The combined age of the four remaining living Brits John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and American Terry Gilliam was 362 (in 2014). Tickets in England were £300 cheaper than tickets for a Rolling Stones concert, as Eric Idle joked.

Mick Jagger by the way recorded a promotional video for the Monty Python’s show, in which he was siting on a couch in front of a TV, next to a passed out Keith Richards, and commented on who would be crazy to pay money for tickets to Python’s show and watch five wrinkled old men, given that the coolest one of them is dead.

Graham Chapman

You’ll remember Graham Chapman in his roles as “King Arthur” in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Brian Cohen in “Life of Brian”. Seemingly a quiet, pipe-smoking English gentleman, he was actually an alcoholic. During yes his worst alcoholism he drank more than two pints of gin a day. Sam leaves Monty Python, confesses to being homosexual, and a female spectator sends a letter of protest to the Pythons complaining that she learned of a band member who was gay. Eric Idle writes her back that the culprit has been found and stoned to death. Graham Chapman died of cancer in 1989, the day before the 20th anniversary of the first airing of “The Flying Circus”. Eric Idle stated at the time, “We’ll reunite if Graham comes back from the dead. We’re negotiating with his agent.”

The original team,

as already mentioned, is made up of students of Oxford University (Michael Palin and Terry Jones) and Cambridge University (Eric Idle, John Cleese and Graham Chapman) alumni. Terry Gilliam graduated from Occidental College in the USA and works as an animator. He added cartoon characters and elements to Monty Python’s vision. They became famous for their show, broadcast from 1969 to 1974 on the BBC, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”, which featured 45 episodes loosely structured as a variety show, with a series of absurdist sketches blending into an overall stream of consciousness with their innovative animated collages and unexpected ideas. After 5 years on TV, every English person knows who Monty Python are, the series subsequently aired in America and made them world famous for their revolutionary, rule-breaking and notion-breaking humour. “The Pythons became a worldwide phenomenon, replicated by movies, books, music albums, musicals, stage shows, and TV series including “The Simpsons” and “South Park”.

Later starring Monty Python and based on their idea, four feature films, live stage shows, countless audio recordings, several computer games and books were made.

Their fans include Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, who financed the film, a parody of the King Arthur legend, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. Ringo Starr plays himself at the end

of an episode of “The Flying Circus” titled “Mr. & Mrs. Brian Norris” Ford Popular. George Harrison starred as one of the Canadian Mounted Police in their famous “Lumberjack Song”.

Note

    The Python programming language is named in honor of the troupe.

    The term “spam” comes from the Monty Python sketch “Spam”.

    A new species of snake was discovered in Australia in the early 1980s. Its Latin name begins with Monty Python. Full name: Montypythonsidesriversleighensis.

Favorite quotes

You are the king? Well, I didn’t vote for you.

Sir Bedevere: “What makes you think she is a witch?”

Peasant: “She turned me into a newt.”

Sir Bedevere: “A newt?”

Peasant: “Well I got better.”

Crowd: [shouts] Burn her anyway!

Arthur (to the Lord): Good idea, oh Lord!

Lord: Of course, it’s a good idea!

I’m French. Why do you think I have this outrageous accent, you silly king?

Oh, wicked, wicked Zoot. Oh, she is a naughty person and she must pay the penalty, and here in Castle Anthrax, we have but one punishment for setting alight the grail-shaped beacon: you must tie her down on a bed and spank her.

GIRLS: A spanking! A spanking!

DINGO: You must spank her well, and after you have spanked her, you may deal with her as you like, and then, spank me.

AMAZING: And spank me.

STUNNER: And me.

LOVELY: And me.

DINGO: Yes. Yes, you must give us all a good spanking!

GIRLS: A spanking! A spanking! There is going to be a spanking tonight!

DINGO: And after the spanking, the oral sex.

GIRLS: The oral sex! The oral sex!

GALAHAD: Well, I could stay a bit longer.

LANCELOT: Sir Galahad!

GALAHAD: Oh, hello.

LANCELOT: Quick!

GALAHAD: What?

LANCELOT: Quick!

GALAHAD: Why?

LANCELOT: You are in great peril!

DINGO: No, he isn’t.

LANCELOT: Silence, foul temptress!

GALAHAD: You know, she’s got a point.

LANCELOT: Come on! We will cover your escape!

GALAHAD: Look, I’m fine!

LANCELOT: Come on!

GIRLS: Sir Galahad!

GALAHAD: No. Look, I can tackle this lot single-handed!

DINGO: Yes! Let him tackle us single-handed!

GIRLS: Yes! Let him tackle us single-handed!

LANCELOT: No, Sir Galahad. Come on!

GALAHAD: No! Really! Honestly, I can cope. I can handle this lot easily.

DINGO: Oh, yes. Let him handle us easily.

GIRLS: Yes. Let him handle us easily.

LANCELOT: No. Quick! Quick!

GALAHAD: Please! I can defeat them! There’s only a hundred-and-fifty of them!

DINGO: Yes! Yes, he will beat us easily! We haven’t a chance.

GIRLS: We haven’t a chance. He will beat us easily…

[boom]

DINGO: Oh, shit.

LANCELOT: We were in the nick of time. You were in great peril.

GALAHAD: I don’t think I was.

LANCELOT: Yes, you were. You were in terrible peril.

GALAHAD: Look, let me go back in there and face the peril.

LANCELOT: No, it’s too perilous.

GALAHAD: Look, it’s my duty as a knight to sample as much peril as I can.

LANCELOT: No, we’ve got to find the Holy Grail. Come on!

GALAHAD: Oh, let me have just a little bit of peril?

LANCELOT: No. It’s unhealthy.

GALAHAD: I bet you’re gay.

LANCELOT: No, I’m not.

King of Swamp Castle: Please! This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Let’s not bicker and argue about who killed who.