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©Python (Monty) Pictures Ltd.
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Sundays at 10pm
Arguably one of the most influential comedy series ever, and certainly one of the most surreal, Monty Python's Flying Circus first launched in 1969 and, one ridiculous skit after another, revolutionized television comedy. It was the series that launched a thousand -- no, ten million -- male bonding moments.
Wikipedia has a lengthy entry on Flying Circus, including some wonderful trivia: The Beatles were fans of Monty Python; while filming, the cast stayed at a hotel that inspired John Cleese to write Fawlty Towers; and other BBC programs repeatedly spoofed Monty Python style. The BBC's Flying Circus site also has some great background.
At the official Monty Python site, check out the stars' biographies, sign up for the newsletter, and find out what the Python alums are up to.
And now for something completely different...
What else have the cast members done? Find out on the Internet Movie Database:
- John Cleese just might have the longest bio in the Internet Movie Database. Most recently in his incredibly prolific career, he's pursued lemurs in Madagascar, explained wine to idiots, played King Harold in Shrek the Third, and, most appropriately, gone nearly headless in the Harry Potter films.
- Terry Gilliam, the only American-born member of the group, created the zaney animations that were a Flying Circus hallmark. He also wrote the screenplay for Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and penned Brazil with Tom Stoppard.
- Erik Idle has voiced numerous animated characters, including Merlin in Shrek the Third, Declan Desmond on The Simpsons, and Dr. Vosknocker on South Park.
- Terry Jones has written for TV, film, newspapers, and even children's books. He's also an historian and wrote and hosted a series called Terry Jones' Medieval Lives which challenged traditional notions, even myths, about the medieval period. (Arthur's knights, for example, did not go around the countryside clonking coconuts.)
- Michael Palin has made his mark in recent years with numerous public broadcasting travel documentaries including Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventures and Himalaya with Michael Palin.
- Sadly, Graham Chapman died in 1989 of throat cancer.
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