Hats off for the passing of Keith Maniac of Guatemala who could put bricks to sleep. You are already missed.
15
"Spam, spam, spam, bacon and spam"
"Bloody Vikings!"
19
Another person who helped me define insanity as a permanent human condition is now expired. Thank you boring account. Thank you great director. If there is a heaven then it is a better place with you there Terry.
10
I believe he was related to Mel Brooks!
Brother by another mother!
RIP
6
The silly Monty Python organ music is playing nonstop in my head!
6
He’s not dead yet. In fact, I think he’s getting better!
23
"What makes you think she's a witch?"
"What, the curtains?"
Thanks, Mr. Jones.
7
Mr. Creosote. Milk coming out of my nose funny.
5
Pepperpots. The Bishop. The Spanish Inquisition. Upper Class Twit Of The Year.
You can mention those phrases to just about anyone who watched TV in the late 1960s and early 1970s and they will know instantly who you are referring to. Such is the legacy of the Pythons.
Sorry, Terry! Ad now there will be a short interval. (Cue the naked organ player...)
13
God speed you wonderful man I love the fact he of all the Pythons had the hubris and foresight to appear on the Young Ones
9
Good Innings! Thanks for the larfs, Terry...
4
I once had a much dreaded business meeting with a slimy seeming big pharma guy that started out stiff and ended with hilarious reenactments of favorite MP skits and much side splitting.
MP troupe was a childhood gateway drug whereby I discovered the likes of The Goodies, (Tim Brooke Taylor, Marty Feldman, Bill Oddie, Grahame Garden--fellow Oxbridge types). See the first two alongside Cleese and Graham Chapman in 'The Four Yorkshiremen" in At Last the 1948 Show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKHFZBUTA4k.
I think one is an MP addict or one isn't. It's a peculiar funnybone that goes joink only for some people.
9
He inspired me to go for the other shed.
9
If every generation can be defined by a comedy style as much as by it’s music, then Monty Python’s Flying Circus was my rock ‘n’ roll, my jazz, my thrash-ambient-techno-grime.
And as much as I love and admire Chaplin, Keaton, The Marx Bros, Bilko, the current administration, The Python’s are the best.
Although each of it’s members are equally awesome and indispensable, even that American chap, Terry Jones was my personal favourite.
A kind, thoughtful fellow who always seemed to be the one keeping the peace and outside of the ensemble, as has been said, a studious, multi-talented, all round nice guy.
And...the director of the funniest movie ever made.
So farewell, Brian’s mum. RIP
18
Godspeed Mr Jones.
The world is a bit poorer without you.
7
What a great loss! A thoughtful and intelligent person with a great gift of absurd comedy who made us laugh and forget our own worries for a few minutes. Thank you for the laughter.
But we know he is not really dead. He is just resting!
10
Terry Jones, was a funny man.
4
We were young, confused and thought something wasn't right with us, but then we discovered Python and they showed us the world really was that absurd. Perhaps the best thing ever to come out of Oxford: silly, deep, critical and humane all at the same time.
16
My family loved Monty Python in all forms.
Weirdest, my Mother went to “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” (1979) in Northern VA and there were protesters outside, very many.
I enjoyed it too later but without her upbringing in Bible I couldn't understand it as well. She thought it was hilarious.
My Dad loved Flying Circus as all and my siblings all the movies.
Sorry for the loss of Terry Jones.
15
In those early days when pot was still a felony, we felt as though we had discovered our own secret gem to watch at midnight and laugh, laugh, laugh.
Nothing like it since. It formed the humorist design of what comedy could be. Surly something completely different.
Chapeau.
16
'Blessed are the cheesemakers.'
RIP Terry Jones. You'll be missed.
28
When I saw Holy Grail in the theater, the Black Knight scene almost had the same effect on me as the world's funniest joke. Thankfully the theater was not too crowded as I was using the aisle to roll in.
25
I mourn him for two reasons: he was a genius that made me laugh for 5 decades and he died of the same disease, Frontal Temporal Dementia, that my 58-year-old husband just died from. We need to raise awareness and money for this very under reported/diagnosed disease.
30
I discovered MP only in 1981, been a fan ever since.
Their sketches are still current today. Every time I read an article on sub-standard or fake insurance I think of the Insurance sketch.
Or the Dennis Moore sketch of stealing from the poor to give to the rich right after Trump's trillion dollar giveaway. And so much more, those guys were and are geniuses. I'll miss Terry Jones.
25
I lived in England from 1969-1971 (ages 9-11). My older brother was a huge Monty Python fan and, when my parents weren’t around, I’d watch the Flying Circus with him. A lot of the show’s humor was above my head, but I got enough of it to become a lifelong fan. I still remember some of skits fifty years later. It’s hard to choose which was funnier, “The Holy Grail” or “The Life of Brian,” but the ending of Brian still leaves me in hysterics. Godspeed, Mr. Jones, and thanks for all the wonderful hours of laughter you gave me.
19
MPCC brought laughter to millions, thank in large part to Mr. Jones - he shall not be forgotten. Life of Brian is a Jone's masterpiece - best movie ending ever.
Terry was, I think, the funniest of the lot. Well, ok, Eric was very, very good. And John, too, I suppose. Michael was also excellent- better at times than Terry, equal to Eric in many ways, but shorter than John always and more Welsh than Gilliam by far. They will all be missed, eventually, but for now, let's focus on the most recently deceased - doff your caps and say, hwyl fawr hen ffrind.
If you can find it, watch Terry accepting the BAFTA in 2016 - it will bring tears to your eyes and make your heart smile wider than the Nile.
25
@Paul Longhouse You win the internet, great summary of the cast!
6
@Paul Longhouse
Just reading this article I laughed so hard to cause pain in bruised or broken rib--I don't dare watch clips tho I enjoyed him very much!
