View source for Monty Python

{{Short description|British surreal comedy group}}
{{About|the comedy group|their TV show frequently called Monty Python|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}
{{Redirect|Pythonesque|the play by Roy Smiles|Pythonesque (play)}}
{{Redirect|The Pythons|the documentary film about the group|The Pythons (film)}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name        = Monty Python
| image       = Flyingcircus 2.jpg
| imagesize   = 250px
| caption     = Monty Python in 1969:<br />Back row: Chapman, Idle, Gilliam<br />Front row: Jones, Cleese, Palin
| medium      = {{flatlist|
* Television
* film
* theatre
* literature
* audio
}}
| nationality = British<ref>Gilliam was born American and obtained British citizenship in 1968. In protest at [[George W. Bush]], he renounced his American citizenship in January 2006 and is now only a British citizen.  {{citation|place=DE|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/;art772,2004101|date=10 February 2006|title=Kopflos am Potsdamer Platz|work=Der Tagesspiegel|language=de|access-date=15 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828222440/http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/;art772,2004101|archive-date=28 August 2007}}</ref>
| active = {{flatlist|
* 1969–1983
* 1989
* 1998–1999
* 2002
* 2009
* 2013–2014
}}
| genre       = {{hlist|[[Satire]]|[[surreal humour]]|[[black comedy]]|[[wordplay]]|[[wit]]|[[sketch comedy]]|[[surrealism]]}}
| current_members=
{{plainlist|
* [[Graham Chapman]]
* [[John Cleese]]
* [[Terry Gilliam]]
* [[Eric Idle]]
* [[Terry Jones]]
* [[Michael Palin]]
}}
| website     = {{URL|https://montypython.com/}}
| footnotes   =
}}

'''Monty Python''', also known as '''the Pythons''',<ref>Wilmut (1980), p. 250.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Pythons|first1=Graham|last1=Chapman|first2=Terry|last2=Gilliam|first3=John|last3=Cleese|first4=Eric|last4=Idle|first5=Terry|last5=Jones|first6=Sir Michael|last6=Palin|publisher=Orion|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7528-5293-5}}</ref> were a British [[comedy troupe]] formed in 1969 consisting of [[Graham Chapman]], [[John Cleese]], [[Terry Gilliam]], [[Eric Idle]], [[Terry Jones]] and [[Michael Palin]]. The group came to prominence for the [[sketch comedy]] television series ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', which aired on the [[BBC]] from 1969 to 1974. Their work then developed into a larger collection that included live shows, films, albums, books, and musicals; their influence on comedy has been compared to [[the Beatles]]' influence on music.<ref name="CNN Beatles">{{cite news|first=Todd|last=Leopold|title=How Monty Python changed the world|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/10/monty.python/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=11 December 2003|access-date=30 March 2007|quote=Python has been called 'the Beatles of comedy'.|archive-date=19 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319131619/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/10/monty.python/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Atlantic Beatles">{{cite magazine|first=David|last=Free|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/01/the-beatles-of-comedy/309185/|title=The Beatles of Comedy|magazine=[[The Atlantic (magazine)|The Atlantic]]|date=January 2013|access-date=23 January 2013|archive-date=29 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829030537/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/01/the-beatles-of-comedy/309185/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="BBC Beatles">{{Cite web |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |date=2003 |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/m/montypythonsflyi_1299002137.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030920054900/https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/m/montypythonsflyi_1299002137.shtml |archive-date=20 September 2003 |publisher=BBC Comedy |access-date=12 June 2023 |quote=In essence, the Monty Python team are the comedy equivalent of the Beatles.}}  (The live version of the Web page does not contain the quoted line, but the archived version does.)</ref> Their sketch show has been called "an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".<ref>{{cite news|title=Monty Python Celebrates 25th Anniversary But Nixes Reunion|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1994/10/02/monty-python-celebrates-25th-anniversary-but-nixes-reunion/|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=2 October 1996|access-date=31 October 2016|archive-date=16 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616095608/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1994/10/02/monty-python-celebrates-25th-anniversary-but-nixes-reunion/|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was loosely structured as a sketch show, but its innovative [[stream of consciousness]] approach and Gilliam's animation skills pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etonline.com/movies/120548_Holy_Flying_Circus_clip/index.html|title='Holy' Monty Python History Lesson|first=Jarrett|last=Wieselman|date=3 April 2012|work=[[Entertainment Tonight]]|access-date=24 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202131614/http://www.etonline.com/movies/120548_Holy_Flying_Circus_clip/index.html|archive-date=2 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/monty-python-reunion-planned-for-new-movie-68087/|title='Monty Python' Reunion Planned for New Movie|website=The Christian Post|first=Sami K.|last=Martin|date=27 January 2012|access-date=24 April 2012|archive-date=13 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213143926/http://www.christianpost.com/news/monty-python-reunion-planned-for-new-movie-68087/|url-status=live}}</ref> A self-contained comedy unit, the Pythons had creative control that allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy.<ref name="Handmade">{{cite news |title=George Harrison's remarkable love affair with Monty Python |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/george-harrison-love-affair-with-monty-python/ |access-date=27 November 2023 |work=Far Out magazine |archive-date=24 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524144050/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/george-harrison-love-affair-with-monty-python/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They followed their television work by making  the films ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' (1975), ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian|Life of Brian]]'' (1979), and ''[[Monty Python's The Meaning of Life|The Meaning of Life]]'' (1983). Their influence on [[British comedy]] has been apparent for years, while it has coloured the work of the early editions of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' through to absurdist trends in television comedy.

At the [[41st British Academy Film Awards]] in 1988, Monty Python received the [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Award]] for [[BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award|Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema]]. In 1998, they were awarded the AFI Star Award by the [[American Film Institute]]. ''Holy Grail'' and ''Life of Brian'' are frequently ranked on lists of the [[List of films voted the best|greatest comedy films]]. A 2005 poll asked more than 300 comedians, comedy writers, producers, and directors to name the greatest comedians of all time, and half of Monty Python's members made the top 50.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cook tops poll of comedy greats|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/02/arts.artsnews|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 January 2005|archive-date=19 January 2018|access-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180119151857/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/02/arts.artsnews|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4141019.stm|title=Cook voted 'comedians' comedian'|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=2 January 2005|access-date=21 September 2008|archive-date=7 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207174202/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4141019.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
===Before ''Flying Circus''===
Jones and Palin met at [[Oxford University]], where they performed together with [[the Oxford Revue]]. Chapman and Cleese met at [[Cambridge University]]. Idle was also at Cambridge, but started a year after Chapman and Cleese. Cleese met Gilliam in [[New York City]] while on tour with the [[Footlights|Cambridge University Footlights]] [[revue]] ''[[Cambridge Footlights Revue|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 [[The Goodies|Goodies]] ([[Tim Brooke-Taylor]], [[Bill Oddie]], and [[Graeme Garden]]), and [[Jonathan Lynn]] (co-writer of ''[[Yes Minister]]'' and ''Yes, Prime Minister'').<ref>Hewison, Robert (1983). ''Footlights! – a hundred years of Cambridge comedy''. Methuen London Ltd. {{ISBN|978-0-413-51150-8}}.</ref> During Idle's presidency of the club, feminist writer [[Germaine Greer]] and broadcaster [[Clive James]] were members. Recordings of Footlights' revues (called "Smokers") at [[Pembroke College, Cambridge|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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://footlights.org/history |title=Footlights history |publisher=Footlights.org |access-date=4 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922122310/http://footlights.org/history |archive-date=22 September 2013 }}</ref>

The six Python members appeared in or wrote these shows before ''Flying Circus'':
* ''[[I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again]]'' (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 [[David Frost]]'s monologues), Chapman, Palin and Jones (writers)
* ''[[At Last the 1948 Show]]'' (1967): Chapman and Cleese (writers and cast members), Idle (guest star and writer)
* ''[[Twice a Fortnight]]'' (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) 
* ''[[We Have Ways of Making You Laugh]]'' (1968): Idle (cast member and writer), Gilliam (animation)
* ''[[How to Irritate People]]'' (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 (TV series)|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/thefrostreport/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223081031/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/thefrostreport/|archive-date=23 December 2007|title=The Frost Report|publisher=BBC Comedy|access-date=4 November 2018}}</ref>

[[File:The_Four_Yorkshiremen,_2014_(crop).jpg|thumb|The "[[Four Yorkshiremen]]" sketch at the 2014 Monty Python reunion. Written by Cleese, Chapman, [[Tim Brooke-Taylor]] and [[Marty Feldman]], it was originally performed on their TV series ''[[At Last the 1948 Show]]'' in 1967. It parodies nostalgic conversations about humble beginnings or difficult childhoods.]]
Following the success of ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' (which was broadcast on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] from December 1967 to May 1969), [[Thames Television]] 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 [[BBC]], which had been impressed by their work on ''The Frost Report'' and ''At Last the 1948 Show''. Cleese was reluctant to do a [[Double act|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.<ref name="Autobiography">''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</ref>

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.<ref>''So, Anyway ...'' by John Cleese; Crown Archetype, London, 2014</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCall |first1=Douglas. L. |title=Monty Python: a chronological listing of the troupe's creative output, and articles and reviews about them, 1969–1989 |date=1991 |publisher=McFarland |page=1}}</ref> It was the first time all six got together, with their first meetings then taking place at Cleese's apartment in [[Basil Street]], Knightsbridge in central London.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morgan |first1=David |title=Monty is 30 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/1999/oct/03/life1.lifemagazine2 |access-date=9 May 2025 |date=3 October 1999|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

===''Monty Python's Flying Circus''===
{{Main|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}

====Development of the series====
[[File:Outside the Television Centre (geograph 5766769).jpg|thumb|right|''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' was recorded at [[BBC Television Centre]] in west London (pictured) and on location around the UK, and the show debuted on the BBC on 5 October 1969.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus |url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/october/monty-pythons-flying-circus/ |access-date=3 June 2023 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=3 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603023734/https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/october/monty-pythons-flying-circus/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=How Television Centre started with a question mark |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jun/13/television-centre-started-question-mark |access-date=3 June 2023 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>]]

According to show director [[Ian MacNaughton]], the first discussion over the idea for the show ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was a result of BBC's comedy advisor, [[Barry Took]], bringing the Pythons along with [[John Howard Davies]] (director of the first four episodes) and MacNaughton together into one conference room at the BBC Television Centre.<ref name="vinyl">''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (LP vinyl) liner notes; [https://web.archive.org/web/20230116033637/https://www.amazon.com/MONTY-PYTHON-PYTHONS-FLYING-CIRCUS/dp/B01BQH1FKE Archived image].</ref> The Pythons had a definite idea about what they wanted to do with the series. They were admirers of the work of [[Peter Cook]], [[Alan Bennett]], [[Jonathan Miller]], and [[Dudley Moore]] on ''[[Beyond the Fringe]]''—seminal to the British "[[satire boom]]"—and had worked on ''Frost'', which was similar in style.<ref>[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1377417/index.html "The Roots of Monty Python"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315182835/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1377417/index.html |date=15 March 2013 }}. BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 23 January 2013</ref>

{{Quote box|width=27%|align=left|quote="The 1960s satire boom opened up the way for a fresh, inventive generation of young comedy writer-performers to flourish on TV and to take comedy in a new and exciting direction."|source=—BBC profile for ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''.<ref name="BBC Circus">{{cite news |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/montypython/ |access-date=26 November 2023 |agency=BBC |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130221629/https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/montypython/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
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).<ref>[http://www.montypython.net/scripts/silliest.php "The Silliest Interview We've Ever Had / The Silliest Sketch We've Ever Done"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202155228/http://www.montypython.net/scripts/silliest.php |date=2 February 2013 }}. MontyPython.net. Retrieved 23 January 2013</ref> However, as they began assembling material for the show, the Pythons watched one of their collective heroes, [[Spike Milligan]], whom they had admired on ''[[The Goon Show]]'' (a show the Pythons regard as their biggest influence, which also featured [[Peter Sellers]], whom Cleese called "the greatest voice man of all time") recording his groundbreaking BBC series ''[[Q... (TV series)|Q...]]'' (1969).<ref name="Goon influence">{{cite web |title=John Cleese on The Goon Show, His Earliest Comedy Influence |url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/07/talking-peter-sellers-and-the-goon-show-with-john-cleese.html |access-date=10 September 2019 |work=Vulture |date=10 July 2018 |archive-date=21 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821180050/https://www.vulture.com/2018/07/talking-peter-sellers-and-the-goon-show-with-john-cleese.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How Spike Milligan's Q Paved the Way for Monty Python |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/06/spike-milligan-q-comedy-show-monty-python.html |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=Vulture |date=11 June 2019 |archive-date=21 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821180041/https://www.vulture.com/2019/06/spike-milligan-q-comedy-show-monty-python.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Not only was ''Q...'' more irreverent and anarchic than any previous [[television comedy]], 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...[Milligan] was the first writer to play with the conventions of television."<ref>{{cite book|last=Ventham|first=Maxine|title=Spike Milligan: His Part in Our Lives|chapter=Michael Palin|year=2002|publisher=Robson|isbn=1-86105-530-7|pages=156–159}} (quote at (a), p. 157)</ref> [[Charles Isherwood]] writes that the Pythons "derived their sketch formats in part from the rowdy tradition of the [[music hall]]."<ref name="Isherwood"/>

[[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 56 41 (14415567757).jpg|thumb|"[[The Ministry of Silly Walks]]" sketch performed at the 2014 Python reunion. Featuring Cleese as a [[bowler hat|bowler-hatted]] [[civil servant]] in a fictitious British government ministry responsible for developing silly walks through [[Grant (money)|grants]], it appears in season 2, episode 1 of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''.]]
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 [[stream-of-consciousness]] (often using a Gilliam animation to move from the closing image of one sketch to the opening scene of another).<ref name="Gilliam animation"/> 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."<ref name="Circus profile">{{cite web |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/montypython/ |access-date=24 August 2019 |website=BBC |archive-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912123911/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/montypython/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Writing started at 9:00{{nbs}}a.m. and finished at 5:00{{nbs}}p.m. 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.<ref name="Gilliam animation"/>

