The First 28 Years of Monty Python, Revised Edition

The First 28 Years of Monty Python, Revised Edition
Author: Kim "Howard" Johnson
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Total Pages: 320
Release: 1999-06-19
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780312169336
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The ultimate guide for Python fans is back, newly revised for the nineties. The years since the publication of the first edition have brought a great deal of change for the Python alumni-most notably most celebrated postgraduate successes: A Fish Called Wanda, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, and Disney's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. This revised edition also contains all of the original material (dead parrots, fish-slapping, silly walks, Knights Who Say Ni, etc.) that made the first edition such a success! The First 280 Years of Monty Python celebrates the group's career with exclusive interviews, rare photographs, and an episode guide detailing the original TV shows. It's a must-have item for any Python fan.

The First 200 Years of Monty Python

The First 200 Years of Monty Python
Author: Kim Johnson
Publisher: Saint Martin's Griffin
Total Pages: 269
Release: 1989
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780312033095
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This book celebrates the group's career with exclusive interviews, rare photographs, and an episode guide detailing the original TV shows still being aired daily across the country. Photos throughout.

If You Like Monty Python...

If You Like Monty Python...
Author: Zack Handlen
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2011-12-01
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0879104368
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From their perfectly insane television show to their consistently irreverent and riotous movies, Monty Python has owned the zany and absurd side of comedy since their debut. Their influence can be felt in every comedy show that followed them, from Saturday Night Live and Second City television, to The Kids in the Hall, not to mention all the laughs writ large on the silver screen, where their brand of absurdity opened the doors for such people as Jim Carrey who made a name for themselves by pushing the funny even further. This is the first book to look at everything influenced by the Pythons, but also at those who came before them – from the classic British comedies to the Marx Brothers, and everything in the Python universe, from Fawlty Towers and A Fish Called Wanda to Spamalot and Brazil. If You Like...Monty Python is a book for any fan who has graduated from the Ministry of Silly Walks and wants more.

So, Anyway...

So, Anyway...
Author: John Cleese
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2014-11-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0385348258
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “John Cleese’s memoir is just about everything one would expect of its author—smart, thoughtful, provocative and above all funny. . . . A picture, if you will, of the artist as a young man.”—The Washington Post The legendary writer and performer of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame takes readers on a grand tour of his ascent in the entertainment world John Cleese’s huge comedic influence has stretched across generations; his sharp irreverent eye and the unique brand of physical comedy he perfected now seem written into comedy’s DNA. In this rollicking memoir, Cleese recalls his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town, his early comedic days at Cambridge University (with future Python partner Graham Chapman), and the founding of the landmark comedy troupe that would propel him to worldwide renown. Cleese was just days away from graduating Cambridge and setting off on a law career when he was visited by two BBC executives, who offered him a job writing comedy for radio. That fateful moment—and a near-simultaneous offer to take his university humor revue to London’s famed West End—propelled him down a different path, cutting his teeth writing for stars like David Frost and Peter Sellers, and eventually joining the five other Pythons to pioneer a new kind of comedy that prized invention, silliness, and absurdity. Along the way, he found his first true love with the actress Connie Booth and transformed himself from a reluctant performer to a world class actor and back again. Twisting and turning through surprising stories and hilarious digressions—with some brief pauses along the way that comprise a fascinating primer on what’s funny and why—this story of a young man’s journey to the pinnacle of comedy is a masterly performance by a master performer.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Author: John Cleese
Publisher: Methuen Publishing
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2002
Genre: Drama
ISBN:
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The Monty Python team's first feature film is a mock-heroic tale set in Medieval Britain.

Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday

Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday
Author: Kim Howard Johnson
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 443
Release: 2008-10-28
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1429994258
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"One of the finest and most accurate records of the making of the film that I have ever read. I just wished I could remember what actually went on then." --Terry Jones "If anyone can remember more about making the Life of Brian than me, it's Kim ‘Howard' Johnson. He came, he saw, he got into costume. While the rest of us were fighting to upstage each other, Howard had a notebook hidden in his toga." --Michael Palin "Since I've forgotten everything, it will be great to read what was actually going on in Tunisia. Just as long as I'm the most quoted, the most vital to the shooting, and the most interesting. You don't have to mention my stunning good looks if you don't want to." --Terry Gilliam "Of all the books that I am planning to read in my dotage, there is none I am more looking forward to than Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday. . . . Not only does ‘Howard' Johnson know more about Python than anyone outside of the IRS, he was in Tunisia for most of the filming of Life of Brian, and is the only person who captured every thoughtless remark, heated exchange, embarrassing detail, petty insult, and spiteful act of indifference." --John Cleese "Kim ‘Howard' Johnson was invented by Graham Chapman during an idle moment on the set of The Life of Brian. ‘Let's invent a person,' he said. ‘An American fan from the Midwest,' chimed in Michael Palin, ‘who keeps a daily diary of Python filming. And then doesn't publish it for years and years.' How we laughed, and each day we'd make up stuff this ‘person' would write about us." --Eric Idle In 1978, Kim "Howard" Johnson ran away to join the circus---Monty Python's Flying Circus, that is. The Pythons converged on Tunisia to film their timeless classic, Life of Brian, and Howard found himself in the thick of it, doubling for nearly all the Pythons, playing more roles in the film than John Cleese, and managing to ruin only one shot. He became the unit journalist, substitute still photographer, Roman soldier, peasant, Biggus Dickus's double, near-stalker, and, ultimately, friend and confidant of the comedy legends. He also kept a detailed journal of what he saw and heard, on set and off, throughout those six weeks. The result is a unique eyewitness account that reveals the Pythons at work and at play in a way that nothing else written about them could do. Now, for the first time ever, the inside story of the making of the film is revealed through the fly-on-the-castle-wall perspective. Even the most diehard fans will get a fresh take on the comedy greats through some never-before-revealed nuggets of Python brilliance: what John Cleese offered to exchange for suntan lotion; Terry Jones directing in drag; Michael Palin's secret to playing revolutionaries and peasants; Graham Chapman gets naked; Terry Gilliam gets filthy; Eric Idle haggles; the secret of the Thespo-Squat; Mrs. Pilate; talk of George Harrison; the cake-flinging that jeopardized the production; badminton, impromptu cricket, and erotic frescoes; and the first-ever presentation of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." Here, uncensored, are the legendary Pythons in their prime. It was a period of comedy history that will never be duplicated, and Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday captures the wit, the genius, and the sheer silliness of the six men that comprised Python.