1
Probably my favorite member of the troupe. So many fond memories: my first viewing of The Holy Grail at the now sadly defunct RKO Keith's Flushng, and the 3 sided comedy sketch album. RIP beloved jokester.
6
It isn't just comedy, it is art. The Pythons changed the way I see the world. Thank you, Terry -- and skip the mint.
20
As an ex-pat Brit of a certain age, I lived through the first round of Python-mania in real time. I have two observations: while the most famous parts of their tv output were hilarious, provocative and ground breaking, vast swathes were totally unfunny, instantly forgettable and cringe-inducing. It was very hit and miss even over the course of any individual episode.
Second, for anyone who wants to experience the distilled essence of their collected brilliance, I would recommend avoiding both the tv series and movies and get hold of a copy of the LP 'Matching Tie and Handkerchief'. I my youth, I could recite it word for word. Without the zany visuals, you get to hear what they did best - play with language and song with a wit and intelligence that is nothing short of genius.
12
I watched MPFC on PBS in my growing up days (regularly broadcast before "The Two Ronnies"). I've been a fan ever since, and routinely find applications of Python lines in daily life.
I was just reading about Terry Jones within the past weeks. A friend's mother has been diagnosed with progressive aphasia, similar to what Terry Jones had. I did not realize that he was close to the end.
RIP, and thank you Mr. Jones for being part of the eternal comedy that is Monty Python's Flying Circus.
6
I was a college radio station DJ during the spring of 1972. Always on the lookout for something new to play, I found in the record room (we played vinyl LPs in those days) an album, the cover the front of which featured a pastoral scene that was crossed out with thick black lines and the words "Another Monty Python album" scrawled in equally thick black lines alongside the picture - or something to that effect. The back of the album also gave no clue at to its contents. Not knowing who Monty Python was, much less what was on the record, I threw it on the turntable at some point during my show, listening to it for the first time along with, I'm sure, everyone else tuning in, including all the school's dining halls. To my great surprise, the album was a compilation of various skits drawn from the Pythons TV show, not yet release in the US. Even without visuals, it was mind-blowing. Pure comic genius and, to my thinking, they were heirs to the Marx Brothers. Before too long, I memorized and would performed for anyone who would listen the "Penguin on Top of the Telly" skit. Thank you, Terry - and all the Pythons.
11
My heart goes out to Terry Jones' family, his friends, his millions of fans, and especially the entire Monty Python family.
May he be surrounded by live parrots for all of eternity.
21
@Marge Keller
Now you've stunned him!
5
This 85 year old, after a couple of minutes of being silently stunned upon learning of Terry Jones' death, continued to read his obituary, had the shock morph into grief and minutes later felt the bittersweet but wonderful relief of tearful crying; oh how much laughter he and they all brought to and continue to bring to my long life.
45
Put the talent aside for just a moment...in every interview I ever read or viewed, he always came across as a very gentle, caring man. He didn't appear to take himself all that serious and truly loved life.
RIP Mr Jones
47
Monty Python offerred (and continues to offer) the very best humor. Although it may be considered passe today, it is not. Everyone from prime ministers to religious ministers were the object of their "attacks" - all appropriate.
May you find employment as a lion tamer (with no disrespect to Michael Palin and John Cleese) in your next experience, Mr. Jones.
7
Did I miss the mention of Python Neil Innes, who died only three weeks ago?
4
He was a very humorous, talented man but a collaborator not a Python. Raise a glass to them both!
11
@Angelus Ravenscroft
Innes worked with the Pythons a lot, but he wasn't an official member of the group.
1
@Susan Beaver, Neil Innes did appear as Eric Idle's squire in "Holy Grail." And sang about "Sir Robin, who when danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled..."
He was as much a part of Monty Python as Carol Cleveland.
2
RIP Mr. Jones. His writing and tv and file work will live forever!
2
I’m not sure life - of Brian or anyone else - was ever as good as those college Sunday nights in the 70s: a little weed, a couple of beers and a pizza delivery timed for the beginning of Monty Python.
24
What is not widely known, and unfortunately not mentioned here, is that the BBC, being a government service, regularly recycled videotape. Terry J offered to buy the Python masters after Season 1, thus ensuring the shows would be seen. Thank you, sir, and Godspeed.
45
gilliam did not co-direct meaning of life
1
@...
He indeed did direct "The Crimson Permanent Assurance" segment that begins the film. The rest was all Jones.
4
I hope he has the comfy pillow and a nice cup of tea.
25
@Ann ...and not a single wafer-thin mint.
4
@Ann But not the Comfy Chair, I hope!
4
“There were 150 of us living in a shoe box in the middle of the road...”
Thank you Mr. Jones for all of the laughs. RIP
22
I watched Monty Python a fews time but could never get into it. I thought it was silly, not funny. But that's typical of British humor.
2
@B. S. B Maybe it just speaks to your sense of humor
25
2 down, 4 to go
Thanks Terry for all the memories. The laughs. The great times.
See you around hopefully.
5
Thank you for the gut busting laughs you gave me and still provide every time I watch Monty Python's skits and movies.
13
He is an ex-Jones. (I of course refer not just to the Dead Parrot Sketch but also to John Cleese's uproarious and loving eulogy for Graham Chapman, where he basically repeated the sketch in Graham's honor. It seems right to do the same for Jones.)
16
My teenage years in the 1970s were enriched by Saturday Night Live and Monty Python. Thank you Terry, Graham, John and Gilda. May we all laugh with you for eternity.
20
Same here. I had the luck to see them live at City Center in 1975 when I was 14. I love all the Pythons and feel deeply saddened by Terry Jones death as well as the the battle he fought with Progressive Primary Aphasia.
4
This is the quote of the day: “We wanted to be unquantifiable. That ‘pythonesque’ is now an adjective in the O.E.D. means we failed utterly.”
35
Who can ever forget, Nobody ever expects the Spanish Inquisition! No one indeed. Thanks for pretty much a lifetime of laughs. The Pythons. No one topped them.