[[file:Monty_Python_Live_02-07-14_12_46_43_(14415411808).jpg|thumb|left|"[[The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|The Spanish Inquisition]]" sketch performed by Gilliam, Palin and Jones at the 2014 Python reunion. As a sketch writer and creator of animations, Gilliam did considerably less acting, but 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]] 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 [[Anagram]]s"). 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".<ref>Wilmut (1980), p. 211</ref> 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).<ref name="Gilliam animation"/>

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 Basin'', ''Vaseline Review'', and ''Bun, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot''. Reportedly, these names were considered for the show because the group members found it funny that the show name would have nothing to do with the actual content of the series.<ref name="vinyl" /> ''Flying Circus'' stuck when the BBC explained it had printed that name in its schedules and was not prepared to amend it.<ref>{{cite news |title=15 Facts about Monty Python and the Holy Grail |url=https://nereg.lib.ms.us/15-facts-about-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail/ |access-date=27 November 2023 |publisher=Northeast regional library |archive-date=12 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212173448/https://nereg.lib.ms.us/15-facts-about-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''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, the man who had brought them together.<ref name="vinyl" /><ref>{{cite news| first= Douglas| last= Martin| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/nyregion/barry-took-73-father-of-monty-python-dies.html| title= Barry Took, 73, Father of Monty Python, Dies| work= [[The New York Times]]| date= 14 April 2002| access-date= 1 May 2015| archive-date= 27 May 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150527211042/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/nyregion/barry-took-73-father-of-monty-python-dies.html| url-status= live}}</ref> ''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 [[Manfred von Richthofen#Flying Circus|Flying Circus]]'' of WWI fame, and the new group was forming in a time when [[the Royal Guardsmen]]'s 1966 song "[[Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (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 [[flying circus|barnstorming]], where multiple performers collaborated with their stunts to perform a combined set of acts.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus – Four Yorkshiremen |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/02/monty-pythons-flying-circus-four-yorkshiremen.html |access-date=21 August 2019 |magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |archive-date=21 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821181131/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/02/monty-pythons-flying-circus-four-yorkshiremen.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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 ''[[Monty Python Live at Aspen|Live at Aspen]]'' during the [[The Comedy Festival|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]] [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Lord Montgomery]], a 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. 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".<ref name="BBC Circus"/>

====Style of the show====
''Flying Circus'' popularised innovative formal techniques, such as the [[cold open]], in which an episode began without the traditional opening titles or announcements.<ref>{{cite web|last=Museum of Broadcast Communications|title=Monty Python's Flying Circus|url=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/montypython/montypython.htm|access-date=6 January 2007|archive-date=4 April 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060404194447/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/montypython/montypython.htm}}</ref> An example of this is the "It's" man: Palin, outfitted in [[Robinson Crusoe]] garb, making a tortuous journey across various terrains, before finally approaching the camera to state, "It's&nbsp;...", to be then interrupted by the [[title sequence]] 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]] halfway through the show, usually continuing the joke by fading to the familiar [[History of BBC television idents#BBC Television Service/BBC One|globe logo]] used for BBC continuity, over which Cleese would parody the clipped tones of a BBC announcer.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python: a golden age of British comedy |url=https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/monty-python-a-golden-age-of-british-comedy-1.371481 |access-date=20 August 2019 |work=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]] |archive-date=20 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820143403/https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/monty-python-a-golden-age-of-british-comedy-1.371481 |url-status=live }}</ref> On one occasion, the credits ran directly after the opening titles. On the [[subversive]] nature of the show (and their subsequent films), Cleese states "anti-authoritarianism was deeply ingrained in Python".<ref name="Goon influence"/>

{{Quote box|width=29%|bgcolor=#FFFFF0|align=left|quote="Our first rule was: no punchlines. [Some sketches] start brilliant, great acting, really funny sketch, but the punchline is just not as good as the rest of the sketch, so it kills the entire thing. That's why we eliminated them."|source=—Terry Gilliam in 2007.<ref name="25 sketches">{{cite web|title=Top 25 Monty Python Sketches |url=https://listverse.com/2007/11/03/top-25-monty-python-sketches/ |access-date=26 April 2019 |website=ListVerse|date=3 November 2007 }}</ref>}}
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]]), 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 (Monty Python)|the Colonel]]", who walked into several sketches and ordered them to be stopped because things were becoming "far too silly".<ref>{{cite news|first=William|last=Langley|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/10948113/Monty-Python-Will-the-wrinkly-revolutionaries-have-the-last-laugh.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/10948113/Monty-Python-Will-the-wrinkly-revolutionaries-have-the-last-laugh.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Monty Python: Will the wrinkly revolutionaries have the last laugh?|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London, England|date=5 July 2014|access-date=15 May 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[File:Monty python foot.png|thumb|right|[[The Foot of Cupid|Cupid's foot]], as used by ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''. A trademark of Gilliam's stop-motion animation, the giant foot would suddenly squash things, including the show's title at the end of the opening credits.]]

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,<ref>''Monty Python's Flying Circus Just The Words'' Volume 1, p. 33. Methuen, 1990</ref> 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 [[And Now For Something Completely Different|the first Monty Python film]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=And Now For Something Completely Different |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/and-now-for-something-completely-different-102005497/ |access-date=20 August 2019 |magazine=Smithsonian}}</ref>

The Python [[theme music]] is the [[Band of the Grenadier Guards]]' rendition of [[John Philip Sousa]]'s "[[The Liberty Bell (march)|The Liberty Bell]]" which was first published in 1893.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=nlDOICBmhbkC&dq=band+of+the+grenadier+guards+monty+python%27s+flying+circus+the+liberty+bell&pg=PA1295 ''All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music''. San Francisco, CA: Backbeat Books, 2005.] Retrieved 11 February 2018</ref> Under the [[Berne Convention]]'s "country of origin" concept, the composition was subject to [[Copyright law of the United States|United States copyright law]] which states that any work first published prior to 1924 was in the [[public domain]], owing to copyright expiration.<ref>[https://copyright.cornell.edu/publicdomain Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States – Cornell University Library Copyright Information Center.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911204703/https://copyright.cornell.edu/publicdomain |date=11 September 2017 }} Retrieved 11 February 2018</ref> This enabled Gilliam to co-opt the march for the series without having to make any [[royalty payment]]s.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/jul/11/monty-python-and-classical-music Clark, Philip. "Monty Python: Sousa, two-sheds and musical subversions," ''The Guardian'', Friday, 11 July 2014.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212201646/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/jul/11/monty-python-and-classical-music |date=12 February 2018 }} Retrieved 12 February 2018</ref>

[[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 24 16 (14598681721).jpg|thumb|left|Jones and Cleese as housewives in the 2014 reunion. Playing Brian Cohen's mother in ''Life of Brian'', Jones delivered the line, "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!".<ref>{{cite news |title=Life of Brian wins the vote for film's best laughter line |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385293/Life-of-Brian-wins-the-vote-for-films-best-laughter-line.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385293/Life-of-Brian-wins-the-vote-for-films-best-laughter-line.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=18 August 2019 |work=The Telegraph|quote=Delivering the winning line to a crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of their idol, he declared: "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy."}}{{cbignore}}</ref>]]
The use of Gilliam's [[Surrealism|surreal]], [[collage]] [[stop motion]] animations was another innovative intertextual element of the Python style.<ref name="Gilliam animation">{{cite news |title=Terry Gilliam Reveals the Secrets of Monty Python Animations: A 1974 How-To Guide |url=http://www.openculture.com/2014/07/terry-gilliam-reveals-the-secrets-of-monty-python-animations.html |access-date=18 August 2019 |work=Open Culture |archive-date=18 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818145141/http://www.openculture.com/2014/07/terry-gilliam-reveals-the-secrets-of-monty-python-animations.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Many of the images Gilliam used were lifted from famous works of art, and from [[Victorian era|Victorian]] illustrations and [[engraving]]s. The giant foot that crushes the show's title at the end of the opening credits is the foot of [[Cupid]], cut from a reproduction of the [[Italian Renaissance|Renaissance]] masterpiece ''[[Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time]]'' by [[Bronzino]]. This foot, and Gilliam's style in general, are [[trademark look|visual trademarks]] of the programme.<ref name="Gilliam animation"/>

The Pythons used the British tradition of [[cross-dressing]] comedy by donning frocks and makeup and playing female roles themselves while speaking in [[falsetto]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Cross-Dressing and Fish-Slapping, One Python at a Time |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 February 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/arts/television/crossdressing-and-fishslapping-one-python-at-a-time.html |access-date=26 April 2019 |last1=Martel |first1=Ned |archive-date=18 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718121109/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/arts/television/crossdressing-and-fishslapping-one-python-at-a-time.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Jones specialised in playing the working-class housewife, or "ratbag old women" as termed by the BBC.<ref name="Circus profile"/> Palin and Idle generally played the role more posh, with Idle playing more feminine women.<ref name="Circus profile"/> 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]]—often described as the unofficial seventh member—who co-starred in numerous episodes after 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/22/carol-cleveland-i-loved-every-minute-of-monty-python|title=Carol Cleveland interview: 'I loved every minute of Python, but in some respects, it has been a ball and chain' |author=Hogan, Michael|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 June 2014|access-date=23 November 2022}}</ref> In some episodes, and later in the stoning scene in ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]'', they took the idea one step further by playing women who impersonated men.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Larsen |first1=Darl |title=A Book about the Film Monty Python's Life of Brian: All the References from Assyrians to Zeffirelli |date=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=80}}</ref>

Many sketches are well-known and widely quoted. "[[Dead Parrot sketch]]", "[[The Lumberjack Song]]", "[[Spam (Monty Python)|Spam]]" (which led to the coining of the term [[email spam]]),<ref>{{cite news|title=How Spam Meat Has Survived Spam E-Mail|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-17/how-spam-meat-has-survived-spam-e-mail|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519203835/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-17/how-spam-meat-has-survived-spam-e-mail|archive-date=19 May 2012}}</ref> "[[Nudge Nudge]]", "[[The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|The Spanish Inquisition]]", "[[Upper Class Twit of the Year]]", "[[Cheese Shop sketch|Cheese Shop]]", "[[The Ministry of Silly Walks]]", "[[Argument Clinic]]", "[[The Funniest Joke in the World]]" (a sketch referenced in [[Google Translate]]), and "[[Four Yorkshiremen]]" are just a few examples.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python's 10 funniest sketches |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/monty-pythons-10-funniest-sketches/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/monty-pythons-10-funniest-sketches/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=6 August 2019 |newspaper=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Greatest skits"/> 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 (food)|Spam]] post World War II), and Four Yorkshiremen (nostalgic conversations).<ref name="Thomas"/><ref>McCabe, Bob (2005). ''The Life of Graham, The authorised biography of Graham Chapman''. pp. 90–91. London: Orion Books</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hamming it up |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/nov/05/food.arts |access-date=23 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Featuring regularly in skits, [[List of recurring Monty Python's Flying Circus characters#Gumbys|Gumbys]] (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".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Landy |first1=Marcia |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus |date=2005 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |page=97}}</ref>

====Introduction to North America and the world====
The [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC) added ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' to its national September 1970 fall line-up.<ref name="FlyingCircusCanada">{{cite web|url=http://torontoist.com/2011/09/vintage-toronto-ads-jack-of-hearts-flying-circus/|title=Vintage Toronto Ads: Jack of Hearts' Flying Circus|author=Jamie Bradburn, with reference to [[Toronto Star]] article of 2 February 1971|publisher=St. Joseph Media|date=20 September 2011|access-date=21 March 2012|archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027041055/https://torontoist.com/2011/09/vintage-toronto-ads-jack-of-hearts-flying-circus/|url-status=live}}</ref> They aired the 13 episodes of series 1, which had first run on the BBC the previous autumn ([[List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes#Series 1|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 ([[List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes#Series 2|September to November 1970]]).<ref name="FlyingCircusCanada" /> 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.<ref name="FlyingCircusCanada" /> 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]] studios. The show eventually returned, becoming a fixture on the network during the first half of the 1970s.<ref name="FlyingCircusCanada" />

[[File:Lumberjack Song O2 Arena.jpg|right|thumb|"[[The Lumberjack Song]]" with Palin (right) and Carol Cleveland at the 2014 reunion. It appeared in the ninth episode of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''.]]
Sketches from ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' were introduced to American audiences in [[And Now for Something Completely Different#American audiences|August 1972]], with the release of the Python film ''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]'', featuring sketches from series 1 and 2 of the television show. This 1972 release met with limited box office success.<ref name="Egan"/>

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 (television producer)|Greg Garrison]]. Garrison produced the NBC series ''[[The Dean Martin Comedy World]]'', which ran during the summer of 1974.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Terrace |first=Vincent |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKlgjBCPPnsC&dq=Garrison+NBC+The+Dean+Martin+Comedy+World&pg=PA108 |title=Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials |date=1985 |publisher=VNR AG |isbn=978-0-918432-61-2 |page=108 |language=en}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Douglas L. |first1=McCall |title=Monty Python A Chronological Listing of the Troupe's Creative Output, and Articles and Reviews about Them, 1969-1989 |date=1991 |publisher=McFarland |page=28}}</ref>

