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92-651: Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surrealist comedy group Monty Python . He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two Python films, Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979). Chapman was born in Leicester and was raised in Melton Mowbray . He enjoyed science, acting, and comedy and after graduating from Emmanuel College, Cambridge , and St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College , he turned down

184-531: A DustBuster . Idle recalled meeting Sherlock, saying "I wish he [Chapman] was here now" and Sherlock replied "Oh, but he is. He's in my pocket!" Asteroid 9617 Grahamchapman , named in Chapman's honour, is one of six asteroids named after the Python members. In 1997, Sherlock allowed Jim Yoakum to start the "Graham Chapman Archives". Later that year, the novel Graham Crackers: Fuzzy Memories, Silly Bits, and Outright Lies

276-732: A Telethon celebrity in New Zealand, hosted by TV1 . He voices Asterix in the UK dub of the 1989 animated film Asterix and the Big Fight (an animated adaptation of the books Asterix and the Big Fight and Asterix and the Soothsayer , novelized as Operation Getafix ). In 1992, he was a guest star in the US comedy television series Married... with Children for a three-part episode set in England. He voiced

368-401: A career as a doctor to be a comedian. Chapman eventually established a writing partnership with John Cleese , which reached its critical peak with Monty Python during the 1970s. He subsequently left Britain for Los Angeles, where he attempted to be a success on American television, speaking on the college circuit and producing the pirate film Yellowbeard (1983), before returning to Britain in

460-523: A certain amount of incongruity, and that absurd jokes require the additional component of an "absurd image," with an incongruity of the mental image. Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie OBE (born 7 July 1941) is an English actor, artist, birder, comedian, conservationist, musician, songwriter, television presenter and writer. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies . A birder since his childhood in Quinton, Birmingham , Oddie has established

552-410: A chief inspector. He had been trained as a French polisher for a coffin-maker before entering the police force in the 1930s. Chapman had an elder brother, John, who was born in 1936. They had, according to Chapman and his brother, an "extremely poor upbringing". One of Chapman's earliest memories was seeing the remains of Polish airmen who had suffered an aeroplane accident near Leicester, later saying

644-499: A climber. "We would only do a reunion if Chapman came back from the dead. So we're negotiating with his agent." Following Chapman's death, reformations of the Pythons have included an urn said to contain his ashes . At the 1998 Aspen Comedy Arts festival, the urn, brought onstage by a stiff English butler, was "accidentally" knocked over by Terry Gilliam, spilling the "ashes" on-stage. The apparently cremated remains were then removed with

736-421: A cultural movement developed in the 20th century by French and Belgian artists, who depicted unnerving and illogical scenes while developing techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. The movement itself was foreshadowed by English writers in the 19th century, most notably Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear . The humour in surreal comedy arises from a subversion of audience expectations, emphasizing

828-419: A eulogy to Chapman with shock humour that he believed Chapman would have appreciated and became the first person at a televised British memorial service to say "fuck". Palin also delivered a eulogy to Chapman, as did Idle, quipping that Chapman had decided to die rather than listen to Palin again. Idle led the other surviving Pythons and Chapman's close friends and family in a rendition of the song " Always Look on

920-524: A full series from being made. In 1988, he also appeared on stage with three other Pythons (Gilliam, Jones and Palin) at the 41st British Academy Film Awards where Monty Python received the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema. Broadcast in November 1989, the 20th anniversary television special, Parrot Sketch Not Included – 20 Years of Monty Python , hosted by Python fan Steve Martin ,

1012-474: A green plaque funded by Leicestershire County Council was placed on Chapman's former home in Burton Road, Melton Mowbray . A year later, a blue plaque at the entrance of Chapman's old school, King Edward VII School , was reported as stolen but was later found inside the building. In March 2017, the plaque was moved to Melton Mowbray town centre. Surreal humour Surreal humour grew out of surrealism ,

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1104-621: A lengthy series of US college tours, talking about The Pythons, the Dangerous Sports Club and his friend Moon, among other subjects. Saturday Night Live creator and Python fan Lorne Michaels persuaded Chapman to star in The New Show . In 1988, Chapman appeared in the Iron Maiden video " Can I Play with Madness ". The same year, he starred in a pilot of a proposed television series, Jake's Journey , but financial problems prevented