24
Or The Bishop. “But we was too late!” Thanks for the joy you brought, Terry. May you rest well.
2
Two of my favorite artists have passed away recently: Neil Peart of Rush and Terry Jones. Both were highly intelligent and well-read and both excelled at their craft.
Terry directed the greatest comedy film ever made, "The Life of Brian" and got the say the immortal line "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy". Not to mention he got to be Mr. Creosote in "The Meaning of Life". That's a life well-spent!
Thanks for the laughs, Mr. Jones.
16
Mr. Creosote is gone, and we all are hugely diminished.
11
Genius!
4
ARGGGHH!!!! They were "sketches", not "skits".
9
Rest in Peace Terry.
4
Life Of Brian:
What have the Romans ever done for us?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7tvauOJMHo
I rest my case.
22
It was funny then and it's funny now.....Long live the Dirty Vicar !!
5
An entire generation of comics, actors, musicians, songwriters, etc that were in their heyday in the 1960s and 1970s are starting to leave us. I am afraid that we are at only the beginning of reading obits of creative geniuses like Mr. Jones.
What, might you ask, did Terry Jones ever do for us?
Not "nothing" I can guarantee that.
9
There is no greater gift in service to humanity than humble humane empathy plus making people smile and laugh at themselves and their circumstances
A commited Anglophile by nature and nurture like me I laughed and smiled at the double entendre clever level of verbal and visual irreverent comedy of Monty Python and his Flying Circus.
Coming from a specific color aka race, ethnic and national origin that still provides a common context and perspective for the one and only human race species to see and hear themselves.
Humor is great medicine for emotional, mental and physical health.
Godspeed. And say hello to George Carlin and Richard Pryor and Robin Harris.
12
Sad to here this. We have so little absurdist and literate humor these days. RIP Terry!
14
@Pat
What about the roaming inquisitions? Isn't that ad-shurdist and illiterate? It's grate, uh, great! We still love the ol' Pythons. Now there's different cast (pall?) upun it.
1
Python inspired my students favorite lesson plan: where they read the Legends of Arthur, then watch Holy Grail and write a paper on the technique of parody.
Thanks, Terry for your contribution to my students education!
21
My best recollection is how well he played the straight man, in a bowler hat at a pub, with Eric Idle asking him: "Is your wife a goer? Know what I mean, nudge, nudge. Wink, Wink..Say no more..."
24
Mr. Jones was a giant in the comedy field.
His passing is sad, but I will pull out my Monty Python DVDs and celebrate his genius.
12
"One slice of strawberry tart without so much rat in it"
Rest In Peace, Terry Jones.
18
Dear me! And just when the world could use a good laugh.
Rest in Peace & Thank you.
20
RIP TJ thank you and THE Python for all the laughter and influencing how I viewed and understood the world, que the Philosophers Song.
6
You left the world a better place than you found it.
Thank you.
20
There are so many beautiful moments in both Life Of Brian and The Holy Grail where a first-timer May be forgiven for thinking they are watching a serious masterpiece of dramatic cinema.
Then a guy is a very silly costume skips across the scene, banging together some coconuts, and you know, it’s even better than that.
23
Somewhere a moose grieves...
18
Terry Jones's very large character exploding after eating a "wafter-thin" after-dinner mint in "The Meaning of Life" is both equally disgusting and hilarious. And brought me so much joy as a boy.
I hope wherever he is, he found the fish.
19
Losing Terry Jones only a few weeks after Neil Peart is like having the left and right speakers of my teen years disconnected.
The ferocious intelligence and unwillingness to compromise was appealing to the geekier ones of us. I still think the line:
"I thought we lived in an autonomous collective," is one of the funniest things I ever heard. You either get that or you don't.
18
@Bill I think you meant Neil Innes. So heartbreaking to lose these icons of comedy.
4
@Bill That's a good way to put it. Feel the same.
@MB Neil Peart - drummer for Rush, and a deep thinker and prolific writer in his own right.
George there is a man at the door with a moustache. tell him i already got one. He wants to give a show on molluscs. what does he mean mulluscs. MULLUSC'S CEPHLAPODS LEMENNIPEDS oh I thought he said bacon RIP my freind
5
The Pythons were lightning in a bottle and at a special time that can never be recreated and this man was a big part of that.
Watching Monty Python in PBS here in the US was simply unlike anything else on TV and drew a wide audience. I as a young Boomer kid (b 1961) and my Grandma- a woman born a generation before World War II- both watched and enjoyed the show.
To all his family, fans and loved ones- my condolences.
19
If you were a teenager in Denver, Colorado in 1975 you went downtown on weekend evenings and cruised 16th Street with your buddies. One day bored with sitting in the car we parked and walked around. We passed 'The Flick' an arthouse theater and were immediately drawn to a bizarre poster of goofy knights and a large wooden rabbit I think. We realized that the show was about to start. We assessed our collective funds and decided to check it out.
We were blown away and it changed our lives.
On Monday morning we navigated the crowded halls of our high school in pairs. One galloping on an invisible horse, the other slightly behind with cupped hands creating the clip-clop of hooves.
Our classmates and teachers thought we had lost our minds.
"None shall pass." Wha? It's only a rabbit." "I told him we already got one." "It's only a flesh wound." And on and on, all in a terrible English accent.
We were nerdy and awkward kids trying to survive the lifeless suburbs of Denver but we were also in on the joke. Somewhere far away there were a bunch of outrageous Englishmen who weren't taking it so seriously. And for me that felt like a life line.
My life (just like everyone's) has led me to some deadly serious situations and tragedies but I've never stopped laughing and trying to make others laugh.
So thank you Terry Jones.
74
On my way to work in Palo Alto each morning, I listened to a radio program in the SF Bay Area that broadcast Monty Python sketches. I laughed so hard, I cried. Each and every day. What a way to start the work day! If someone remembers the name of that program, pls post.