{{Quote box|width=27%|align=left|quote="When [Monty Python] hit the airwaves, it really was quite shocking but it was shocking in a good way. It set you up right and opened up a whole new form of comedy. [[wikt:Pythonesque|'Pythonesque]]."|source=— Ron Devillier, PBS programming director.<ref name="Dallas Observer">{{cite news |title=Meet Ron Devillier, the Dallas TV Program Manager Who Introduced Monty Python to America |url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/meet-ron-devillier-the-dallas-tv-program-manager-who-introduced-monty-python-to-america-8947710 |access-date=27 November 2023 |work=Dallas Observer |archive-date=18 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018001146/https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/meet-ron-devillier-the-dallas-tv-program-manager-who-introduced-monty-python-to-america-8947710 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
Through the efforts of Python's American manager Nancy Lewis, during the summer of 1974, Ron Devillier, the programming director for nonprofit [[PBS]] television station [[KERA-TV|KERA]] in [[Dallas]], Texas, started airing episodes of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/arts/television/nancy-lewis-dead.html |title=Nancy Lewis, the Pythons' Ticket to America, Dies at 76. The British troupe wasn't well known in the United States until she began promoting its records and pushing to get "Monty Python's Flying Circus" on PBS. |work=[[The New York Times]] |last=Genzlinger |first=Neil |date=13 January 2020 |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-date=18 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118212507/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/arts/television/nancy-lewis-dead.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/nancy-lewis-obituary-the-woman-who-introduced-america-to-monty-python-1.4141958 |title=Nancy Lewis obituary: The woman who introduced America to Monty Python. Lewis also helped promote Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Traffic and other acts in the 1960s |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |date=18 January 2020 |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-date=18 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118052055/https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/nancy-lewis-obituary-the-woman-who-introduced-america-to-monty-python-1.4141958 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ratings shot through the roof, prompting other PBS affiliates to pick up the show.<ref name="Dallas Observer"/> Devillier states, "We got the Nielsens in and started looking at the Saturday ratings. The first night, it was a 6 rating. We couldn't believe it. We didn't know what a 6 looked like. The next week, it was a 7 and it may have taken a month but it stayed there and we started getting 8s, 9s and 10s."<ref name="Dallas Observer"/> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/nancy-lewis-monty-pythons-ticket-to-america-76/ar-BBYXJdM |title=Nancy Lewis, Monty Pythons' ticket to America, 76 |work=[[MSN News]] |last=Genzlinger |first=Neil |date=15 January 2020 |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-date=4 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804031409/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/nancy-lewis-monty-pythons-ticket-to-america-76/ar-BBYXJdM |url-status=live }}</ref> The popularity on PBS resulted in the 1974 re-release of the 1972 ''...Completely Different'' film, with much greater box office success.<ref name="Egan">{{cite book |last1=Egan |first1=Kate |title=And Now for Something Completely Different: Critical Approaches to Monty Python |date=2020 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press}}</ref> The success of the show was captured by a March 1975 article headline in ''[[The New York Times]]'', "Monty Python's Flying Circus Is Barnstorming Here".<ref name="NY Times">{{cite news |last1=Kaufman |first1=Michael T. |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus Is Barnstorming Here |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/26/archives/monty-pythons-flying-circus-is-barnstorming-here.html |access-date=22 August 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=25 April 1975 |archive-date=23 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823075034/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/26/archives/monty-pythons-flying-circus-is-barnstorming-here.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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".<ref name="NY Times"/>

In 1975 [[American Broadcasting Company|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/integrity/Links/Cases/gilliam.html|title=Terry Gilliam et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants-Appellees, v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., Defendant-Appellee-Appellant.|publisher=United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit|date=30 June 1976|last=Lumbard|access-date=24 June 2012|archive-date=5 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305175230/http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/integrity/Links/Cases/gilliam.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

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?]]'' gaining a US audience, and leading, over time, to many PBS stations having a "British Comedy Night" which airs many popular UK comedies.<ref>{{cite book|first1=David|last1=Stewart|first2=David C.|last2=Stewart|title=The PBS companion: a history of public television|url=https://archive.org/details/pbscompanionhis00stew|url-access=registration|access-date=29 September 2010|date=1999|publisher=TV Books|isbn=978-1-57500-050-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/pbscompanionhis00stew/page/n211 216]}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Walk this way: Spijkenisse launches 'silly walks' zebra crossing |url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/10/walk-this-way-spijkenisse-launches-silly-walks-zebra-crossing/ |access-date=29 August 2019 |website=Dutch News.nl |archive-date=29 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829181032/https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/10/walk-this-way-spijkenisse-launches-silly-walks-zebra-crossing/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Departure of Cleese====
Having considered the possibility at the end of the second series, 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 sketches penned by Cleese and Chapman 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.<ref name="Autobiography" /> 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]] flight on the way to [[Toronto]], 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."<ref>[[Richard Ouzounian]], "[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929171724/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1152963371205 Python still has legs]", ''Toronto Star'', 16 July 2006</ref> 
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.<ref name="Season four">{{cite news |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus, Series 4 |url=http://www.montypython.com/tvshow_Monty%20Python%27s%20Flying%20Circus%2C%20Series%204/17 |access-date=25 July 2019 |website=Monty Python.com |archive-date=25 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725130431/http://www.montypython.com/tvshow_Monty%2520Python%27s%2520Flying%2520Circus,%2520Series%25204/17 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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''.<ref name="Season four"/> 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]] contributed to some sketches, including "Appeal on Behalf of Very Rich People".<ref>{{cite news|title=Remembering Neil Innes - Python, Rutle and songwriter - with words from the man himself|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/neil-innes-interview/|access-date=19 October 2025|work=Radio Times|archive-date=23 June 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250623123506/https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/neil-innes-interview/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Films===

====''And Now for Something Completely Different'' (1971)====
{{Main|And Now for Something Completely Different}}
The Pythons' first feature film was directed by [[Ian MacNaughton]], 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"<!-- DON'T WIKILINK – It's JUST A REDIRECT TO THE MP TELEVISION SHOW -->, "Self-Defence Class", "[[How Not to Be Seen]]", and "Nudge Nudge".<ref name="Five films">{{cite news |title=Monty Python films: rank them from best to worst |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/jun/04/monty-python-films-movies-best-to-worst-cleese-jones-gilliam-idle |access-date=19 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Financed by ''[[Playboy]]''{{'}}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,<ref name="Collin">{{cite news |last1=Collin |first1=Robbie |title=Monty Python reunion: no one else has the nerve to do what Python do |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/comedy-news/10459076/Monty-Python-reunion-no-one-else-has-the-nerve-to-do-what-Python-do.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/comedy-news/10459076/Monty-Python-reunion-no-one-else-has-the-nerve-to-do-what-Python-do.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=19 August 2019 |work=The Telegraph |date=21 November 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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)====
{{Main|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}

[[File:EMP Seattle (26120000225).jpg|thumb|190px|Soldier's helmet from ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' at the [[Museum of Pop Culture]], Seattle]]
In 1974, between production on the third and fourth series, the group decided to embark on their first "proper" feature film, containing entirely new material. ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' was based on [[King Arthur|Arthurian legend]] 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 (band)|Jethro Tull]], and [[Led Zeppelin]], as well as UK music industry entrepreneur [[Tony Stratton Smith]] (founder and owner of the [[Charisma Records]] label, for which the Pythons recorded their comedy albums).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2009/05/06/cue-the-coconuts-holy-grail-gallops-on/|title=Cue the coconuts: 'Holy Grail' gallops on|last=Johnson|first=Steve|date=6 May 2009|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=26 April 2019|archive-date=5 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205050545/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-05-06/entertainment/0905050391_1_holy-grail-monty-python-john-goldstone|url-status=live}}</ref>

The backers of the film wanted to cut the famous [[Black Knight (Monty Python)|Black Knight]] scene (a [[Sam Peckinpah]] send-up in which the Black Knight loses his limbs in a duel), but it was eventually kept in the film.<ref>Interview with John Cleese on Q-The Podcast with host John Ghomeshi, on 16 July 2009</ref> "Tis but a scratch" and "It's just a flesh wound…" are often quoted.<ref name="Python quotes">{{cite news |title=49 of Monty Python's most absurdly funny jokes and quotes |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/read-this/49-of-monty-pythons-most-absurdly-funny-jokes-and-quotes/ |access-date=18 August 2019 |work=Yorkshire Post |archive-date=18 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818192829/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/read-this/49-of-monty-pythons-most-absurdly-funny-jokes-and-quotes/ }}</ref> ''Holy Grail'' was selected as the second-best comedy of all time in the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] special ''Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time''. and viewers in a [[Channel 4]] poll placed it sixth.<ref name="Channel4 comedies"/>

====''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979)====
{{Main|Monty Python's Life of Brian}}
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.<ref>{{cite news |title=How we made Monty Python's Life of Brian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/apr/16/how-we-made-monty-python-life-of-brian-michael-palin-terry-gilliam |access-date=25 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> However, they soon began to seriously consider a film lampooning the [[New Testament]] 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.<ref name="theologian"/> Instead, they decided to write a satire on credulity and hypocrisy among the followers of someone [Brian] who had been mistaken for the "Messiah", but who had no desire to be followed as such.<ref name="TJones"/> 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".<ref name="TJones"/>

{{quote box|width=30%|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=right|quote="We are three wise men."<br />
"Well, what are you doing creeping around a cow shed at two o'clock in the morning? That doesn't sound very wise to me."|source=—Early scene from ''Life of Brian''.<ref name="Python quotes"/>}}
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 [[Mount of Olives|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{{'"}}).<ref name="theologian">{{cite news |title=Monty Python's Life of Brian 'extraordinary tribute to Jesus', says theologian decorated by Pope Francis |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10543149/Monty-Pythons-Life-of-Brian-extraordinary-tribute-to-Jesus-says-theologian-decorated-by-Pope-Francis.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10543149/Monty-Pythons-Life-of-Brian-extraordinary-tribute-to-Jesus-says-theologian-decorated-by-Pope-Francis.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

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]], the finances being provided this time by [[The Beatles]]' [[George Harrison]], who together with [[Denis O'Brien (producer)|Denis O'Brien]] formed the production company [[HandMade Films|Hand-Made Films]] for the movie.<ref name="Harrison"/> Harrison had a cameo role as the "owner of the Mount".<ref name="Harrison">{{cite news |last1=Barber |first1=Nicholas |title=How George Harrison – and a very naughty boy – saved British cinema |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/apr/03/george-harrison-beatle-monty-python-life-of-brian-handmade-studios |access-date=25 June 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 April 2019 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403113955/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/apr/03/george-harrison-beatle-monty-python-life-of-brian-handmade-studios |url-status=live }}</ref>

Despite its subject matter attracting controversy, particularly upon its initial release, it has (together with its predecessor) been ranked among the greatest comedy films.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/948331.stm "Life of Brian tops comedy poll"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251002235407/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/948331.stm |date=2 October 2025 }}. BBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/jul/22/features.review1 | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=The last laugh: your favourite 50 | first=Philip | last=French | date=22 July 2007 | access-date=2 May 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080707124543/http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2131880,00.html | archive-date=7 July 2008 | url-status=live |quote=1. Life of Brian. 8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}</ref> In 2006, it was ranked first on a Channel 4 list of the [[100 Greatest (TV series)|50 Greatest Comedy Films]].<ref name="Channel4 comedies">{{Cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/G/greatest-comedyfilms/results/10-6.html|title=50 Greatest Comedy Films|year=2005|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060415140210/http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/G/greatest-comedyfilms/results/10-6.html|archive-date=15 April 2006|access-date=31 May 2019|quote=1. ''Monty Python's Life of Brian''. 6. ''Monty Python And The Holy Grail''.}}</ref> ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine called it "an unrivalled satire on religion".<ref>{{cite news |title=The 100 best British films |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100britishfilms/ |access-date=26 November 2023 |work=Empire |archive-date=4 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904144411/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100britishfilms/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2013, [[Richard Burridge (priest)|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 [[Religious persecution|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".<ref name="theologian"/>

====''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' (1982)====
{{Main|Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl}}
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 (film director)|Terry Hughes]]), with the Pythons performing sketches from the television series in front of an audience.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/25/movies/python-in-hollywood.html|title='Python in Hollywood|date=25 June 1982|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> 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]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1980/BB-1980-10-11.pdf|title=Review: Monty Python – Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=11 October 1980|access-date=28 April 2022|volume=85|number=41|page=70|via=American Radio History|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> Monty Python's four-night stint as headliners at the Hollywood Bowl set a record for a comedy act at the venue; it has since been equalled by [[Dave Chappelle]] in May 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gregory |first1=John |last2=staff |first2=ABC7 com |date=4 May 2022 |title=Dave Chappelle attacked: Video shows moment suspect tackles comedian at Hollywood Bowl |url=https://abc7.com/dave-chappelle-attacked-tackled-hollywood-bowl/11817178/ |access-date=31 July 2022 |website=ABC7 Los Angeles |language=en |archive-date=10 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710164743/https://abc7.com/dave-chappelle-attacked-tackled-hollywood-bowl/11817178/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983)====
{{Main|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life}}
[[File:Terry Jones Monty Python O2 Arena (cropped) (2).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mr Creosote|Mr. Creosote]] from ''The Meaning of Life'' (played by [[Terry Jones]], pictured) has been called "the ultimate gross-out icon" and the "film's signature" scene.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python's The Meaning of Life: Mr Creosote is the ultimate gross-out icon |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/monty-python-meaning-of-life-mr-creosote-gross-out-icon-072049260.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvLnVrLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJW2-1FMX4DqYdxnfR60KarRZVqHnDiqNEuVR46Tk5TVqAJKmKi22M7XybnkfwBCkiTGV7eL8yvW7Bn3iGPdL8NQZ1AUXKvlzkYtnYcSCBlJEwFVUfyqHX26UdbqA7ji3ysk4Voiq60Ln4oBZNxaBugytrGSpujmpg0HWKU3HmuO&guccounter=2 |access-date=10 April 2023 |work=Yahoo |quote=it remains the film's signature, and one of the greatest Python moments because it seems to sum up what they were all about: a clever observation of the world wrapped up so tightly in absurdity that you almost missed the point while doubled over in hysterics. |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410191640/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/monty-python-meaning-of-life-mr-creosote-gross-out-icon-072049260.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvLnVrLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJW2-1FMX4DqYdxnfR60KarRZVqHnDiqNEuVR46Tk5TVqAJKmKi22M7XybnkfwBCkiTGV7eL8yvW7Bn3iGPdL8NQZ1AUXKvlzkYtnYcSCBlJEwFVUfyqHX26UdbqA7ji3ysk4Voiq60Ln4oBZNxaBugytrGSpujmpg0HWKU3HmuO&guccounter=2 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
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]]" (performed by Palin and Jones).<ref name="Making Meaning">{{cite news |title=How we made Monty Python's The Meaning of Life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/30/monty-python-meaning-of-life |access-date=24 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The film is by far their darkest work, containing a great deal of [[Black comedy|black humour]], garnished by some spectacular violence (including an operation to remove a [[liver]] from a living patient without [[anaesthetic]] and the morbidly obese [[Mr Creosote|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...").<ref name="Python quotes"/> At the time of its release, the Pythons confessed their aim was to offend "absolutely everyone", adding "It is guaranteed to offend".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Monty Python's The Meaning of Life |url=https://ew.com/article/1998/04/03/monty-pythons-meaning-life/ |access-date=19 August 2019 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-date=6 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606042609/https://ew.com//article/1998/04/03/monty-pythons-meaning-life/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Liver Donor scene (in which a paramedic appears at the door of a living man to take his liver) is a satire on bureaucracy, a common Python trope.<ref name="Making Meaning"/> 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]]". 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 – 20 Years of Monty Python|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.<ref name="Five films"/>

