty
benefit shows. Palin was involved in three, Chapman in two and Gilliam in one. Eric Idle did not participate in any of the
Amnesty shows. Notwithstanding Idle's lack of participation - the other five members (together with two "Associate Pythons" -
Carol Cleveland and Neil Innes - all appeared
together in the first Secret Policeman's Ball benefit - the 1976 A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick) performing several Python sketches and
in this first show, they were collectively billed as Monty Python. (Peter Cook
deputized for the errant Eric Idle in one major sketch The Courtroom). 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. After a six-year break, Amnesty resumed producing Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows in 1987 (sometimes with,
and sometimes without variants of the iconic title) and by 2006 had presented a total of twelve such shows. The shows since 1987
have featured newer generations of British comedic performers - including many who have attributed 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 - but apart from that, the Python members have not appeared in any of the shows after the legendary first four
shows.)
Going solo
Each member pursued other film and television projects after the break-up of the group, but often continued to work with one
another. Many of these collaborations were very successful, such as Fawlty Towers
(written by and starring Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth), and A Fish Called Wanda (1988) (also written by Cleese, and in which he starred along with Palin).
The latter pair also appeared in Time Bandits (1981), a film written by Gilliam and
Palin, and directed by Gilliam. Gilliam also directed and co-wrote Brazil (1985)
and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), which featured
Palin and Idle respectively. Gilliam has now become a cult director; he often struggles to find the money for his work because
his films tend to go over-budget and fail at the box-office. Palin and Jones wrote the comedic film series Ripping Yarns, starring Palin with an assortment of British actors. Palin's BBC travel series have
also proved extremely popular as have Jones' historical documentaries. In terms of numbers of productions, John Cleese has had
the most prolific solo career, having appeared in 59 theatrical films, 22 TV shows or series (including Cheers, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Will & Grace), 23 direct-to-video productions, six video games, and a number of
commercials.[8] Idle enjoyed critical success with
Rutland Weekend Television in the mid-70s and as an actor in
Nuns on the Run (1990) with Robbie
Coltrane. He also had a UK #3 single with "Always Look on the
Bright Side of Life."
Post-Python reunions
The Pythons' last full work together as an ensemble was the film The Meaning of Life in 1983. Since then, they have
often been the subject of reunion rumours. The final reunion of all six members occurred during the Parrot Sketch Not Included - 20 Years of Monty Python special. The
death of Chapman in 1989 (on the eve of their 20th anniversary) seemed to put an end to the speculation of any further reunions.
However there have been several occasions since 1989 when the surviving five members have gathered together for appearances -
albeit not formal reunions.
In 1998 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 (hosted by