23
@Russian Princess That could be dangerous. I listened to a tape once driving out to visit a girlfriend in Ohio. I laughed so hard I had tears running down my face and nearly drove off the road.
What's more, driving back I listened to the tape again, and had the same reaction to the same line, even thought I had already heard it.
19
One thing not mentioned is his work on Ripping Yarns - check out the series (or the books) for another facet of his humor (and Michael Palin's, of course).
10
@SB I remember Ripping Yarns - “The Curse of the Claw” and several others.
1
Such a sad irony that a brilliant mind (he was a renowned scholar in his own right, and wrote some wonderful books (I have vet fond memories of his book on the of the role of the knight in early English history) was struck down by a form of dementia that robbed him of the power of words and speech.
He brought so much laughter, and knowledge, and ideas, to so many people.
RIP.
17
Setting: The great hereafter
Scene: - Tarry Jones standing before the great expanse of infinity next to a - let's call it - a "higher power"
Higher Power: And now, my son, all this will be yours!
Terry Jones: "What, the curtains?"
It's one of the great lines in a myriad of great lines - it should absolutely play in Heaven. Godspeed, you funny, talented, intellectual man.
19
My father and I watched Monty Python's Flying Circus together when I was a kid--it's a show that has risen far beyond its original audience and lives on as something folks of that generation can share with their offspring, as do their many humorous films. It was quite a huge influence on my sense of humor during my formative years and continues to pop up once in a while. Will forever appreciate the contributions of Jones and the others who have such a skill for entertaining and educating.
12
The Python was so influential in my sense of humor. Im still quoting bits, from decades ago. Late one night, as a teen in the 70s, sitting in front of my black and white 13 inch TV...turning the dial thru the UHF channels, moving the antenna, searching like an astronomer, and found a staticky broadcast of the Fish Slapping Dance. Felt like I discovered a new world and it was. Never looked back, was instantly hooked. So many laughs. RIP Funny man. Know you were loved.
30
NYT: you didn't give much mention to Jones' Chaucer lore!
I own the book, "Who Murdered Chaucer" by Jones, and there are others. He was a serious Chaucer student and writer.
(See also: Medieval Lives, the Crusades, and others).
12
Yes, he's a comedy giant. But he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy. Now go away!
30
"Now, you listen here! He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy!"
7
I remember sometime in '72 (I think) when my father knocked on my door and said there's something on PBS I should come down and see. My mom protested "but he's doing homework" [for once] and I should be left alone, but my father said, "no, this worth seeing.
That was my introduction to MP.
Now, I think about the Pythons a little bit almost every day. I can't help frequently referencing them when speaking to others. Grail is probably the movie that had the most influence on my life.
Thanks for everything.
35
@Jay I remember getting an excited call from one of my best friends telling me to turn on Channel 13 because there were topless women on TV!
Tuned in for that, stayed for the comedy!
Memorized every album, along with my dorm-mates!
Good times!
5
This is sad news. On a personal note, having been hit by a car and later hit with a divorce while in graduate school (somehow I managed to finish and get my degree), what got me through the roughest time of that adventure was good friends, beer, and Monty Python episodes over communal dinners. RIP, Terry Jones!
13
In "The History Of The World Part One", Mel Brooks describes his profession as "Stand-Up Philosopher."
As with so very much in comedy- this is strict, clean, Truth.
Like the medieval court jester, our humorists are the only people licensed to speak Truth; no matter how much it hurts.
Monty Python was brilliantly intelligent, broadly educated, and observed our human idiocies with a scalpel. The fact that we loved them for it is greatly to our own credit; perhaps there is hope for us.
I contend, seriously, that the Pythons, Mel Brooks, and their fellows, are in fact the genuine philosophers of our era. Philosophy, as a discipline, is intended to make us think, and see.
Ask yourself; having read a good academic essay on some point of Philosophy, and having watched any episode of the Pythons- which one makes you think, and see- more?
Terry - thank you. Well done.
22
@Greenpa Terry Jones was indeed a philosopher - most philosopher's have an "s" in them.
3
@Greenpa - Agree and one of my favourite Python short films was the Philosophers Football match. Comedy genius.
4
I once read that the unofficial marching song of the British army is the suitably mordant "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."
15
In May 1975, the American premiere of the film ”Monty Python and the Holy Grail” took place at 9:00 am on a Sunday morning. As an audience member that day at the Cinema I theater across from Bloomingdale’s, I was anxious for the movie to end so that I could meet the Python troupe in the lobby and receive my promised coconut. Terry Jones was there, along with Graham Chapman, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam (from whom I received my coconut, which I still have.) I cannot adequately convey the sheer joy of the whole scene, but it is a cherished memory from many years ago. Rest in peace, Terry Jones. Blessed are the Cheesemakers.
55
I grew up watching Monty Python, it was the one show my dad would come down and watch with us. Such great fun we all had thanks to these guys. R.I.P. Terry Jones, you brought a lot of joy to so many people, a life well lived.
17
Thanks so much for your comic defiance of our world’s staid institutions, Terry. Over my 7 decades no single individual comedian or other group buoyed my spirits and reinforced my own defiance as did Monty Python and you.
My condolences to your family and friends.
18
My condolences to his family and friends. May he rest in peace. And, thanks for all the laughs and entertainment that he brought us. (We could use more such people these days. I definitely prefer laughter to hatred.)
9
I met Terry Jones in 1975 at the Midwest premiere of "Monty Python and The Holy Grail" in Chicago.
The TV show had become a Sunday night cult sensation on WTTW, Chicago public television, and my high school group was obsessed with it.
At the premiere, Jones and Graham Chapman handed out cocoanuts, which are used to make galloping sounds in the movie in place of horses.
We were thrilled to meet Jones and Chapman, but they seemed stunned by the excitement over their movie. Python mania was bigger than they realized.