Although not as acclaimed as its two predecessors (''Holy Grail'' and ''Life of Brian''), ''The Meaning of Life'' was still well received critically and was screened at the [[1983 Cannes Film Festival]] where it won the [[Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)|Grand Prix]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1983/allAward.html |title=Awards 1983: All Awards |work=festival-cannes.fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216190344/http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1983/allAward.html |archive-date=16 December 2013 }}</ref>

===''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 [[Benefit concert|fund-raisers]] for Amnesty—known collectively as the ''[[The Secret Policeman's Ball|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.<ref name="Guardian2012" /><ref name="Amnesty Ball">{{cite news |title=How the Secret Policeman's Ball Got Rolling... |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/secret-policemans-ball_b_1318876 |access-date=24 September 2019 |work=Huffington Post |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802155254/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/secret-policemans-ball_b_1318876 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]], and [[Sting (musician)|Sting]].<ref name="Guardian2012">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/02/secret-policemans-ball-new-york-amnesty Secret Policeman's Ball recruits New York's finest to Amnesty celebration]. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 24 April 2012</ref><ref name="Amnesty"/> [[Bono]] told ''Rolling Stone'' in 1986, "I saw ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..."<ref name="Amnesty">{{cite news |title=50 years of working with celebrities: comedy |url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/24000/act300752011en.pdf |access-date=21 August 2019 |website=Amnesty International |archive-date=21 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821090426/https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/24000/act300752011en.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Sting stated, "before [the Ball] I did not know about Amnesty, I did not know about its work, I did not know about torture in the world."<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Xcj9CRdSYEI Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130226212249/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcj9CRdSYEI Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcj9CRdSYEI |title=Sting TV Interview On NBC Today Show about Amnesty concerts |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=22 April 2008 |access-date=15 August 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On the impact of the Ball on Geldof, Sting quipped, "he took the 'Ball' and ran with it."<ref name="Amnesty Ball"/>

''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 [[Neil Innes]]) all appeared together in the first ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit—the 1976 ''[[A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)|A Poke in the Eye]]'' held at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]] in London's [[West End theatre|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.<ref name="Guardian2012" /> 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]].<ref name="performers">{{cite news |title=Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074qw2 |access-date=21 August 2019 |website=BBC |archive-date=22 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822115518/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074qw2 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]]).<ref name="performers"/> 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]], [[Hugh Laurie]], 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Amnesty International Comedy Podcast from the Edinburgh festival: episode 5 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/audio/2010/aug/17/amnesty-international-comedy-podcast |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

===Going solo===
[[File:Monty Python (4624404749).jpg|thumb|right|[[Blue plaque]] at 11 [[Neal's Yard]], London, marking where Palin and Gilliam bought offices in 1976 as studios and editing suites for Python films and solo projects.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hind |first1=John |title=Terry Gilliam: 'I had a big row with John Cleese about tinned peaches' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/07/terry-gilliam-cleese-row-monty-python |access-date=17 January 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=7 December 2013 |language=en}}</ref>]]

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]]'' (1981), a film directed by Gilliam, who wrote it together with Palin. Gilliam directed ''[[Jabberwocky (film)|Jabberwocky]]'' (1977), and also directed and co-wrote ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'' (1985), which featured Palin, ''[[The Adventures of Baron Munchausen]]'' (1988), which featured Idle; he followed these with writing and directing an additional six (as of 2021) films.<ref name="Collab"/>

[[HandMade Films]], the film studio that George Harrison co-founded to produce ''Life of Brian'', contributed to British cinema in the 1980s, producing classics of the period including ''[[The Long Good Friday]]'' and ''[[Mona Lisa (film)|Mona Lisa]]'' (both starring [[Bob Hoskins]]), ''Time Bandits'', and ''[[Withnail and I]]'', with the studio also launching Terry Gilliam's directorial career.<ref name="Handmade"/> ''[[Yellowbeard]]'' (1983) was co-written by Chapman and starred Chapman, Idle, and Cleese, as well as many other English comedians including Peter Cook, [[Spike Milligan]], and [[Marty Feldman]].<ref>{{cite book |last=McCall |first=Douglas |date= 6 November 2013|title=Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969–2012 |edition=2nd |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RS0FAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96|location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]] |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |page=96 |isbn=978-0-7864-7811-8}}</ref>

Palin and Jones wrote the comedic TV series ''[[Ripping Yarns]]'' (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 [[The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)|adaptation]] of [[Kenneth Grahame]]'s novel ''[[The Wind in the Willows]]''. 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.<ref name="Reunions">{{cite news |title=Monty Python: 30 years of near reunions from the comedy troupe |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/comedy/a532589/monty-python-30-years-of-near-reunions-from-the-comedy-troupe/ |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=Digital Spy |archive-date=21 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821104112/https://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/comedy/a532589/monty-python-30-years-of-near-reunions-from-the-comedy-troupe/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

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]]''), many direct-to-video productions, some video games and a number of commercials.<ref>{{IMDb name|id=92 | name= John Cleese}}; includes prerelease items</ref> His BBC sitcom ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'' (written by and starring Cleese together with his wife [[Connie Booth]]) is the only comedy series to rank higher than the ''Flying Circus'' on the [[BFI TV 100]]'s list, topping the whole poll.<ref>Mattha Busby, 9 April 2019, [https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/09/fawlty-towers-greatest-ever-british-sitcom "Fawlty Towers named greatest ever British TV sitcom"]. ''The Guardian'', Retrieved 24 May 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.itv.com/news/2019-04-09/fawlty-towers-and-father-ted-top-list-of-britains-favourite-sitcoms/ "Fawlty Towers and Father Ted top list of Britain's favourite sitcoms"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904011249/https://www.itv.com/news/2019-04-09/fawlty-towers-and-father-ted-top-list-of-britains-favourite-sitcoms/ |date=4 September 2019 }}. ITV. Retrieved 24 May 2019</ref> Cleese's character, [[Basil Fawlty]], was ranked second (to [[Homer Simpson]]) on Channel 4's 2001 list of the [[100 Greatest (TV series)|100 Greatest TV Characters]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531160558/http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archive-date=31 May 2009 |title=100 Greatest TV Characters |access-date=26 May 2019 |publisher=[[Channel 4]]}}</ref>

Idle enjoyed critical success with ''[[Rutland Weekend Television]]'' in the mid-1970s, out of which came the Beatles parody [[the Rutles]] (responsible for the [[cult]] [[mockumentary]] ''[[All You Need Is Cash]]''), and as an actor in ''[[Nuns on the Run]]'' (1990) with [[Robbie Coltrane]]. In 1976 Idle directed music videos for George Harrison songs "[[This Song]]" and "[[Crackerbox Palace]]", 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Official Singles Chart Top 75 (13 October 1991 – 19 October 1991) |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19911013/7501/ |access-date=22 August 2019 |work=Official Charts Company |archive-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414053716/https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19911013/7501/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The song had been revived by [[Simon Mayo]] on [[BBC Radio 1]], and was consequently released as a single that year. The theatrical phenomenon of the Python musical ''[[Spamalot]]'' 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 Valley|Las Vegas]].<ref name="ParkerO'Shea2006">{{cite book|first1=Alan|last1=Parker|first2=Mick|last2=O'Shea|title=And Now For Something Completely Digital: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G49bRxbeH1kC&pg=PA68|access-date=29 September 2010|date=1 April 2006|publisher=The Disinformation Company|isbn=978-1-932857-31-3|page=68}}</ref> This was followed by ''[[Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)|Not the Messiah]]'', which revises ''The Life of Brian'' as an [[oratorio]]. For the work's 2007 premiere at the [[Luminato]] festival in [[Toronto]] (which commissioned the work), Idle himself sang the "baritone-ish" part.<ref>{{cite news|title='Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy),' by Eric Idle|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/theater/not-the-messiah-hes-a-very-naughty-boy-by-eric-idle.html|access-date=19 October 2025|work=The New York Times|archive-date=16 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616163002/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/theater/not-the-messiah-hes-a-very-naughty-boy-by-eric-idle.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===After ''Python'' reunions===
[[File:Monty Python O2 Arena.jpg|thumb|Left to right: Palin, Gilliam, Jones, Idle, Cleese (pictured in 2014).]]
Since ''The Meaning of Life'', their last project as a team, the Pythons have often been the subject of reunion rumours.<ref name="ParkerO'Shea2006" /> In 1988 Monty Python won the [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Award]] for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema, with four of the six Pythons (Jones, Palin, Gilliam and Chapman) collecting the award.<ref>{{cite news |title=Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema in 1988 |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1988/film/outstanding-british-contribution-to-cinema |access-date=25 August 2019 |website=BAFTA.org |archive-date=23 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823192034/http://awards.bafta.org/award/1988/film/outstanding-british-contribution-to-cinema |url-status=live }}</ref> The final appearance of all six together occurred during the 1989 ''[[Parrot Sketch Not Included – 20 Years of Monty Python]]'' TV special.<ref name="Reunions"/><ref>McCall, Douglas (2013). Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969–2012, 2d ed. McFarland. {{ISBN|9780786478118}}.</ref> 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 (film)|Mr. Toad's Wild Ride]]''.<ref name="TJones">Nathan Bevan (5 March 2011). [http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/arts-in-wales/2011/03/05/the-life-and-times-of-monty-python-s-terry-jones-91466-28274298/ "The life and times of Monty Python's Terry Jones"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013211224/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/arts-in-wales/2011/03/05/the-life-and-times-of-monty-python-s-terry-jones-91466-28274298/ |date=13 October 2012 }}. ''Western Mail''. Wales Online. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref> In 1997, Palin and Cleese rolled out a new version of the "[[Dead Parrot sketch]]" for ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.<ref name="Reunions"/>

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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCall |first1=Douglas |title=Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969–2012, 2d ed. |date=2013 |publisher=McFarland |page=181}}</ref> In 1998, during the [[The Comedy Festival|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.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Alleen Pace Nilsen|author2=Don Lee Fred Nilsen|title=Encyclopedia of 20th-century American humor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ufWAAAAMAAJ|access-date=29 September 2010|year=2000|publisher=Oryx Press|isbn=978-1-57356-218-8|page=86}}</ref> 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]]) 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, [[BBC Two|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.<ref name="Reunions"/>

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]]" for [[Concert for George|George Harrison's memorial concert]]. The reunion also included regular supporting contributors Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland, with a special appearance from [[Tom Hanks]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/all-star-george-harrison-tribute-concert-gets-vinyl-reissue-w515522|title=All-Star George Harrison Tribute Concert Gets Massive Vinyl Reissue|first=Daniel|last=Kreps|date=17 January 2018|access-date=19 August 2019|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-date=4 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504110313/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/all-star-george-harrison-tribute-concert-gets-vinyl-reissue-w515522|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3093564.stm Monty Python reunion 'unlikely'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319080314/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3093564.stm |date=19 March 2025 }}, [[BBC News]], 9 September 2003</ref> 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 about such a possibility in November 1989, Harrison responded: "As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as [[John Lennon]] remains dead."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/01/arts/no-3-beatle-reunion-george-harrison-says.html|title=No 3-Beatle Reunion, George Harrison Says|work=The New York Times|date=December 1989|access-date=6 March 2013|archive-date=1 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601063817/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/01/arts/no-3-beatle-reunion-george-harrison-says.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite book|first1=Graham|last1=Chapman|first2=John|last2=Cleese|first3=Terry|last3=Gilliam|first4=Eric|last4=Idle|title=The Pythons Autobiography by the Pythons|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Q-XD02f4oQC&pg=PT328|access-date=29 September 2010|date=2005|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-31145-2|page=328}}</ref>

[[File:Shubert Theatre NYC from Shubert Alley.jpg|thumb|''[[Spamalot]]'' at the [[Shubert Theatre (New York City)|Shubert Theatre]], New York in 2006. Winning the 2005 [[Tony Award for Best Musical]], Idle's musical opened in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] a year later. The original Broadway cast included [[Tim Curry]] as King Arthur, [[Hank Azaria]] as Sir Lancelot, and Cleese as the (recorded) voice of God.]]
''[[The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons]]'' (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.'<ref>{{cite news |title=The full Monty |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/oct/05/tvandradio |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Ultimately it was Cleese who ended the possibility of another Python movie.<ref>{{cite news |title=And now for something completely difficult ... |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2006/sep/13/theatre |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

A full, if nonperforming, reunion of the surviving Python members appeared at the March 2005 premiere of Idle's musical ''[[Spamalot]]''. Based on ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'', it also spoofs popular musicals, including those of [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python lose Spamalot court battle |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23195478 |access-date=22 November 2023 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929175717/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23195478 |url-status=live }}</ref> It opened in Chicago and has since played in New York on Broadway, London, and numerous other major cities across the world. In 2004, ''Spamalot'' was nominated for 14 [[Tony Awards]] and won three: Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for [[Mike Nichols]], and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for [[Sara Ramirez]], who played the [[Lady of the Lake]], a character specially added for the musical.  The original Broadway cast included [[Tim Curry]] as King Arthur, [[Michael McGrath (actor)|Michael McGrath]] as Patsy, [[David Hyde Pierce]] as Sir Robin, [[Hank Azaria]] as [[Sir Lancelot]] and other roles (e.g., the French Taunter, [[Knights who say Ni|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).<ref>{{cite news |title=Look Back at Tim Curry, Hank Azaria, Sara Ramirez, and More in Spamalot on Broadway |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/look-back-at-tim-curry-hank-azaria-sara-ramirez-and-more-in-spamalot-on-broadway |access-date=20 August 2019 |work=Playbill |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806105448/http://www.playbill.com/article/look-back-at-tim-curry-hank-azaria-sara-ramirez-and-more-in-spamalot-on-broadway |url-status=live }}</ref> Cleese played the voice of God, a role played in the film by Chapman.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python's John Cleese and Eric Idle Have a Message for You |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/monty-pythons-john-cleese-and-eric-idle-have-a-message-for-you |access-date=20 August 2019 |work=Playbill |archive-date=20 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820154059/http://www.playbill.com/article/monty-pythons-john-cleese-and-eric-idle-have-a-message-for-you |url-status=live }}</ref>