Monty Python's Big Red Book

Monty Python's Big Red Book
Author: Graham Chapman
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019-07-25
Genre:
ISBN: 9780413777423
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October 2019 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first broadcast of Monty Python's Flying Circus on BBC Television. This humorous book contains zany writing and illustrations used by Monty Python. Graham Chapman's education and vocational training occurred variously in such places as the Midlands, Eton, the University of Cambridge, St Swithin's Hospital, on tour in a revue with John Cleese in New Zealand and on the island of Ibiza with David Frost. He was the author of A Liar's Autobiography and he also wrote for Monty Python's Flying Circus and the TV show Doctor in the House. Graham Chapman died in 1989. John Cleese was educated at the University of Cambridge where he performed in Footlights and then went to work in London as a performer and as a comedy writer for the BBC. Besides his work with Python he is best known for his TV series Fawlty Towers (co-written with Connie Booth), the books he has written with psychologist Robin Skinner and films such as Clockwise, A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures. Eric Idle was educated at the University of Cambridge where he joined the Footlights Club becoming president of the club in 1965. He created and acted in The Rutles and has appeared in numerous films including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and wrote the book, and co-wrote the lyrics, for the award-winning musical Spamalot (based on Monty Python & The Holy Grail). Educated at the University of Oxford, Terry Jones worked in theatre, and wrote revues and scripts for the BBC before becoming one of the creators of Monty Python. He has written many books for children and is also the author (with other scholars) of Who Murdered Chaucer? and a study of Chaucer's Knight. He has directed such films as Personal Services, Erik the Viking and The Wind in the Willows, along with all the Python films. Michael Palin was born in Sheffield in 1943 and lives with his wife Helen in North London. His adventures around the world have been huge bestsellers. His books (all of which have accompanied his documentaries for the BBC) include Around the World in 80 Days, Pole to Pole, Full Circle, Sahara and Himalaya. His films have included The Missionary and A Private Function. As part of the Monty Python team, Terry Gilliam produced the series' bizarre animations as well as performing. His subsequent career has encompassed animation and film-making, and he has directed films including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus
Author: Monty Python
Publisher: Pantheon
Total Pages: 350
Release: 1989-11-12
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 0679726470
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***ALMOST CERTAINLY NOMINATED FOR SOMETHING SOMEWHERE*** The complete scripts from the four Monty Python series, first shown on BBC television between 1969 and 1974, have been collected in two companion volumes. Characters' names, often not spoken, are given as in the original scripts, along with the names of the actual performer added on their first appearance in each sketch. This first volume contains twenty-three classic episodes, featuring some of the most entertaining writing to have gone into television anywhere. The minister of silly walks, the dead parrot, banter in a cheese shop - here is every silly, satirical skit, every snide insult, every saucy aside.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Author: Eric Idle
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2018-10-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1984822608
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the ingenious comic performer, founding member of Monty Python, and creator of Spamalot comes an absurdly funny memoir of unparalleled wit and heartfelt candor—now featuring a new afterword. “A hilarious, charming book by this incredible, i̶n̶s̶u̶f̶f̶e̶r̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ interesting genius.”—Steve Martin We know him best for his unforgettable roles on Monty Python—from the Flying Circus to The Meaning of Life. Now, Eric Idle reflects on the meaning of his own life in this entertaining memoir that takes us on a remarkable journey from his childhood in an austere boarding school through his successful career in comedy, television, theater, and film. Coming of age as a writer and comedian during the Sixties and Seventies, Eric stumbled into the crossroads of the cultural revolution and found himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of George Harrison, David Bowie, and Robin Williams, all of whom became dear lifelong friends. With anecdotes sprinkled throughout involving other close friends and luminaries such as Mike Nichols, Mick Jagger, Steve Martin, Paul Simon, Lorne Michaels, and many more, as well as John Cleese and the Pythons themselves, Eric captures a time of tremendous creative output with equal parts hilarity and heart. In Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, named for the song he wrote for Life of Brian and which has since become the number one song played at funerals in the UK, he shares the highlights of his life and career with the kind of offbeat humor that has delighted audiences for five decades. 2019 marked the fiftieth anniversary of The Pythons, and Eric commemorated the occasion with this hilarious memoir chock full of behind-the-scenes stories from a high-flying life featuring everyone from Princess Leia to Queen Elizabeth.