They had great fun with the crowd, partied a few days with Chicago fans, and did promotional videos for WTTW. You can see some here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0tRpaudCWY
14
@Baba Those TV spots are GOLD! So funny!
2
Michelangelo and the Pope with the three Christs, the Dead Parrot, Funny Walks, the intentional mistranslation dictionary, the upper crust remove the bra from the debutante and other challenges contest, etc. These are a few moments off the top of my head. Monty Python was kind of unique (the Fringe and the Goons did precede them), quite influential (Steve Martin's Medieval barber/doctor on SNL comes to mind), somewhat cerebral, and just plain funny. Graham Chapman first, now Terry Jones. Gone but never forgotten --- as long as something akin to home video still exists.
6
Wonderful writer who entertained millions. Will be missed. (Marion Chesney AKA M.C. Beaton whose obituary failed to give readers a place to comment.)
4
Mr. Jones is not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This Python is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the chair 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PYTHON!!
80
RIP you funny, funny, funny, funny man.
8
You made the world a funnier happier place. Very well done, and thank you.
12
Thank you, Terry Jones, for sharing your gifts with us. I'm sad and chuckling at the same time. RIP, and please make the angels laugh.
11
Upon checking in to a hospital for heart surgery the person doing paperwork asked if there anyone I did not to visit me, a secondlong thought came out with a Pythonesque response came out, "Yes, Death. Tall, dressed in black, carrying a scythe".
Thanks for the laughs, much of which I didn't understand but it was/is still brilliant.
19
Always look on the bright side of life. Rest in peace.
18
Thanks Terry. I can't tell you what Monty Python meant to me as an awkward kid in the 70's.
19
During my son's early years, not only did I have him watch the Beatles "Yellow Submarine", but I introduced him to Monty Python. He's never recovered.
17
@pwc
I understand completely, and great job! I started showing my 8 and 10 yo sons Python recently, and was thrilled that they are enjoying it as much as I did at their age. They can only be the richer for it.
RIP Terry, and thank you for everything!
13
A shining wit whose light in this world will be sorely missed. Flights of angels, Mr. Jones.
18
@Ben S. Thank you for this. "Flights of angels". Yes indeed. That image, as it always does, made my tear ducts overflow.
3
I'll bet Terry does a "Silly Walk" up to the Pearly Gates and tells St. Peter "Excuse me, but that parrot is dead."
18
terry, along with his mpfc co creators steered me to happiness
at a time when i needed it most.
I will always be in their debt
and in awe of their creativity that has stood times test.
thank you dearly
13
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is to comedy what The Beatles are to music.
44
@Lou Brutus Yep, they pressed the button. Who next?
Superb obit, Mr Genzlinger. You catch the spirit.
4
Thank you, Terry! We'll miss you.
4
Terry Jones and Monty Python were an antidote to the banal sitcom virus outbreak of the 70's that still infects us today. Humor driven by mocking the absurd authority given news media among others. Prophetic.
11
Makes me think of John Cleese's Pythonesque eulogy at Graham Chapman's funeral years ago.
6
Alas, we never got his explanation on why the Earth is banana-shaped...
6
Mr Jones and the rest of the MPFC crew were--still are--a guaranteed mood lifter when nothing seems bright or good.
The silliness, wittiness, absurdity, and all round joyful idiocy they convey is something that I treasure.
My deepest condolences to Mr Jones' family and friends.
7
I’m not a lumberjack and I’m not OK today. R.I.P
25
Holy Mother of God; Brian's mom is deceased. One of a kind for sure. Genuine looney.
8
IFC is currently showing reruns of Monty Python;it would be nice if they would have a marathon of the episodes uncut.
8
@stuckincali
You can watch them all, in order, on netflix.
It’s sooooo funny, and when they do blackface, can’t help but laugh, then cringe....
Awesome stuff
4
@Mr. JJ :
different times......not better or worse, just different.
2
@stuckincali Back when I was in high school in the Seattle area, a Bellingham tv station used to run all the shows for New Year's, and then run them again. It was fabulous.
Python molded this teenage boys view of the world. All for the better. I will always hear his female cockney accent and smile.
Jones was not the Messiah, He's just a very naughty boy, and brilliant.
12
Oi, the saddest day but what a delightful picture of him. I am grateful I used to walk in and around Highgate while even weekending in parts of Wales. We are luckier for having Monty Python. Thank you. RIP.
10
Eleven o'clock, Sunday night, mid 1970s. Me, a boy in high school, sneaking downstairs to watch "Monty Python's Flying Circus," a time-filling afterthought on my city's PBS channel. Comedy forever upended.
It was the equivalent of kids in staid communities hiding Beatles albums in their closets a decade earlier, smuggling "Lady Chatterley's Lover" a decade before that, etc.
Life changing, all of it.
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@Bridgman Yep, same for me. In Denver it was on Saturday night just before SNL. Saturday nights have never been the same.
4
@Bridgman Was my brother and I too in Chicago - parked every Sunday night in excited anticipation. We would share and replay the lines from the current episode with friends and cousins for days. MP was a pillar of my childhood.
Will miss Terry - hoping he went out reading the Killer Joke.
4
Have a look at the ‘wafer-thin mint’ sketch on YouTube. I saw this with my son and cried with laughter.
10
Like most people, I am momentarily saddened when people I respect, looked up to, or studied pass on. I read the inevitable Times obit, ponder the loss, and—to be honest—shuffle on.
But when we lose the people whose gifts to us were not some noble mission of intent, but rather the cast sparks from a ferocious fire of creativity, art, and humor... the sadness is different. More profound, and deeper. The world is less bright, less silly, less happy. As a commenter said earlier up in this chain, it will be heartbreaking to watch the Pythons leave us one by one. They've given so much, without even setting out to do so.