Owing in part to the success of ''Spamalot'', [[PBS]] 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]]''.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/exclusive-new-monty-python-specials-slated-to-premiere-in-2006-only-on-pbs-july-13-2005/ Exclusive new ''Monty Python'' specials slated to premiere in 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250721080836/https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/exclusive-new-monty-python-specials-slated-to-premiere-in-2006-only-on-pbs-july-13-2005/ |date=21 July 2025 }}, ''[[PBS]]'', 13 July 2005</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python's Personal Best |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/ddmcvg/monty-pythons-personal-best-episode-guide/ |access-date=23 August 2019 |website=Radio Times |archive-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824055522/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/ddmcvg/monty-pythons-personal-best-episode-guide/ }}</ref>

[[File:Neil Innes by Luke Ford adjust.jpg|alt=Innes in a hat|thumb|upright|Long-time collaborator [[Neil Innes]] at the premiere of ''[[The Seventh Python]]'' in 2009]]
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.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190822105712/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/f41900824ff54750b45be1f4972b1f5c "Monty Python – Almost the Truth: the BBC Lawyers' Cut"]. BBC. Retrieved 22 August 2019</ref> Each episode opens with a different re-recording of the [[Brian Song|theme song from ''Life of Brian'']], with [[Iron Maiden]] vocalist and Python fan [[Bruce Dickinson]] performing the sixth.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python reunite to tell life stories |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/5062514/Monty-Python-reunite-to-tell-life-stories.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/5062514/Monty-Python-reunite-to-tell-life-stories.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=22 August 2019 |work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Also in commemoration of the 40th anniversary, Idle, Palin, Jones, and Gilliam appeared in a production of ''[[Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)|Not the Messiah]]'' at the [[Royal Albert Hall]]. The European premiere was held on 23 October 2009.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Press Association|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/monty-python-stars-to-stage-reunion-1733638.html|title=Monty Python stars to stage reunion|work=The Independent|location=UK|date=11 July 2009|access-date=19 August 2009|archive-date=27 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827015211/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/monty-python-stars-to-stage-reunion-1733638.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/access-all-areas/videos/monty-python-special-award,877,BA.html|title=Pythons receive BAFTA Special Award|publisher=Bafta.org|date=18 October 2009|access-date=18 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091108103158/http://www.bafta.org/access-all-areas/videos/monty-python-special-award%2C877%2CBA.html|archive-date=8 November 2009}}</ref>

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 [[A Liar's Autobiography|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&nbsp;... 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 (TV channel)|Epix]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/8602765/Monty-Python-back-for-3D-animated-film.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/8602765/Monty-Python-back-for-3D-animated-film.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|location=London|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=Monty Python back for 3D animated film|date=28 June 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On 26 January 2012, Terry Jones announced that the five surviving Pythons would reunite in a [[science fiction|sci-fi]] comedy film called ''[[Absolutely Anything]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2012/film/news/pic-reunites-monty-python-members-1118049265/|title=Pic reunites Monty Python members|first=Dave|last=McNary|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=26 January 2012|archive-date=1 October 2024|access-date=11 November 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001061929/https://variety.com/2012/film/news/pic-reunites-monty-python-members-1118049265/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]], and in addition to the Python members it would also star [[Simon Pegg]], [[Kate Beckinsale]] and [[Robin Williams]] (in his final film role).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://downriversundaytimes.com/2014/08/24/celebrity-extra-265|title=Celebrity Extra|last=Elavsky|first=Cindy|publisher=[[King Features]]|date=24 August 2014|work=Downriver Sunday Times|archive-date=3 April 2019|access-date=21 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403231333/http://downriversundaytimes.com/2014/08/24/celebrity-extra-265/|url-status=live}}</ref> The plot revolves around a teacher who discovers aliens (voiced by the Pythons) have given him magical powers to do "absolutely anything".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/monty-python-members-to-star-in-new-film-absolutely-anything/|title=Monty Python members to star in new film 'Absolutely Anything'|work=CBS News|date=6 February 2013|archive-date=30 September 2024|access-date=1 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930232131/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/monty-python-members-to-star-in-new-film-absolutely-anything/|url-status=live}}</ref> Eric Idle responded via Twitter that he would not, in fact, be participating,<ref>{{cite tweet|number=299587521350864896|author=Idle, Eric|user=EricIdle|date=7 February 2013|title=I'm not "Not in a Python film". I'm not in a Terry Jones film. If you can't see the difference then you should probably lie down for a bit}}</ref> although he was later added to the cast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gfmfilms.co.uk/news/eric-idle/|title=Eric Idle|website=GFM Films|access-date=20 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084020/http://www.gfmfilms.co.uk/news/eric-idle/|archive-date=19 August 2014}}</ref>

===''Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go''===
{{Main|Monty Python Live (Mostly)}}
[[File:Monty Python Live (Mostly).jpg|thumb|Members of Monty Python on stage at [[The O2 Arena|the O<sub>2</sub> Arena]], London, in July 2014]]

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 ''[[Spamalot]]''. They owed a combined £800,000 in legal fees and back royalties to Forstater. They proposed a reunion show to pay their legal bill.<ref>{{cite news|title=John Cleese: Monty Python reunion is happening because of my £800,000 legal bill|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/john-cleese-monty-python-reunion-3591253|quote=Last July, the Pythons lost a royalties case to Mark Forstater, who produced 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. ...|newspaper=[[Daily Mirror]]|date=23 May 2014|access-date=28 December 2014|archive-date=21 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221111045/http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/john-cleese-monty-python-reunion-3591253|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 19 November 2013, a new reunion was reported, following months of "secret talks".<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python to reunite for stage show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/nov/19/onty-python-reunite-stage-show-comedy-holy-grail-palin-cleese |access-date=3 June 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The original plan was for a live, one-off stage show at [[The O2 Arena|the O<sub>2</sub> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25031520|title=Monty Python to reunite for live one-off show in London|work=BBC News|date=21 November 2013|archive-date=1 January 2014|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101053230/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25031520|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/comedy-news/10464954/Monty-Python-reunite-for-one-off-show-We-can-still-be-funny.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/comedy-news/10464954/Monty-Python-reunite-for-one-off-show-We-can-still-be-funny.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Monty Python reunite for one-off show: 'We can still be funny'|date=21 November 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=25 November 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/23/monty-python-reunion-o2-london|title=Is Monty Python's reunion a bit of a joke?|date=21 November 2013|work=The Guardian|access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref> The tickets for this show went on sale in November 2013 and sold out in just 43 seconds.<ref name="Record sales">{{cite news|last=Wilkinson|first=Peter|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/25/showbiz/monty-python-sellout/|title=Monty Python reunion show sells out in 43 seconds|publisher=CNN|date=25 November 2013|access-date=20 August 2019|archive-date=20 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820093428/https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/25/showbiz/monty-python-sellout/|url-status=live}}</ref> Nine additional shows were added, all of them at the O<sub>2</sub>, the last on 20 July.  They have said that their reunion was inspired by ''[[South Park]]'' creators [[Trey Parker]] and [[Matt Stone]], who are massive Monty Python fans.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lamden|url=http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/exclusive_south_park_creators_trey_parker_and_matt_stone_brought_monty_python_back_together_1_3021937|title=EXCLUSIVE: South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone 'brought Monty Python back together'|publisher=[[Archant]]|date=21 November 2013|access-date=30 November 2013|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203015741/http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/exclusive_south_park_creators_trey_parker_and_matt_stone_brought_monty_python_back_together_1_3021937|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Mick Jagger]] 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!"<ref name="Thomas">{{cite news |title=John Cleese and Mick Jagger are wrong – Monty Python's silly walks are still hilarious |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jul/01/john-cleese-mick-jagger-monty-python-silly-walks-funny |access-date=22 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> 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.<ref name="O2 Shows"/> 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."<ref>{{cite news |title=Watch Mick Jagger Dryly Accuse Monty Python of Being 'Wrinkly Old Men' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-mick-jagger-dryly-accuse-monty-python-of-being-wrinkly-old-men-62152/ |access-date=22 August 2019 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-date=24 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024023452/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-mick-jagger-dryly-accuse-monty-python-of-being-wrinkly-old-men-62152/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The last show was broadcast in the UK on [[Gold (UK TV channel)|Gold]] TV and internationally in cinemas by [[National CineMedia|Fathom Events]] through a [[Dish Network]] satellite link.<ref>{{cite web|title=Monty Python live (mostly), review: poignant and predictable, but tremendous fun|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/10975695/Monty-Python-live-mostly-review-poignant-and-predictable-but-tremendous-fun.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/10975695/Monty-Python-live-mostly-review-poignant-and-predictable-but-tremendous-fun.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=20 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In April 2015, the five surviving Pythons participated in a reunion event moderated by [[John Oliver]] as part of the [[Tribeca Festival]] at the [[Beacon Theatre (New York City)|Beacon Theatre]] in New York City following a 40th anniversary screening of ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monty Python's Fans Find Their HOLY GRAIL As The British Comedy Team Reunites At TFF 2015 |url=https://tribecafilm.com/news/tribeca-film-festival-2015-monty-python-holy-grail-reunion |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=Tribeca |archive-date=6 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250206191041/https://tribecafilm.com/news/tribeca-film-festival-2015-monty-python-holy-grail-reunion |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=12 craziest moments from Monty Python's riotous reunion |url=https://ew.com/article/2015/04/25/monty-python-reunion-tribeca/ |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=EW.com |language=en |archive-date=25 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225145241/https://ew.com/article/2015/04/25/monty-python-reunion-tribeca/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Carpentier |first=Megan |date=2015-04-26 |title=Monty Python: 'We hate the Daily Mail slightly more than we hate each other' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/26/monty-python-reunion-tribeca-film-festival-holy-grail |access-date=2025-02-01 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==Broadcast rights==
[[Netflix]] secured the global streaming rights for the Monty Python catalogue in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=2018-03-22 |title='Monty Python' Heads To Netflix As SVOD Service Picks Up Entire Comedy Catalog |url=https://deadline.com/2018/03/monty-python-heads-to-netflix-as-svod-service-picks-up-entire-comedy-catalog-1202351401/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=14 June 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250614184415/https://deadline.com/2018/03/monty-python-heads-to-netflix-as-svod-service-picks-up-entire-comedy-catalog-1202351401/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Shout Factory]] picked up American and Canadian distribution rights from Netflix in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barraclough |first=Leo |date=2024-10-22 |title=Shout Secures Digital and Theatrical Rights in the U.S. and Canada for Monty Python Catalog (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/shout-monty-python-catalog-1236185462/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=11 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311092110/https://variety.com/2024/film/global/shout-monty-python-catalog-1236185462/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Python members==
=== Graham Chapman ===
[[Graham Chapman]] was originally a medical student, joining the [[Footlights]] at [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]]. 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. Chapman's comedic fictional memoir, ''[[A Liar's Autobiography: Volume VI]]'', was adapted into an [[A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman|animated 3D film]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/movies/graham-chapman-tribute-from-monty-python.html | work=The New York Times | first=Michael | last=Cieply | title=Graham Chapman Tribute From Monty Python | date=26 June 2011 | archive-date=29 June 2011 | access-date=19 August 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629105242/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/movies/graham-chapman-tribute-from-monty-python.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== John Cleese ===
[[File:Dead Parrot O2 Arena.jpg|thumb|right|[[John Cleese]] (right) and Michael Palin performing the "[[Dead Parrot sketch]]" in 2014]]
[[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]] group and for the sitcom ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'' (co-written with [[Connie Booth]], whom Cleese met during work on Python and to whom he was married for a decade). In ''Fawlty Towers'' Cleese starred as hotel owner [[Basil Fawlty]], and received the 1980 [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance]].<ref>{{cite news |title=See all of John Cleese's BAFTA wins and nominations |url=http://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=John%20Cleese |access-date=12 November 2022 |website=BAFTA.org |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112233000/http://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=John%20Cleese |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://people.com/archive/his-love-life-may-be-fawlty-but-john-cleese-is-reeling-in-cash-and-kudos-with-a-fish-called-wanda-vol-30-no-7/ |author= Alexander, Michael |date= 15 August 1988 |title= His Love Life May Be Fawlty, but John Cleese Is Reeling in Cash and Kudos with a Fish Called Wanda |magazine= [[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date= 19 August 2019 |archive-date= 19 August 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190819074441/https://people.com/archive/his-love-life-may-be-fawlty-but-john-cleese-is-reeling-in-cash-and-kudos-with-a-fish-called-wanda-vol-30-no-7/ |url-status= live }}</ref>