1196-510: A memorial service at St Bartholomew's Hospital two months after his death, which was a testimony to Chapman's surreal sense of humour that the remaining five Pythons enacted. Graham Chapman was born on 8 January 1941 at the Stoneygate Nursing Home, Stoneygate , Leicester , Leicestershire , the son of policeman Walter Chapman and Edith Towers. Walter Chapman was a police constable at the time of Graham's birth; he ended his career as

1288-543: A pirate film, Yellowbeard (1983), which came out of conversations between Chapman and Moon while in Los Angeles. Moon had always wanted to play Long John Silver , so Chapman began to write a script for him. Moon died in 1978 and the work stalled, eventually being rewritten by McKenna, then by Peter Cook . The film, which starred Chapman as the eponymous pirate, also featured appearances from Cook, Marty Feldman, Cleese, Idle, Spike Milligan and Cheech & Chong . It marked

1380-565: A portrait of Oddie, as part of the BBC programme Star Portraits with Rolf Harris . One of the artists, Mark Roscoe , later revealed a dislike of Oddie, claiming to have included hidden insults in his work. He hosted the genealogy -based series My Famous Family , broadcast on UKTV History in 2007. In 2008, Oddie was a guest on Jamie Oliver 's television special Jamie's Fowl Dinners , talking about free-range chickens. He also appeared on Would I Lie To You? in 2011, where he revealed that he

1472-752: A principal exponent of this, especially in The Exterminating Angel . It is a prominent feature in the television and cinematic work of the British comedy troupe Monty Python (1969–2015). Other examples include The Falls by Peter Greenaway and Brazil by Terry Gilliam . Surrealist humor has become increasingly popular in both children- and adult-oriented western animation, most notably in shows such as Regular Show , South Park , SpongeBob SquarePants , Aqua Teen Hunger Force , and more recently, Smiling Friends . Contemporary Internet meme culture, such as Weird Twitter and YouTube poop ,

1564-474: A production of The Who 's rock opera Tommy by London Symphonic Orchestra and English Chamber Choir at the Rainbow Theatre , Finsbury Park , London, on 13 and 14 December 1973. He has also contributed vocals to a Rick Wakeman album, Criminal Record . He recorded a single, "Superspike", with John Cleese and a group of UK athletes, billed the "Superspike Squad", to fund the latter's attendance at

1656-550: A reputation as a naturalist, conservationist, and television presenter on wildlife issues. Some of his books are illustrated with his own paintings and drawings. His wildlife programmes for the BBC include Springwatch and Autumnwatch , How to Watch Wildlife , Wild in Your Garden , Birding with Bill Oddie , Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie and Bill Oddie Goes Wild . Oddie

1748-498: A result, much of their art was intentionally amusing. One example is Marcel Duchamp 's Fountain (1917), an inverted urinal signed "R. Mutt". This became one of the most famous and influential pieces of art in history, and one of the earliest examples of the found object movement. It is also a joke, relying on the inversion of the item's function as expressed by its title as well as its incongruous presence in an art exhibition. The word surreal first began to be used to describe

1840-427: A small, malignant tumour on one of his tonsils , leading to both being removed via a tonsillectomy . The following year, it was discovered that the cancer had spread into Chapman's spinal column , where another tumour was surgically removed. Chapman had several chemotherapy treatments and surgeries during the final months of his life, but ultimately the cancer was declared inoperable. According to his brother, Chapman

1932-400: A sounding board. Chapman also contributed sketches to the radio series I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again and wrote material on his own and with Bill Oddie . He wrote for The Illustrated Weekly Hudd (starring Roy Hudd ), Cilla Black , This Is Petula Clark and This Is Tom Jones . Chapman, Cleese and Tim Brooke-Taylor later joined Feldman in the television comedy series At Last

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2024-603: A successful 13-date tour of Australia. Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden voiced characters on the 1983 animated children's programme Bananaman . In the Amnesty International show A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick) , Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden sang their hit song "Funky Gibbon". They also appeared on Top of the Pops with the song. Together with Garden (who is a qualified medical doctor), Oddie co-wrote many episodes of

2116-532: A type of aesthetic of the early 1920s. Surreal humour is also found frequently in avant-garde theatre such as Waiting for Godot and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead . In the United States, S. J. Perelman (1904–1979) has been identified as the first surrealist humour writer. Surrealist humour appeared on British radio from 1951 to 1960 by the cast of The Goon Show : Spike Milligan , Peter Sellers , and Harry Secombe . The Goons' work influenced