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I met Mr. Jones once while ushering at an off off Broadway theater. We briefly spoke as I showed him and his guest inside. I forget the dialogue, but whatever i said, made him laugh..me(!). An encounter, I shall cherish.
34
This news has motivated me to go into the back yard and clean out my sheds.
Both of them.
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@nyshrubbery
Is that you, Arthur?
10
@nyshrubbery Thanks Authur!
7
@Jeff Well, I don't use it myself, but some of my friends call me "Two Sheds"
11
I remember my two encounters with Terry Jones vividly. In 1987, I was writing an article on the Pythons for VIDEO magazine. He agreed to talk with me but no one told him I would be calling from the U.S. He lived in the U.K. and there was a five-hour time difference, so I ended up calling him at 7 A.M. U.S. time. At some point during the interview, I mentioned that I was calling from America, and he said, "It's awfully early for you to be calling, isn't it?" I told him the phone rates were cheaper and he laughed and apologized for getting me up so early. "I'll make it up to you," he promised. Three years later when I was the New York correspondent for the British film magazine EMPIRE, I was in London on vacation. I called my editor at EMPIRE a few times before I reached him, and he said he was too busy to see me. Soon after that, I called Terry Jones. He remembered me instantly, asking what time it was in New York. I said, "I don't know. I’m in London.” Delighted, he invited me to come to his suburban home, and he'd make us lunch. I did and we had a wonderful time. "I told you I'd make it up to you!' he said. And now for something completely different: a TV and film star who remembers his promises!
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I used to run into Terry Jones all the time in Soho, but the only conversation I ever had with him was when I blundered into an editing booth that was at the top of a walk up off Dean Street. He was sitting at an editing machine with another man in the dark. I said "Whoops sorry" he said " Don't worry, please close the door."
8
Not Cardinal Biggles, now who is going to poke us with the soft cushions.
22
@how bad can it be
Just the phrase, "poke us with soft cushions" triggered a sputtering guffaw that came from my belly. I'm sure I have not heard or thought about poking by soft cushions for 40 years more or less. But I knew exactly what you meant. Or my belly did. Now I have to find it and watch it. Thanks to YouTube. And a million thanks to Monty Python for all the belly exercise I got decades ago.
16
Such a loss. Words fail.
9
Terry Jones wasn't the Messiah; he was a very naughty boy!
He will surely rest in peace for the joyful mirth he brought the world as an antidote to an oversuppy of resentful bitterness.
21
the larch.......the larch
16
@D Huston #23!
1
4 Yorkshiremen. If you've never seen it, run don't walk to your nearest computer.
15
“Warped Renaissance Man.” Indeed, and we need more of those in today’s world. Thanks for gracing us with your talents and your absurd sense of humor! RIP.
8
Weelease Woderick.
Biggus Dickus.
Incontinentia Buttox
RIP Alan - such brilliance!
14
He made "Life of Brian" one of my all-time favorite movies.
11
@Daniel Mine too.
1
Dear Mr. Jones,
Thank you for forty years of laughter, may you rest in peace.
8
An absolutely hilarious human being. Thanks for a lifetime of laughter in a dark world.
23
Terry Jones defined the word, "gifted". A truly remarkable life. RIP.
16
Sad to hear he is no longer. But parts of the obit made me laugh. A fitting act of remembrance for a person who dedicated his life to humor.
13
The article left out one key fact about Terry Jones: The BBC was about to erase ALL of the videotapes of the original series, but Terry saved them. Had he not, none of us would have ever had the pleasure of knowing and loving MPFC. Thank you and rest in peace Terry.
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@Wally I saw a show with Idle and Cleese. Eric said they put it in their contract that they could retain possession of the tapes after the show ended. Not certain whose idea.
7
@Dave Larson That's right because the BBC didn't understand the show and actually wanted to re-use the videotapes to record other shows (like Benny Hill?). Eric has proven to be quite a good entrepreneur so it may have been his idea, but I think they all had a sense of the lasting value in the show.
13
That parrot is most certainly now dead....
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@john daly deceased. No longer present.
12
@john daly It has joined the choir invisible.
10
@john daly
As in Ex-Parrot!
Oh what a joy and a gas to recall all of this.
7
“Life of Brian” is probably the most accurate Biblical movie. RIP.
99
Monty Python was a show that you either loved or thought was inane and silly and not funny.
I was on the latter side, however every now and then there were a few sketches that were hilarious.
One I remembered was the cheese of all nations. Somebody walks into a cheese shop of that name and throughout the show keeps asking for every cheese known to man and the shopkeeper says he doesn't have it!
RIP Mr. Jones.
10
@Paul They didn't even haven have cheddar. :)
5
@Paul - I think the same can be said for a lot of shows, including SCTV and SNL.
That's the beauty of this kind of comedy. Somehow, watching and remembering the brilliant flashes makes you forget a lot of mediocre filler.
2
@Paul When someone asks me if something is clean, I often reply "Well, it's certainly uncontaminated by cheese!"
3
Thanks Terry, for ruining my day.
A titan has left us.
Absolutely gutted.
39
Neil Peart and a Python gone, all in the same week. My heart is breaking. RIP, Terry. I will watch Life of Brian and Monty Python and the Holy Grail back to back tonight in your honor.
18
@WesternMass. And don't forget Neil Innes! What a way to start 2020. :-(
@Grizz
I did not know about Neil Innes. So sad to hear.
They were the comedic equivalent of the Beatles and just as influential. Think of all that derives from Flying Circus.
25
Well, rats. I'm glad his suffering is over, but I loved him so, and will miss his kindly, appealing presence in the world. Farewell, Terry. Much grieving will ensue.
22
Maybe the most underrated Python? Definitely the best in a dress :) RIP dear Terry.
29
Jones and Gilliam did not co-direct The Life Of Brian. The team jointly decided before production began to give sole directing duties to Jones. Gilliam's style, brilliant as it eventually became, was deemed by the group not to be a good match for them. (He was far too particular about non-comedic visual elements, demanding re-take after re-take to get them right. They thought he actually was a drag on the comedy at times in his first outing.)