=== Terry Gilliam ===
[[Terry Gilliam]], an American by birth, is the only member of the troupe of non-British origin.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/06/movies/main2071659.shtml|title=Terry Gilliam Sounds Off, Director Of 'Brazil' Says Current Events Parallel His Cult Movie|work=CBS News|date=6 October 2006|first=David|last=Morgan|access-date=21 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527070757/http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/06/movies/main2071659.shtml|archive-date=27 May 2008}}</ref> He started off as an animator and strip cartoonist for [[Harvey Kurtzman]]'s ''[[Help! (magazine)|Help!]]'' 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 Crimson Permanent Assurance]]", the short film that appears before ''The Meaning of Life'').<ref>{{cite book|last1=McCabe |first1=Bob|year=1999|title=Dark Knights and Holy Fools: The Art and Films of Terry Gilliam: From Before Python to Beyond Fear and Loathing |page=106|publisher=Universe |isbn=0-7893-0265-9}}</ref> Gilliam has directed thirteen films in total, and collaborated with Palin on three of them, which included Palin starring in ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'' (1985).<ref name="Collab">{{cite web|url=http://www.wideanglecloseup.com/palin.html|title=Michel Palin on BRAZIL|last=Morgan|first=David|website=Wideanglecloseup.com|access-date=7 February 2025|archive-date=21 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721195056/http://www.wideanglecloseup.com/palin.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Eric Idle ===
[[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 51 26 (14578960366).jpg|thumb|[[Eric Idle]] singing the "[[Galaxy Song]]" (from ''The Meaning of Life'') at the 2014 Monty Python reunion. Known for his [[wordplay]] and musical numbers, he also performed "[[Always Look on the Bright Side of Life]]" (from ''Life of Brian'')]]
When Monty Python was first formed, two writing partnerships existed, Cleese and Chapman, Jones and Palin. That left Gilliam, operating solo due to the nature of his work, and [[Eric Idle]]. Regular themes in Idle's contributions were elaborate [[wordplay]] and musical numbers. After ''Flying Circus'', Idle’s first solo project was the TV series ''[[Rutland Weekend Television]]'', which lasted for two series in 1975 and 1976. He then hosted ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' 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]]-winning musical ''[[Spamalot]]'', based on ''Holy Grail''. Following the success of the musical he wrote ''[[Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)|Not the Messiah]]'', an [[oratorio]] derived from the ''Life of Brian''.<ref>Eric Idle, [Email letter to] "The Pythons," 20 December 2006. Reprinted in Roy Thompson Hall Performance Program Insert, Summer 2007. p. 6.</ref> Representing Monty Python, Idle featured in a one-hour symphony of British Music when he performed at the [[2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony|London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/08/201281305330562117.html |title=London ends Olympics on extravagant notes – Europe |work=Al Jazeera English |date=12 August 2012 |access-date=20 August 2019 |archive-date=13 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813105924/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/08/201281305330562117.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Terry Jones ===
[[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 "[you] speak to him on subjects as diverse as [[fossil fuel]]s, or [[Rupert Bear]], or mercenaries in the [[Middle Ages]] or Modern China&nbsp;... in a moment you will find yourself hopelessly out of your depth, floored by his knowledge."<ref>Perry, George (2007). ''The Life of Python''. p. 40. Pavilion</ref> Many others agree that Jones is characterised by his irrepressible, good-natured enthusiasm. 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 underrated. 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/jul/22/features.review1|title=The last laugh: your favourite 50|work=The Observer|location=UK|first1=Philip|last1=French|first2=Mark|last2=Kermode|first3=Jason|last3=Solomons|first4=Akin|last4=Ojumu|first5=Killian|last5=Fox|date=22 July 2007|access-date=21 September 2008|archive-date=7 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080707124543/http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2131880,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385293/Life-of-Brian-wins-the-vote-for-film%27s-best-laughter-line.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206011706/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385293/Life-of-Brian-wins-the-vote-for-film%27s-best-laughter-line.html|archive-date=6 December 2008|title=Life of Brian wins the vote for film's best laughter line|work=The Daily Telegraph|first=Sarah|last=Womack|date=19 February 2002|access-date=21 September 2008|location=London}}</ref> Jones died on 21 January 2020 from complications of dementia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python star Terry Jones dies aged 77 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51209197 |access-date=22 January 2020 |work=BBC News |date=22 January 2020 |archive-date=22 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122125058/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51209197 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Michael Palin ===
Sir [[Michael Palin]] attended [[Oxford University|Oxford]], 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 [[Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George|knighthood]] in the [[2019 New Year Honours]], which was announced by [[Buckingham Palace]] in December 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/monty-python-s-michael-palin-gets-knighthood-in-new-year-honours-1-9512598|title=Monty Python's Michael Palin gets knighthood in New Year Honours|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=29 December 2018|access-date=18 August 2019|archive-date=29 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229120111/https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/monty-python-s-michael-palin-gets-knighthood-in-new-year-honours-1-9512598|url-status=live}}</ref>

===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]] (or other associates of the Beatles) being dubbed "the [[Fifth Beatle]]".  The two collaborators with the most meaningful and plentiful contributions have been [[Neil Innes]] and [[Carol Cleveland]]. Both were present and presented as Associate Pythons at the official Monty Python 25th-anniversary celebrations held in Los Angeles in July 1994.<ref>{{citation |title=Python Comeback |url=http://web.ukonline.co.uk/sotcaa/sotcaa_python.html?/sotcaa/pythonpages/python_press_1990_99.html |access-date=2007-09-09 |date=3 March 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201010035/http://web.ukonline.co.uk/sotcaa/sotcaa_python.html?%2Fsotcaa%2Fpythonpages%2Fpython_press_1990_99.html |archive-date=1 December 2008 }}</ref>
[[File:10.18.09CarolClevelandByLuigiNovi.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Carol Cleveland]] (in 2009), commonly called "Python girl", or "Seventh Python".<ref name="25 sketches"/>]]
[[Neil Innes]] is the only non-Python besides [[Douglas Adams]] 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://concertforgeorge.com/performers/|title=Concert for George|work=concertforgeorge.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707035917/http://concertforgeorge.com/performers/|archive-date=7 July 2013}}</ref> 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 [[the Rutles]] and write all of the Rutles' compositions for ''[[All You Need Is Cash]]'' (1978), a [[mockumentary]] 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]]'' in May 2005, his attitude is that Innes and he go back "too far. And no further."<ref>"Art imitates strife: Rutles launch feud". (10 May 2005). ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Retrieved 20 August 2019</ref> Innes died of a heart attack on 29 December 2019 near Toulouse, where he had lived for several years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/30/neil-innes-the-rutles-monty-python-dies|title=Neil Innes, Rutles star and 'seventh Python', dies aged 75|first=Ben|last=Beaumont-Thomas|date=30 December 2019|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

[[Carol Cleveland]] 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 [[Ian MacNaughton]] brought in several other actresses who were not as good as she was.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pythons: Autobiography|year=2003|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|isbn=0-312-31144-3|page=152|quote=Of course, Ian [MacNaughton] didn't want to use Carol, he wanted to bring in various bits of totty, so we had a string of people who weren't as good as Carol. Eventually we started pushing for Carol and said, 'We must have Carol for this.'}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Cleveland">{{cite news |title=Top 9 Successful Ex–Playboy Bunnies |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2075632_2075634_2075676,00.html |access-date=29 August 2019 |magazine=Time |archive-date=29 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829123331/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2075632_2075634_2075676,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', her most recognisable film roles are playing Zoot and Dingo, two maidens in the Castle Anthrax in ''Holy Grail''.<ref name="Cleveland"/>

===Other contributors===
Cleese's first wife, [[Connie Booth]], 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''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Comedy: Connie Booth |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/people/connie_booth_person_page.shtml |access-date=20 August 2019 |website=BBC |archive-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912151847/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/people/connie_booth_person_page.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Douglas Adams]] 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 theatre|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus, Series 4, Episode 6 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p031d26j |access-date=29 August 2019 |website=BBC |archive-date=29 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829125051/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p031d26j |url-status=live }}</ref> 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&nbsp;..."). Adams and Chapman also subsequently attempted a few non-Python projects, including ''[[Out of the Trees]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6150254.stm|title='Lost' gems from the TV archives|date=December 2006|website=BBC News – Entertainment|access-date=19 August 2019|archive-date=4 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904053040/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6150254.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 (scriptwriter)|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]]''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170411061546/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/cce5b11885f24b708cc195c106f497fa "Python Night"]. BBC. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref>

Stand-up comedian [[Eddie Izzard]], 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]], 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".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/living-the-dream-eddie-izzard-26586127.html|title=Living the dream: Eddie Izzard|first=Eamon|last=Sweeney|date=27 November 2009|website=The Irish Independent|access-date=30 May 2016|archive-date=19 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819233650/http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/living-the-dream-eddie-izzard-26586127.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 (singer)|Fred Tomlinson]] and the Fred Tomlinson Singers.<ref>{{cite news |first=Daniel E. |last=Slotnik |title=Fred Tomlinson, Singer Who Led a 'Monty Python' Troupe, Dies at 88 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/arts/television/fred-tomlinson-monty-python-singer-dies-at-88.html?_r=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2016-08-04 |access-date=20 August 2019 |archive-date=8 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808223957/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/arts/television/fred-tomlinson-monty-python-singer-dies-at-88.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> They made appearances in songs such as "[[The Lumberjack Song]]" as a backup choir. Other contributors and performers for the Pythons included [[John Howard Davies]], John Hughman, [[Lyn Ashley]], Bob Raymond, [[John Young (actor)|John Young]], Rita Davies, Stanley Mason, [[Flanagan (model)|Maureen Flanagan]], and David Ballantyne.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8718897/John-Howard-Davies.html "Obituary: John Howard Davies"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716184817/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8718897/John-Howard-Davies.html |date=16 July 2019 }}. ''Daily Telegraph'', 23 August 2011</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/obituary-john-young-5593573.html |title= Obituary: John Young |work= The Independent |date= 18 September 2011 |access-date= 20 August 2019 |archive-date= 10 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190410154554/https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/obituary-john-young-5593573.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

==Cultural influence and legacy==
[[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 13 00 13 (14415341590).jpg|thumb|"[[Argument Clinic]]" sketch with Palin (standing) and Cleese in 2014. [[CNN]] states, "Monty Python has been called The Beatles of comedy".<ref name="CNN Beatles"/>]]
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".<ref>{{cite book|last=Perry|first=George|title=The Life of Python|year=1999|publisher=Pavilion Books|location=London|isbn=1-85793-441-5|page=6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_Zg-9u4yLAC&q=life+python|access-date=24 August 2010}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite book|title=Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think!|chapter='What's All This Then?' The Introduction | editor-first1=Gary L. | editor-last1=Hardcastle | editor-first2=George A. | editor-last2=Reisch|year=2006|publisher=Open Court|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-8126-9593-9|page=8|series=Vol. 19 in Popular Culture and Philosophy series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPQelKFNA5MC&q=monty+python|access-date=24 August 2010}} Also {{ISBN|0-8126-9593-3}}</ref>

Ron Devillier, the PBS programming director who put ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' on American television, states, "they brought through a kind of phony baloney surface ethic that we all lived under and shot right through it and split it in half. If you really let it happen, you could laugh at yourself. All the things that they were doing were really funny like playing on our sensibilities and making fun of them in a very funny way, pointing out how pompous we can be and making fun of themselves at the same time."<ref name="Dallas Observer"/> Danny Gallagher of the ''[[Dallas Observer]]'' writes, "Monty Python has also been good to American comedy. If America's television viewing public had never seen "The Lumberjack Song" or "The Dead Parrot" sketch, we might still be holding up ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' as a supreme example of cutting-edge TV comedy."<ref name="Dallas Observer"/> ''[[The Benny Hill Show]]'', featuring the slapstick and innuendo of [[Benny Hill]], which contrasted with Python's more absurdist style, was also a hugely successful British comedy on US television, with [[Charles Isherwood]] writing in ''The New York Times'': "Benny" and "Monty" were essential poles of British television comedy as imported to America in the 1970s."<ref name="Isherwood">{{cite news |last1=Isherwood |first1=Charles |title=Why the British Killed King Leer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/weekinreview/22isherwood.html |access-date=22 February 2025 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=27 June 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250627135647/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/weekinreview/22isherwood.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

A self-contained comedy unit responsible for both writing and performing their work, Monty Python's influence on comedy has been compared to [[the Beatles]]' influence on music.<ref name="CNN Beatles"/><ref name="Atlantic Beatles"/><ref name="BBC Beatles"/> 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."<ref name="Greatest skits">{{cite news |title=Monty Python's greatest skits |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/22/monty-pythons-greatest-skits-best-sketches-o2-shows |access-date=25 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

