I was never a Monty Python fan, Jayelles. I believe Prince Charles was. Also The Goon Show. !ouch: Ach well! To each his own. :bigstick:
Thanks, Jay! We're all big Monty Python fans at our house ... especially the movie "MP & the Holy Grail." I'd read about "Spamalot" ... but hadn't seen that web site. I'd love to see the show in person.
I have loved Monty Python since 1975, since Monty Python and the Holy Grail. When I have time, I will post how I got an autographed stuffed parrot from Monty Python sometime. It is a long story, and a bizarre story, of how I was duped by some woman. It backfired and I got this parrot. More later.
I've known you for four years now, Thor, and I'm finding out new things about you. Of course, I have to remember you're still one of the younger ones compared to me. I can't help it if I don't like crazy stupid stuff. My husband does.:burnedup:
Ok, in 1976, I found a magazine that had some gal in New York looking for folks to correspond with, said she was a Python fan. I was too, and was looking for more info on them. So, long story short (I was only about 22 at the time), we wrote back & forth. She said she worked for them and at that time, they were performing in the states, doing shows. At one point, I gave her my phone number. She started calling me. She had a British accent and said she knew them and worked behind the scenes at their shows here in the U.S. I had no reason to doubt her. Once, she called me, saying she was calling from backstage in New York, and put some guy on, saying he was one of the Pythons. She never once asked for money or anything like that. The turning point was when she sent me a chitload of photographs, labeling each one, saying they were the Pythons at different stages of their lives. I started doubting her about then. One was a picture saying it was from the filming of the Holy Grail, but there was a Chicago police sign in the background. That kind of stuff. So, I sent all the original photos to their London address with a letter expressing my doubts about this woman. I addressed each photo and explained why I doubted their authenticity. I still have a copy of that letter, along with the photos, and laughed my butt off the other day when I dug them out. Anyway, I got a letter back from their New York press agent, or whatever she was. Basically, she explained that this woman was a fan and I had been taken for a ride. She apparently had fan letters that this gal had written to the Pythons, but she in no way worked with them. She was delusional, I guess. She also showed this stuff to the Pythons and they felt bad for me. Terry Jones even wrote me a personal letter saying this woman was a looney! Sent me an autographed picture, too. Anyway, the woman that wrote me from their office said they are sending me an autographed "surprise" and it might take awhile, since they had to be rounded up for autographs. It took about 4 months and one day I went to the mailbox and found this thing wrapped in brown paper from England. It was an autographed stuffed parrot on a perch autographed by all of them. I have been a fan since 1975, but this went above & beyond. This was when they were pretty popular. Who else would do this for a fan? I didn't ask for it, I simply wanted to know if this nut I was corresponding with was legitimate. I remember she was from the Bronx. My girlfriend pretended she was my attorney and called her, telling her to cease and desist. All calls stopped, so we scared the chit out of her. I love these guys and can't believe they did this for me. In fact, last week, I bought a couple of DVDs of Monty Python and laughed my head off watching them again. This is British humor at its best. I love them. I have the parrot hanging in my living room as we speak.
Well, Elle, I do have British blood in me, from my mom AND my dad both. We all love the Pythons. Mom loved them (she secretly loved Graham Chapman), and Dad. My brother was the one that got me interested in them. We went to see Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975 and I simply fell in love with them. They are funnier than chit. Of course, like I say, I do have the Brit in me.
Graham Chapman is gay isn't he? LOL I adore Michael Palin. I love his mind mmmmm. I was just a wee girl when Monty Python came out here and I wasn't allowed to watch it! However, I used to hang around and make excuses that I wanted a drink of water and such so that I could go through the living room and spy on this programme that made my entire family roar with laughter. It was definitely ahead of its time. I loved the dead parrot sketch and I loved the sketches which involved people being interrupted by random telephone calls to inquire about their shoe sizes. That appeals to me so much. Oh and the spam sketch - hilarious. I've been to the castle where they filmed Holy Grail - Doune Castle.
Wow Jayelles, that's cool, being at the castle where they filmed this. Graham Chapman died years ago, yes he was gay. I think he had cancer, if I remember right. He was a doctor! My mom and I got to meet him once in the 1980s when he came to the University of Nebraska, doing some kind of speaking engagement. Mom always thought he was cute. Michael Palin is a doll. My favorite was always Eric Idle, for some reason I thought he was cuter than a bugs ear. He11 I love all of them. I have an off the wall sense of humor and have always appreciated the Brits. And the Scots. I am English/Scottish/Irish and a tad bit of German. Of course, I loved The Beatles and especially, A Hard Days Night. My family has always appreciated the dry British humor, not to mention the musical talent of the Brits. I grew up like that. My favorite Monty Python sketch is the Ministry of Silly Walks. John Cleese just cracks me up doing that one. The DVDs I bought are the anniversary of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, plus Monty Python's Meaning of Life. Love both of them.
I, too, have loved Monty Python ever since I went to see the "Holy Grail" in a movie theatre in 1975. I remember nearly falling out of my seat with laughter. One of my favorite MP sketches is "Upperclass Twit of the Year."
Off stage, John Cleese is the most insufferable bore believe it or not! Eric Idle was more recently associated with the brilliant sitcom "One Foot in the Grave". I think Michael Palin is rather dashing
I know you told me you had a liking for the Brits when we first got to know each other. As far as Monty Python is concerned, my own three sons were never into that kind of comedy, but I do know they have a large following out there. It was nice of the actual Python group to give you that attention, Thor. What did you call your parrot - Monty?
I took my boys to see "A Hard Days Night" and I have always liked the Beatles. I feel quite sad every time I hear John :Lennon's "Imagine" being sung.
Yes, Jayelles, I have seen Spamalot and It Was Good. It is worth every penny of the ticket price and more. The only thing I cannot wrap my mind around is the idea of who could possibly and inevitably serve as any replacements for this perfect cast. The roles are so varied and the actors in them fit so well, it confounds. It will be as difficult to recast Tim Curry, David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria, I think, as it would have been to try and recast any of the original Pythons during the first broadcast of the Circus. All of you, if you have any love for Python and the Holy Grail at all, save up and go see this show. You will see, live on a Broadway stage, a cow thrown off a castle. Also, I have two more handy hints. If you have to pay a premium price to sit in seat A101, do it. You will never forget it for the rest of your life. If you cannot get a seat there, try and sit in the center orchestra somewhere around row J or K. You may get to catch a bouquet as a souvenir.
Fascinating. I used to associate with a fairly intense New York Python fan group of that era, and in the course of events met a woman from New Jersey who claimed to have babysat Michael Palin's children during their City Center shows. I was impressed at the time. Wonder if it was the same woman? You and your parrot win the Greatest Python Souvenir Ever award.
Yep Why Nut, that parrot is something I would never trade. I also have a personally autographed book of The Dead Zone by Stephen King. He came here for a book signing in 1979 and I met him and he signed my name & everything in the book. That is also a keeper. Hard to know what this woman's intentions were, it was very bizarre. She sounded normal enough on the phone. But she was a fan, according to the Pythons. That group of comedians is the funniest I have ever seen. I love them with all my heart.