He was in charge of set design and the overall (non-directing) look of the film.
11
@Sixofone
Prisoner fans are always such nerds. ;)
Be seeing you.
4
@Chickpea
I'd say that we appreciate the value of the truth.
Tally-ho.
6
@Sixofone "Sixofone" reminds me of "saxophone."
Sadness now, but laughter for a lifetime. Thank you, Terry.
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And now for something completely different.
R.I.P.
22
My compliments to Mr. Genzlinger. You managed to create (not just write) an article that captured a lot of the idiosyncracies that defined Terry Jones and the Monty Python group. There were even a few factoids that I was unaware of -- he was a 'Chaucerite.'
Let me add a personal story. When the Life of Brian came out, religious groups organized pickets and protests at the movie houses where it was playing in the southern city of Jacksonville. So my editor had me do a review of the movie. In brief, it came down to "get a grip, folks, it's funny." The protests died out after about a week.
43
How do you know she is a witch?
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@Joe YES!!!!! There needs to be a recommend one million times button for this.
11
Thank you, Terry.
11
He’s not dead. He’s just stunned.
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@Pb of DC
He's resting.
9
@Pb of DC Sadly he has ceased to be and has joined the choir invisible. RIP Terry and thanks.
5
Brilliant.
And pining for the fjords.
5
I lost my father unexpectedly in November. I have a vivid memory of him laughing harder than I'd ever seen him laugh before to the "Incontentia Buttocks" scene in Life of Brian. I thought fondly of that occasion (probably 30 years ago) and my dear dad this morning when I heard of his passing. RIP Terry Jones.
41
@lawyer It’s really touching that so many comments I’ve read talk about dads laughing with their kids watching Python. That’s a powerful thing when you’re a kid and laugh with your dad.
24
Flights of angels, Terry Jones. Perhaps you will finally get the answer to the eternal question: "What are you doing creeping around a cow shed at two o'clock in the morning? That doesn't sound very wise to me."
16
@Greek Goddess
Always look at the bright side of life
(Whistle)
Always look on the light side of life
(Whistle)
[Verse 1]
If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly, chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing
32
Terry Jones has left an indelible mark on the world by virtue of being in one sketch: playing the waitress at a diner where virtually every dish on the menu contained Spam (tm). It's not only a pork product, it's also a noun and a verb and an inescapable part of living with computers. Thank you.
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@Daniel J. Drazen I always wanted to know why Chapman(the lady in the sketch) didn't order the Lobster Thermadore as it had the least amount of spam in it!
7
I met Terry Jones with my small child when he came to the University of Arkansas got discus the Roman depilation of Dacia. My child recited the Cheese Shop to him, and I thanked him for educating me. He was gracious. I also saw Monty Python at the City Center in 1975 with another recent decedent, Neil Innes in the show. Ah, time is a thankless fish. Farewell, Mr. Jones.
29
With much gratitude for his work, I send my condolences to all who knew him well.
26
The Chaucer connection with Terry Jones makes so much sense ... never knew that. As an English major, I hated Shakespeare. Hated him -- too often boring, long-winded, artificial, etc. But I LOVED Chaucer, in the Olde Englishe. The Canterbury Tales and their bawdy humor made me laugh out loud time and time again, yet each contained so much humanity, so many spiritual lessons, all tied up in a bow, one after the other. Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde was epic, beautiful, majestic and deeply moving as well. Brilliant choice, Terry ... you brought your love of the greatest English literature to all of us here in the 20th century, and we never knew. God bless.
45
@JTS Yes and yes but just note: Chaucer wrote in Middle English; Old English is Beowulf (aka Anglo-Saxon)
18
@EricW You're so right! Duly noted....
7
Rest in peace Mr. Jones. The world is losing the only good kind of snake. Thanks so much for all of the laughs and fond memories.
12
Terry Jones' extraordinary body of work will long outlive him. He had talent for days and gave the world the great gift of laughter.
It seems very careless that this NYT obit completely ignores "Chaucer's Knight," Jones' scholarly work with a completely different historical perspective on 'The Knight's Tale' in "The Canterbury Tales." Jones never lost his fascination with Chaucer and believed he was assassinated. Worth reading.
19
@Elise It is in the article. "And he was an author, both of scholarly fare like “Chaucer’s Knight” (1980), an alternative view of a character from “The Canterbury Tales,” and of books for children."
4
I have the complete set of the Flying Circus CDs. Thanks to this piece, sad as it is, I just ordered "The Pythons Autobiography." I have watched the Flying Circus since I can't even remember -- obviously still do -- and have seen every movie. My wife and I saw John Cleese and Eric Idle on stage in Atlanta a few years ago, in their two-man show.
Terry Jones remains an individual with gifts and talents that few could possess: funny, sad, hysterical, creative, able to take on a thousand personae. There were times I never recognized who he was in some skits. His movies, hysterical, cryptic, engaging.
The world now, too much with us, is better because The Pythons made fun of it, had fun with it, and invited anyone interested into it, and how to survive in it with grace and absurdity. Mr Jones -- thank you for helping us survive while doubling over with laughter.
34
It is hard to overstate how these five people brought so many millions together to laugh at everything and anything.
It is hard to overstate how effectively these five people used comedy to remind us of simple truths: that laughter is therapeutic; that war is absurd; that monarchy is absurd; that religious zeal is blinding; the parrot that appears dead probably is; that you can go on, even though it's just a flesh wound; to always look on the bright side of life.
RIP Mr. Jones.
231
@R.S.
Six, not five. Not sure if you were leaving out Chapman or Gilliam, but in total there were six of them.
Palin, Idle, Cleese, Chapman, Jones, Gilliam.
25
For the record, it was six members. Graham Chapman died in 1989.