===Comedy stylists===
{{quote box|align=right|width=27%|bgcolor=#FFFFF0|"Everything I've ever done can be distilled to at least one Python sketch. If comedy had a periodic element table, Python would have more than one atom on it."|source=—[[Mike Myers]].<ref name="BBC America"/>}}
Monty Python have been named as being influential to the comedy stylings of a great many people including: [[Sacha Baron Cohen]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anthony |first=Andrew |date=2009-06-06 |title=The Observer profile: Sacha Baron Cohen - the comic who is always in your face |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jun/07/sacha-baron-cohen-bruno-profile |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225224628/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jun/07/sacha-baron-cohen-bruno-profile |url-status=live }}</ref> [[David Cross]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bent |first=Mike |title=Profile in Comedy: David Cross – Comedy Writing |url=http://www.netplaces.com/comedy-writing/lets-get-sketchy/profile-in-comedy-david-cross.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407012456/http://www.netplaces.com/comedy-writing/lets-get-sketchy/profile-in-comedy-david-cross.htm |archive-date=7 April 2011}}</ref> [[Rowan Atkinson]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lloyd |first=Robert |date=2015-03-27 |title=Before and after 'Bean': A talk with Rowan Atkinson, continued |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-mr-bean-rowan-atkinson-20150326-column.html |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en-US |archive-date=26 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626223213/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-mr-bean-rowan-atkinson-20150326-column.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Seth MacFarlane]],<ref>{{cite interview|last=Pollak |first=Kevin |interviewer=Kevin Pollak |title=Kevin Pollak Chat Show |last2=MacFarlane |first2=Seth |url=http://www.kevinpollakschatshow.com/archive/?p=64 |date=August 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016071245/http://www.kevinpollakschatshow.com/archive/?p=64 |archive-date=October 16, 2013 }}</ref> [[Seth Meyers]],<ref>{{cite interview|last=Gaydos|first=Steve|interviewer=Steve Gaydos|title=Live from New York: A Discussion with the Saturday Night Live Writers|url=http://www.paleycenter.org/2011-fall-saturday-night-live-writers/|date=13 November 2011|access-date=9 April 2014|archive-date=20 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220115137/https://www.paleycenter.org/2011-fall-saturday-night-live-writers/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Trey Parker]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paulson |first=Ken |title=Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Larry Divney 'Speaking Freely' transcript |url=http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209001855/http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881 |archive-date=2010-02-09 |website=firstamendmentcenter.org}}</ref> [[Matt Stone]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100209001855/http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881 "Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Larry Divney 'Speaking Freely' transcript"]. Retrieved 10 March 2020</ref> [[Vic and Bob]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/monty-python-reuniting-10-reasons-2809537|title=Monty Python 'reuniting': 10 reasons it HAS to come back|website=[[Daily Mirror]]|date=19 November 2013|quote=Monty Python would itself go on to influence an entire generation of future comedians, from Eddie Izzard to Vic and Bob.|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-date=20 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220114856/https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/monty-python-reuniting-10-reasons-2809537|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Mike Myers]],<ref name="Collin"/> [[Russell Brand]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Russell Brand names his five favourite movies of all time |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/russell-brand-five-favourite-movies/ |access-date=30 July 2022 |website=Far Out Magazine |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730102254/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/russell-brand-five-favourite-movies/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Robin Williams]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/robin-williams-monty-python_b_5678242 | title=Robin Williams' Throbbing (And Reciprocated) Love of Python | date=14 August 2014 |website=Huffington Post }}</ref> [[Jerry Seinfeld]],<ref name="Seinfeld">{{Cite news |last=Reinstein |first=Mara |title='I Wasn't Very Good!' Jerry Seinfeld Reflects on His Early Routines, Favorite Seinfeld Episode and the Future of Comedy |url=https://parade.com/1096425/maramovies/jerry-seinfeld-is-this-anything/ |access-date=2022-08-28 |newspaper=Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays |date=2 October 2020 |language=en |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828104816/https://parade.com/1096425/maramovies/jerry-seinfeld-is-this-anything/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Eddie Izzard]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Sweeney |first=Eamon |title=Living the dream: Eddie Izzard |url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/day-and-night/living-the-dream-eddie-izzard-1956032.html |work=[[Irish Independent]] |access-date=8 May 2011 |date=27 November 2009 |archive-date=23 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223001310/https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/living-the-dream-eddie-izzard-26586127.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [["Weird Al" Yankovic]].<ref>{{cite podcast|url=http://podcasts.triplem.com.au/audio/20070307_spoon_best_weirdalredux.mp3|title="Weird Al" Yankovic interview by Spoonman on Triple M Australia|time=9:10|access-date=2 April 2007|archive-date=4 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704191934/http://podcasts.triplem.com.au/audio/20070307_spoon_best_weirdalredux.mp3}}</ref> [[Matt Groening]], creator of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', 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 [[The Simpsons (season 5)|seasons five]] and [[The Simpsons (season 6)|six]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Brian L.|last=Ott|year=2008|title=The Small Screen: How Television Equips Us to Live in the Information Age|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-6154-1|page=103}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly) |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/c7jvrt/monty-pythons-best-bits-mostly--series-1-episode-1/ |access-date=5 September 2019 |work=Radio Times |archive-date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001205/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/c7jvrt/monty-pythons-best-bits-mostly--series-1-episode-1/ }}</ref> [[Nick Park]], creator of ''[[Wallace & Gromit]]'', was inspired by Gilliam's animation in Monty Python "to be a bit wacky and off the wall".<ref>{{cite news |title=Nick Park's 7 animation heroes |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/nick-park-favourite-animators-influences-early-man |access-date=13 October 2023 |publisher=BFI |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108100621/https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/nick-park-favourite-animators-influences-early-man |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Simon Pegg]], co-writer of the ''[[Three Flavours Cornetto]]'' trilogy of British comedy films (from ''[[Shaun of the Dead]]'' to ''[[The World's End (film)|The World's End]]''), stated his "love of comedy was hugely informed by Monty Python".<ref>{{cite news |title=Simon Pegg and the Pythons will do Absolutely Anything |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/12/simon-pegg-monty-python-terry-jones-absolutely-anything |access-date=23 October 2022 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Jerry Seinfeld told [[Parade (magazine)|''Parade'']], "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."<ref name="Seinfeld"/> ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' served as an inspiration for voice actor [[Rob Paulsen]] in voicing [[Pinky and the Brain#Pinky|Pinky]] from the animated television series ''[[Animaniacs]]'' and ''[[Pinky and the Brain]]'', giving the character "a goofy whack job" of a British accent.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/11/20/21578891/animaniacs-legacy-influence-reboot-hulu |title='They'll Get It at 8 or at 38": How 'Animaniacs' Introduced a Generation to Comedy |first=Tim |last=Greiving |date=20 November 2020 |access-date=31 May 2021 |website=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]] |archive-date=20 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120113101/https://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/11/20/21578891/animaniacs-legacy-influence-reboot-hulu |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = https://uproxx.com/tv/pinky-and-the-brain-anniversary-interview/ | title = The Rise And Fall Of 'Pinky And The Brain,' A Clever Cartoon Too Smart For Its Own Good | first1 = Ashley | last1 = Burns | first2 = Chloe | last2 = Schildhause | work = [[Uproxx]] | date = 30 December 2015 | access-date = 31 May 2021 | archive-date = 7 November 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221107120233/https://uproxx.com/tv/pinky-and-the-brain-anniversary-interview/ | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Graham Linehan]], co-creator of the sitcom ''[[Father Ted]]'', cited the ineffectual protest of ''Life of Brian'' upon its release as an influence for the ''Father Ted'' episode "[[The Passion of Saint Tibulus]]".<ref>{{cite AV media |last1=Linehan |first1=Graham| author-link1=Graham Linehan |last2=Mathews |first2=Arthur |author-link2=Arthur Mathews (writer) |year= |title=Father Ted DVD Commentaries |type=Podcast |url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/father-ted-dvd-commentaries/id582800079 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517221107/https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/father-ted-dvd-commentaries/id582800079 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |access-date=3 October 2024 |location=United Kingdom |publisher=Channel 4}}</ref>

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."<ref>{{cite news |title=John Oliver on Monty Python: 'inspirational idiots who changed comedy' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jan/07/john-oliver-monty-python-inspirational-idiots-who-changed-comedy |access-date=25 August 2019 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=25 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825230722/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jan/07/john-oliver-monty-python-inspirational-idiots-who-changed-comedy |url-status=live }}</ref> On how Python's freeform style influenced sketch comedy, [[Tina Fey]] of the American television show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' 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."<ref name="BBC America">{{cite news |title=8 TV Shows and Comedy Stars Inspired by Monty Python |url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2019/09/8-tv-shows-and-comedy-stars-inspired-by-monty-python |access-date=29 September 2019 |website=BBC America}}</ref> [[Stephen Merchant]], co-creator of ''[[The Office (British TV series)|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.'"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/entertainment/2019/12/22/news/stephen-merchant-recalls-creating-the-office-with-ricky-gervais-1797154/ | title=Stephen Merchant recalls creating the Office with Ricky Gervais | work=The Irish News | date=22 December 2019 | access-date=9 June 2022 | archive-date=31 December 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231143855/https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/entertainment/2019/12/22/news/stephen-merchant-recalls-creating-the-office-with-ricky-gervais-1797154/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Places===
; In space
* Seven [[asteroid]]s are named after Monty Python or its members: [[9617 Grahamchapman]], [[9618 Johncleese]], [[9619 Terrygilliam]], [[9620 Ericidle]], [[9621 Michaelpalin]], [[9622 Terryjones]], and [[13681 Monty Python]].
* In 2010, the commercial space company [[SpaceX]] launched a wheel of cheese into [[low Earth orbit]] and returned it safely to Earth on [[SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1|COTS Demo Flight 1]]. [[Elon Musk]], CEO and CTO of SpaceX, said this was done as a tribute to Monty Python.<ref>{{cite web|title=SpaceX's 'secret' payload? A wheel of cheese|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/12/spacexs-secret-payload.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=9 December 2010|access-date=23 April 2013|archive-date=10 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110142347/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/12/spacexs-secret-payload.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
;Terrestrial
* After John Cleese spoke negatively about the town of [[Palmerston North]] in New Zealand, recommending it as a good place to commit suicide, the town renamed a compost heap "Mt. Cleese".<ref name="thegeektwins.com" />

==="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 "[[wikt:Pythonesque|Pythonesque]]", which has become a byword in [[surreal humour]], and is included in standard dictionaries.<ref>{{cite news|title=Monty Pythonesque|work=Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English|edition=Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)|publisher=Lexico Publishing Group, LLC|date=23 November 2007|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Pythonesque|archive-date=17 November 2015|access-date=4 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117065739/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pythonesque|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/155585 Pythonesque, adj.]" ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, June 2018. Accessed 22 July 2018.</ref> 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]]'' shows the extent to which we failed".<ref>{{cite book|author=Jones, Terry|title=Monty Python: Live at Aspen|date=1998}}</ref>
* 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).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/464765.stm|title=Monty Python meets South Park|work=BBC News|date=4 October 1999|access-date=21 September 2008|archive-date=8 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508024420/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/464765.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Good Eats]]'' creator [[Alton Brown]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mr. TV: Food for Thought|url=http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/community/programming-insider/column/e3icbd5f8a8048766fc980ec4910fe71b25|publisher=Mediaweek|date=27 September 2009|first=Marc|last=Berman|access-date=27 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091002220042/http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/community/programming-insider/column/e3icbd5f8a8048766fc980ec4910fe71b25|archive-date=2 October 2009}}</ref> Later episodes included Gilliam-style animations to illustrate key points.
* Film critic [[Robbie Collin]] writes, "You can find the Pythonesque everywhere in cinema. Most successful Hollywood comedies bear some kind of Python-print. The ''[[Austin Powers]]'' series chugs along on Pythonisms. Then there are [[Christopher Guest]]'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]] that's also deeply Pythonesque."<ref name="Collin"/>

===TV===
The Japanese [[anime]] series ''[[Girls und Panzer]]'' featured the special episode "Survival War!", which referenced the "Spam" sketch,<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/AlsvLZvAkOg Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160903232232/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlsvLZvAkOg Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|title=YouTube: Girls Und Panzer – *pam *pam *pam|website = [[YouTube]]| date=8 June 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlsvLZvAkOg}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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]] in other ways.
[[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 13 04 42 (14598710791).jpg|thumb|Menu from the "[[Spam (Monty Python)|Spam]]" sketch, from where the [[Spamming|junk term]] is derived. Spam is included in almost every dish, much to the consternation of a customer.]]
* The term "[[Spamming|spam]]" in reference to bulk, unsolicited email is derived from the show's 1970 "[[Spam (Monty Python)|Spam]]" sketch.{{ref RFC|2635}} As the waitress recites the Spam-filled menu, a chorus of [[Viking]] patrons drown out all conversations with a song, repeating "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam… Spammity Spam! Wonderful Spam!"<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.thegoodword.co.uk/2010/09/20/the-origin-of-the-word-spam/| title = The Origin of the word 'Spam'| website = The Good Word| access-date = 23 August 2019| archive-date = 16 December 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191216040211/http://www.thegoodword.co.uk/2010/09/20/the-origin-of-the-word-spam/}}</ref>
* The [[Python (programming language)|Python programming language]] by [[Guido van Rossum]] is named after the troupe, and Monty Python references are often found in sample code created for that language. The default [[integrated development environment]] of the programming language is named [[IDLE (Python)|IDLE]], an alternative one is named [[Eric (software)|eric]], both in honour of Eric Idle.  Additionally, a 2001 [[April Fool's Day]] joke by van Rossum and [[Larry Wall]] involving the merger of Python with [[Perl]] was dubbed "Parrot" after the [[Dead Parrot sketch]]. The name "Parrot" was later used for [[Parrot virtual machine|a project]] to develop a virtual machine for running [[bytecode]] for interpreted languages such as Perl and Python. Its package index is also known as the "Cheese Shop"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.python.org/about/gettingstarted/|title=Python For Beginners|publisher=Python.org|access-date=3 March 2013|archive-date=2 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302223107/http://www.python.org/about/gettingstarted/|url-status=live}}</ref> after the [[Cheese Shop sketch|sketch of the same name]]. There is also a python refactoring tool called bicyclerepair named after the [[Bicycle Repair Man]] sketch.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bicycle Repair Man, a Refactoring Tool for Python|url=https://bicyclerepair.sourceforge.net/|publisher=SourceForge.net|access-date=12 January 2013|archive-date=11 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111024137/http://bicyclerepair.sourceforge.net/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 1985, a fossil of a previously unknown species of gigantic prehistoric snake from the [[Miocene]] was discovered in [[Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh)|Riversleigh]], Queensland, Australia. The Australian [[palaeontologist]] who discovered the fossil snake was a Monty Python fan, and he gave the snake the [[taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] name of ''[[Montypythonoides]] riversleighensis'' in honour of the Monty Python team.<ref>[https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A687945 Monty Python – a Brief History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250726171608/https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A687945 |date=26 July 2025 }}, [[BBC]], 29 January 2002</ref>
* In 2006, [[Ben & Jerry's]], 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leemichaelwithers.tripod.com/sfh7_16_96.htm|title=STAN FREBERG HERE – British Ice Cream Flavors|access-date=1 October 2010|quote=Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream has just finished a contest to select the quintessential British ice cream flavor.&nbsp;... They wanted a kind of "pun" flavor along the lines of their successful American flavor, "Cherry Garcia"--hmm, my favorite. Anyhow, the winner was "Cool Brittania."&nbsp;... But some of the 7500 losers might have been better. How about this, for British flavors: "Minty Python"? "Jack the Ripple"? Or how about "The Rolling Scones"?|archive-date=17 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717103236/http://leemichaelwithers.tripod.com/sfh7_16_96.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=4 July 1996 |title=American Scoops Up Prize For Name of Brit Ben & Jerry's |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1996/07/04/american-scoops-up-prize-for-name-of-brit-ben-jerrys/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529173139/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-07-04/business/9607030986_1_ben-jerry-ice-cream-flavor |archive-date=29 May 2013 |access-date=1 October 2010 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |via=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |quote=If Britain were an ice cream, what flavor would it be? Jack the Ripple? Charles and Diana Split? Those names were floated in a contest run by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. to create the quintessential British ice cream flavor, along the lines of its world-famous American flavor, Cherry Garcia.}}</ref>
* 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]].
* The endangered [[Bemaraha woolly lemur]] (''Avahi cleesei'') is named after John Cleese.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4427160.stm|title=Endangered lemurs get Fawlty name|website=BBC News|date=11 November 2005|access-date=30 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite iucn |author=Louis, E.E. |author2=Raharivololona, B. |author3=Schwitzer, C. |author4=Wilmet, L. |date=2020 |title=''Avahi cleesei'' |volume=2020 |article-number=e.T136335A115582253 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T136335A115582253.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
* 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]]''.<ref name="thegeektwins.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.thegeektwins.com/2013/09/9-geekiest-things-named-after-monty_5.html|title=9 Geekiest Things Named After Monty Python [List]|website=thegeektwins.com|date=5 September 2013 |access-date=11 July 2017}}</ref>
* The band [[Toad the Wet Sprocket]] took its name from the Rock Notes<ref>{{cite web|title=Rock Notes Script|url=http://www.montypython.net/scripts/rocknote.php|website=montypython.net|access-date=5 October 2017|archive-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923083311/http://www.montypython.net/scripts/rocknote.php|url-status=live}}</ref> sketch on the comedy album, ''[[Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Python|first1=Monty|title=Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album|url=http://www.montypython.com/music_Monty%20Python%27s%20Contractual%20Obligation%20Album%20(1980)/14|website=Monty Python's Official Website|access-date=5 October 2017|archive-date=6 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006013019/http://www.montypython.com/music_Monty%20Python%27s%20Contractual%20Obligation%20Album%20(1980)/14|url-status=live}}</ref>

