 Cover of The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons hardback, 2003 | |
| Editor | Bob McCabe |
|---|---|
| Authors | Graham Chapman John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones Michael Palin |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Autobiography |
| Publisher | Orion |
Publication date | 15 September 2003 |
Published in English | Print (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 0-75285-293-0 |
| Preceded by | A Pocketful of Python |
| Followed by | Monty Python Live! |
The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons is the official autobiography of the Monty Python team, released in 2003. [1] It covers the whole of Python history, from their childhoods all the way through to the 30th anniversary celebrations in 1999.
Monty Python were a British surreal comedy group who created their sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, including touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books, and musicals. The Pythons' influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Their sketch show has been referred to as "not only one of the more enduring icons of 1970s British popular culture, but also an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".
Contents
The book was edited by Bob McCabe from interviews held with John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Interspersed with these are archive interviews with Graham Chapman as well as new contributions from Chapman’s partner David Sherlock, his brother John, and sister-in-law Pam. The book also features excerpts from the personal diaries of Terry Jones and Michael Palin, alongside many previously unseen photographs from the team’s personal archives.
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, voice actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s, he co-founded Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus. Along with his Python co-stars Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman, Cleese starred in four Monty Python films: And Now for Something Completely Different, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life.
Terrence Vance Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor, comedian and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe.
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, voice actor, author, singer-songwriter, musician, writer and comedic composer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python, a member of the parody rock band The Rutles, and the author of the Broadway musical Spamalot.
Originally released as a large format hardback, in the style of The Beatles Anthology book, it was later issued as a smaller paperback version. A 2-CD set of interviews recorded for the book was released simultaneously.
The Beatles Anthology is a book published in October 2000 as part of The Beatles Anthology film project. It includes interviews with all four band members, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, and others involved, most notably George Martin, plus over 1,200 rare photos and colorful illustrations. Many of the interviews quoted are from those featured in the documentary films, and additional interviews were conducted specifically for the book. The book went straight to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. In 2002, the book was released as a large-format paperback.