3
It will be really sad to see the Pythons leave us one at a time.
22
The first time I saw Terry Jones was when he and Michael Palin visited the children's show, "Wonderama". I never cared for the simple Wonderama, but my siblings did, so Sunday mornings it was on channel 5. One Sunday morning, my life changed. Mr. Jones and Mr. Palin arrived to talk about Monty Python's Flying Circus and presented the clip, "The Miracle of Flight." I was spellbound. Someone finally got my sense of humor. I must have been about seven years old. I saw the two of them giggling at Bob McCallister's mouth agape at the end of the segment, and realized I was in on their joke. My parents let me Monty Python when it premiered until they aired the Parts of the Body episode. After that, I had to sneak upstairs and watch it when no one was paying attention.
As a college student and aspiring poet, Mr. Jones appeared almost by holograph to my Canterbury Tales class. I never would have passed without endless research and his simply explained interpretations. As the mother of a college student, The Holy Grail was required viewing for my daughter's British film class. After she viewed it she said, "I think I finally got your sense of humor."
Thanks to these gentlemen, I found others like me who could laugh at the absurd, the highbrow, and the utterly sophomoric all in the same sketch. Thanks for helping me find laughter.
84
@Detkar Wasn't it Sonny Fox who hosted Wonderama. I actually appeared on the show when I was young and actually changed the rules to "Stump Sonny" by asking him the population of a small town in Ohio. The next week there were new rules for the game that excluded population questions.
8
@Detkar : Ah yes Detkar, the salacious "two inches from a very naughty bit indeed" body part that forced you to watch it surreptitiously.
I always thought the funniest part of that sketch was "Margaret Thatcher's brain".
The world is a little bit less today.
8
@Rick Gage Bob McAllister was the host during my childhood. I just looked up Sonny Fox, and he stopped hosting it the year I was born, in 1967. McAllister took over and hosted it until 1977, and then I believe other people took over for short periods. I think your question to Sonny would have pleased the Pythons had they appeared on your episode.
8
I started with the Goon Show as a kid in New Zealand. Also absorbed Mad Magazine a bit later. Thank heavens MPFC came along at the right time to help me transition into becoming a sort of grown up.
Thanks all Pythons.
RIP Terry Jones
26
The laughter he, and all the Pythons, created can still be heard because the laughter continues to be created.
7
Hated to read this news - Mr. Jones was a comic genius. So many characters come to mind from the old Python series, and the several movies he appeared in. Rest in Peace, TJ.
16
Sorry to hear this, although it was not unexpected. It is impossible for me to adequately thank Terry Jones for all the side-splitting, tear-inducing -- and yes, intelligent -- humor I've experienced with him and the Pythons over the years. What an amazing gift he had. I like to think he and Graham Chapman are writing and performing skits somewhere in the Cosmos. Thank you, Terry.
131
@JenD
Love your comment and completely agree.
Sometimes when I hear the rumbling of thunder, I'll wonder if that really is a storm approaching or merely the laughter from above because Terry Jones and Graham Chapman are at it again - writing and making folks chuckle and laugh for all eternity.
4
Just looking at the Monty Python troupe made me laugh out loud. All of them had that indefinable but recognizable look of childish cut-up devilment, even when they tried to be serious.
Their work lives on, thankfully. Bless you, Terry.
143
@PaulB67
You describe Monty Python precisely - childish and silly but definitely not funny.
I believe that it was in the summer of 1974 or so that I came home one night and heard my father howling with laughter in the den. I walked in and asked what was so funny. He said "Sit down and watch this!" He was watching Monty Python's Flying Circus and I soon joined in with his laughter. I was hooked and was a devoted fan ever since.
God rest your soul Mr. Jones, and thank you. You will be remembered fondly by many.
55
Python is eternal. My 9, 10 and 11 year old daughter cannot stop watching their shows and movies.
40
Goodnight, funny man.
He (they) brought a new, hilarious take on everything and influenced a generation of young Americans.
20
His Python mate, Eric Idle, got it right. "Always look on the bright side of life." Terry Jones and the others added a lot of bright spots to my life just watching them making fun of absolutely everything.
54
May his memory be eternal. I watched Monty Python as a young teen on PBS. I loved it! Later when I lived in York England for a while, I got to see a revival of Holy Grail, with an opening of a Goon Show short. It was magic. I always loved Mr. Jones characters and later, his medieval scholarship. He was a rare and special talent and this dark world just got a little darker with his passing. RIP Terry Jones.
43
Rest in peace, Mr. Jones. My sense of humor was forged by Monty Python. Thank you for sharing your wit, talent, and smarts with the world. You made it a strange (in the greatest way) and more interesting place.
29
The first time I became aware of Monty Python was back in the early 1970's. The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee used to air the sbow (which was on PBS at the time) in one of their big class rooms that was open to everyone. I became a huge fan of them and their comedy still holds up today. I remember George Harrison saying "If The Beatles never broke up we'd have become Monty Python." RIP Terry Jones.
54
Rest In Peace, Mr. Jones. You have brought so much laughter to our home. My nine year old son and twelve year old daughter recite Monte Python Flying Circus sketches constantly, so many years after the series was made. That is your legacy.
88
Very sad news. It seems somehow befitting that I'm in the midst of reading a book by him on medieval history, which I bought in an English castle last summer. A comedy legend who was an integral part, even the "soul", of the most revolutionary comedy troupe that I can think of. Must have been the salmon mousse.
64
Oh I am so sad at his death. I still refer to his documentary on the Crusades, an excellent yet entertaining recounting of what went on. But there is a wonderful legacy of creatively with which to remember him.
71
Sad news indeed. Terry Jones was a gifted artist, who created precious and often anarchistic work that will be long remembered by those fortunate to have enjoyed it. Thank you for the laughter with you, and at ourselves, and may he rest in peace. Condolences to his family and friends, and to my fellow "Pythons" out there.
103