===World records===
[[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 27 13 (14415368570).jpg|thumb|[[List of recurring Monty Python's Flying Circus characters#Gumbys|Gumby]] flower arranging. A character of limited intelligence and vocabulary (a satire on the condescending use of the "man on the street" on TV), he is played here by Terry Gilliam in 2014.]]
On [[St George's Day]], 23 April 2007, the cast and creators of ''Spamalot'' gathered in [[Trafalgar Square]] 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]]'' attempt.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=[[BBC]]|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6586187.stm|title=''Spamalot'' cast sets coconut record|access-date=2 October 2019|archive-date=5 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905050124/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6586187.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 [[List of recurring Monty Python's Flying Circus characters#Gumbys|Gumbys]]."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/jun/26/still-flying-monty-python-to-mark-50th-anniversary-with-record-attempt |title=Still flying: Monty Python to mark 50th anniversary with record bid |newspaper=The Guardian |date= 26 June 2019}}</ref> 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!"<ref>Chapman, Graham, ''The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus, volume 2'', p. 123. Pantheon Books, 1989</ref>

==Timeline==
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  id:ad        value:pink

  id:Lines     value:black      legend:Films
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  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"
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  bar:Graham      from:01/01/1989 till:04/10/1989 color:bass
  bar:John        from:01/01/1969 till:01/10/1973 color:lguitar
  bar:John        from:02/10/1974 till:21/04/1983 color:lguitar
  bar:John        from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/1989 color:lguitar
  bar:John        from:01/01/1998 till:31/12/1999 color:lguitar
  bar:John        from:01/06/2012 till:31/12/2012 color:lguitar
  bar:John        from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2014 color:lguitar
  bar:John        from:01/03/2015 till:01/09/2015 color:lguitar
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  bar:Eric        from:01/05/2002 till:01/05/2003 color:kboards
  bar:Eric        from:01/06/2009 till:01/02/2010 color:kboards
  bar:Eric        from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2014 color:kboards
  bar:Eric        from:01/03/2015 till:01/09/2015 color:kboards
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  bar:Michael     from:01/05/2002 till:01/05/2003 color:drums
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  bar:TerryG      from:01/06/2009 till:01/02/2010 color:vocal
  bar:TerryG      from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2014 color:vocal
  bar:TerryG      from:01/03/2015 till:01/09/2015 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
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  at:09/04/1975 color:black layer:back
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  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
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  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
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  at:01/06/1976 color:Lines3 layer:back
  at:01/06/1980 color:Lines3 layer:back
  at:10/07/2014 color:Lines3 layer:back

</timeline>

==Media==
{{Main|Monty Python mediagraphy}}

===Television===
*''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' (1969–1974): The show that started the Python phenomenon, see also [[List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes]].
*''[[Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus]]'' (1972): Two 45-minute specials were made by [[Westdeutscher Rundfunk|WDR]] for West German television.  The first was recorded in German, while the second was in English with German [[Dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbing]].
*''[[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:
*''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]'' (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.
*''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]'' (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 (director)|Terry Hughes]] of a live performance of sketches, it was originally intended for a TV/video special. It was transferred to 35&nbsp;mm and given a [[Limited release|limited theatrical release]] in the US.
*''[[Monty Python's The Meaning of Life]]'' (1983): An examination of the meaning of life in a series of sketches from conception to death and beyond.

===Albums===

{{Main|Monty Python discography}}

* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus (album)|Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Another Monty Python Record]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Monty Python's Previous Record]]'' (1972)
* ''[[The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Live at Drury Lane|Monty Python Live at Drury Lane]]'' (1974)
* ''[[The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' (1975)
* ''[[Monty Python Live at City Center]]'' (1976)
* ''[[The Monty Python Instant Record Collection]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian (album)|Monty Python's Life of Brian]]'' (1979)
* ''Monty Python Examines The Life of Brian'' (promo) (1979)
* ''[[Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album]]'' (1980)
* ''[[The Monty Python Instant Record Collection]]'' (US version) (1981)
* ''[[Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (album)|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life]]'' (1983)
* ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life: Audio Press Kit'' (promo) (1983)
* ''[[The Final Rip Off]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Monty Python Sings]]'' (1989)
* ''[[The Ultimate Monty Python Rip Off]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Monty Python Sings]] Again'' (2014)
* ''[[The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck 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.
*''[[Spamalot|Monty Python's Spamalot]]'': Written by Idle and directed by [[Mike Nichols]], with music and lyrics by [[John Du Prez]] and Idle, it starred [[Hank Azaria]], [[Tim Curry]], and [[David Hyde Pierce]]; ''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 theatre|Broadway]] on 17 March 2005. It won three [[Tony Awards]]. It was one of eight UK musicals commemorated on [[Royal Mail]] stamps, issued in February 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Royal Mail musicals stamps set to rock you! |url=https://www.royalmailgroup.com/en/press-centre/press-releases/royal-mail/royal-mail-musicals-stamps-set-to-rock-you/ |access-date=27 April 2019 |website=Royal Mail group |archive-date=27 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427061929/https://www.royalmailgroup.com/en/press-centre/press-releases/royal-mail/royal-mail-musicals-stamps-set-to-rock-you/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*''[[Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)|Not the Messiah]]'': the [[Toronto Symphony Orchestra]] 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 [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada. ''Not the Messiah'' was conducted by [[Peter Oundjian]], 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 [[Messiah (Handel)|Handel]], though probably not as good".<ref>{{cite news |title=Idle's Messiah is Spamalot sequel |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6362779.stm |access-date=23 August 2019 |website=BBC |archive-date=23 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823101940/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6362779.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)|Monty Python Live]]'': 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.<ref name="O2 Shows">{{cite news|title=Global finale for Monty Python show on stage and in cinemas|work=BBC News|date=21 July 2014|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28390310|access-date=20 August 2019|archive-date=20 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820094004/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28390310|url-status=live}}</ref> Held at London's [[The O2 Arena|O<sub>2</sub> Arena]], tickets for the first night's show sold out in 43 seconds.<ref name="Record sales"/> 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.<ref name="O2 Shows"/>

===Books===
Books by Monty Python
<!-- (official/authorised titles only, not repackages) -->
* ''[[Monty Python's Big Red Book]]'' (1971) <small>{{ISBN|0-416-66890-9}}.</small>
* ''[[The Brand New Monty Python Bok]]'' (1973) <small>{{ISBN|0-413-30130-3}}.</small>
* ''The Fairly Incomplete & Rather Badly Illustrated Monty Python Song Book'' (1994) <small>{{ISBN|0-413-69000-8}}</small>

Script books
* ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Book)|Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' (1977) <small>{{ISBN|0-413-38520-5}}.</small>
* ''[[Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK]]'' (1979, plus script-only reprint) <small>{{ISBN|0-413-46550-0}}.</small>
* ''[[Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (book)|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life]]'' (1983) <small>{{ISBN|0-413-53380-8}}.</small>
* ''Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words'' Volume 1 (1989) <small>{{ISBN|0-413-62540-0}}.</small>
* ''Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words'' Volume 2 (1989) <small>{{ISBN|0-413-62550-8}}.</small>
* ''Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus'' (edited by Alfred Biolek) (1998)

Compilations
* ''The Complete Works of Shakespeare and Monty Python. Volume One – Monty Python'' (1981)  <small>{{ISBN|978-0-413-49450-4}}.</small>
* ''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)
* ''[[The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons]]'' (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) <small>{{ISBN|978-1-9848-2258-1}}.</small>

Other books about Monty Python
* ''Monty Python: The Case Against'' (by Robert Hewison) (1981)

===Games===
* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Computer Game|Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' (1990) a video game released by [[Virgin Interactive|Virgin Games]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0003260|title=Monty Python's Flying Circus on World of Spectrum|publisher=Worldofspectrum.org|access-date=19 August 2009|archive-date=11 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811093420/http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0003260|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lemonamiga.com/?game_id=759|title=Monty Python's Flying Circus – Lemon Amiga|publisher=lemonamiga.com|access-date=3 January 2015}}</ref>
* ''[[Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time]]'' (1994) released by 7th Level for Macintosh and MS-DOS
* ''[[Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail]]'' (1996), official game released by 7th Level
* ''[[Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (video game)|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life]]'' (1997), also released by 7th Level.
* ''Python-opoly'' (2007), a Monty Python-themed property game released by Toy Vault<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toyvault.com/pythonopoly/index.htm|title=Toy Vault web site for Python-opoly. Retrieved November&nbsp;20, 2008|publisher=Toyvault.com|access-date=19 August 2009|archive-date=6 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206123932/http://toyvault.com/pythonopoly/index.htm}}</ref>
* ''Monty Python Fluxx'' (2008), a card game released by Looney Labs<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fluxxgames.com/|title=Web site for Monty Python Fluxx|publisher=Fluxxgames.com|access-date=19 August 2009|archive-date=31 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831050922/http://www.fluxxgames.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Monty Python's Cow Tossing]]'' (2011), a smartphone game
* ''The Ministry of Silly Walks'' (2014), a smartphone game<ref>{{cite web|title=The Silly Walk Official Website|url=http://www.thesillywalk.com/|website=The Silly Walk Official Website|publisher=Boondoggle Studios|access-date=25 June 2014|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628015744/http://www.thesillywalk.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of recurring Monty Python's Flying Circus characters|List of recurring ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' characters]]
* [[Python (Monty) Pictures]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
|first1=Graham
|last1=Chapman
|first2=Jim
|last2=Yoakum
|title=Graham Crackers: Fuzzy Memories, Silly Bits, and Outright Lies
|url=https://archive.org/details/grahamcrackersfu0000chap
|url-access=registration
|access-date=1 October 2010
|year=1997
|publisher=Career Press
|isbn=978-1-56414-334-1}}
* {{cite book
|first1=Jim
|last1=Yoakum
|title=Monty Python Vs The World
|year=2011
|publisher=CreateSpace
|isbn=978-1-4700-0820-8}}
* {{cite book
|first= Marcia |last= Landy
|title=Monty Python's flying circus
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1CxIuG-_NkC
|access-date=1 October 2010
|year=2005
|publisher=Wayne State University Press
|isbn=978-0-8143-3103-3}}
* {{cite book
|first= Darl| last= Larsen
|title=Monty Python, Shakespeare, and English Renaissance drama
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVa1Hfh11V0C
|access-date=1 October 2010
|year=2003
|publisher=McFarland
|isbn=978-0-7864-1504-5}}
* {{cite book
|first= David |last= Morgan
|title=Monty Python speaks!
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aTYcAQAAIAAJ
|access-date=1 October 2010
|year=1999
|publisher=Fourth Estate
|isbn=978-1-84115-168-7}}
* {{cite book
|first1=Alan
|last1=Parker
|first2=Mick
|last2=O'Shea
|title=And Now For Something Completely Digital: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G49bRxbeH1kC
|access-date=1 October 2010
|year=2006
|publisher=The Disinformation Company
|isbn=978-1-932857-31-3}}
* {{cite book
|first=George |last= Perry
|title=The Life of Python
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_Zg-9u4yLAC
|access-date=1 October 2010
|year=2007
|publisher=Pavilion
|isbn=978-1-86205-762-3}}
* {{cite book
|first= Roger| last= Wilmut
|title=From fringe to flying circus: celebrating a unique generation of comedy, 1960–1980
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PzxaAAAAMAAJ
|access-date=1 October 2010
|year=1980
|publisher=Eyre Methuen
|isbn=978-0-413-46950-2}}
* The Secret Policeman's Balls, 3-DVD set (2009)
** {{cite web|url=http://www.musicforhumanrights.org/news/secret-policemans-balls-dvd-release |title=The Secret Policeman's Balls DVD Release |publisher=Music For Human Rights |date=27 January 2009 |access-date=19 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514060346/http://musicforhumanrights.org/news/secret-policemans-balls-dvd-release |archive-date=14 May 2009 }}
* Monty Python: 40 Years of Insanity
** {{cite magazine|url=http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/34232/monty-python-40-years-of-insanity |title=Monty Python: 40 Years of Insanity |magazine=Life |date=5 October 2009 |access-date=6 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007211249/http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/34232/monty-python-40-years-of-insanity |archive-date=7 October 2009 }}
* The Life of Python – 20 Greatest Monty Python Sketches (40th Anniversary)
** {{cite web |url=http://gnews.com/entertainment/The-Life-of-Python-20-Greatest-Monty-Python-Sketches-110424014489.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007012323/http://gnews.com/entertainment/The-Life-of-Python-20-Greatest-Monty-Python-Sketches-110424014489.html |archive-date=7 October 2009 |title=The Life of Python – 20 Greatest Monty Python Sketches |publisher=Gnews.com |date=5 October 2009 |access-date=6 October 2009 }}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|auto=1|wikt=Pythonesque|q=y|d=y}}
* {{Official website|http://www.montypython.com/}}
* {{Discogs artist|Monty Python}}
* {{IMDb name|7758679}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/MontyPython Monty Python]&nbsp;– Official YouTube page
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091018050050/http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1930296_1967872,00.html 40 Years of Monty Python]&nbsp;– photo essay by ''TIME'' magazine
* [https://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/monty-python-interview 2014 interview on return to live shows] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074143/http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/monty-python-interview |date=4 March 2016 }})

{{Monty Python|state=expanded}}
{{Graham Chapman}}
{{Terry Jones}}
{{European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award}}
{{BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award}}
{{Surrealism}}
{{Subject bar|BBC|Comedy|Cinema|Television|United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}

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