2208-613: A used car salesman refusing to believe a customer's model had broken down, became the inspiration for the Dead Parrot sketch . Chapman also co-wrote several episodes of Doctor in the House 's follow up, Doctor in Charge , with Bernard McKenna . In 1969, Chapman and Cleese joined the other Pythons, Michael Palin , Eric Idle , Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam , for their sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus . The group's writing

2300-513: A year. After the tour, he continued his studies at St Bartholomew's Medical College , but became torn between whether to pursue a career in medicine or acting. His brother John later said, "He [Graham] wasn't ever driven to go into medicine... it wasn't his life's ambition." Following their Footlights success, Chapman and Cleese began to write professionally for the BBC , initially for David Frost but also for Marty Feldman . Frost had recruited Cleese, and in turn Cleese decided he needed Chapman as

2392-399: Is also influenced by surreal humour. Mary K. Rodgers and Diana Pien analysed the subject in an essay titled "Elephants and Marshmallows" (subtitled "A Theoretical Synthesis of Incongruity-Resolution and Arousal Theories of humour"), and wrote that "jokes are nonsensical when they fail to completely resolve incongruities," and cited one of the many permutations of the elephant joke : "Why did

2484-419: Is he would never forgive me if I didn't, if I threw away this glorious opportunity to shock you all on his behalf. Anything for him, but mindless good taste." The five surviving Python members had decided to stay away from Chapman's private funeral to prevent it from becoming a media circus and to give his family some privacy. They sent a wreath in the shape of the Python foot, with the message: "To Graham from

2576-410: Is that a man of such talent, of such capability for kindness, of such unusual intelligence, should now, so suddenly, be spirited away at the age of only forty-eight, before he'd achieved many of the things of which he was capable, and before he'd had enough fun. Well, I feel that I should say, nonsense. Good riddance to him, the freeloading bastard, I hope he fries! And the reason I feel I should say this,

2668-630: Is the actress Kate Hardie . The couple later divorced. In 1983, Oddie married Laura Beaumont-Giles. The couple have worked on a variety of projects for children, including film scripts, drama and comedy series, puppet shows and books. They have a daughter, Rosie, born in October 1985, and live in Hampstead , North London. Rosie Oddie is a musician, also using the name Rosie Bones . Oddie has experienced depression for most of his life before being diagnosed with clinical depression in 2001. In March 2009 he

2760-474: Is the best film I've been in since I died." In September 2012, a British Comedy Society blue plaque commemorating Chapman was unveiled at The Angel pub in Highgate by Jones, Palin, Barry Cryer , Ray Davies and Carol Cleveland . Palin said, "Highgate was his patch, and he should be celebrated because he was a very good, brilliant, funny, nice, wise, kind man, who occasionally drank too much." In December 2014,

2852-669: The 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He co-produced the record with Stephen Shane. In 1986 Oddie took part in the English National Opera production of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado , in which he appeared in the role of the Lord High Executioner, taking over the role from Eric Idle . During the early 1990s Oddie was a DJ for London-based jazz radio station 102.2 Jazz FM . In 2007, Oddie appeared on

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2944-463: The Footlights and later wrote comic songs for I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again . He also wrote a number of comic songs for The Goodies , most of which he also performed. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Oddie released a number of singles and at least one album. One of the former, issued in 1970 on John Peel 's Dandelion Records label (Catalogue No: 4786), was " On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at ", performed in

3036-506: The Gay Liberation Front . In 1972, Chapman supported the newspaper Gay News , which listed him as one of the publication's "special friends" in recognition. During a college tour, Chapman mentioned that a television audience member had written to the Pythons to complain about them having a gay member, citing a Bible passage that said any man who lies with a man should be taken out and stoned . Idle replied jokingly that they had found

3128-667: The International Primate Protection League 's Save the Gibbon appeal. Oddie appeared as the hapless window cleaner in the Eric Sykes ' comedy story The Plank in 1967. He also presented the live children's Saturday morning entertainment show Saturday Banana ( ITV / Southern Television ) during the late 1970s. In the late 1980s he was a presenter of the BBC TV show Fax (a show about 'facts'). In 1981, he appeared as

3220-729: The West Midland Bird Club in 1999, having been vice-president since 1991, and is a former member of the council of the RSPB . Oddie is also a President of the League Against Cruel Sports and a vice-president of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers . He practised as a bird ringer but allowed his licence to lapse. In 2003, Oddie set up a half-marathon to raise money for various wildlife charities in his birth town of Rochdale . Celebrities who have participated in

3312-436: The " goofball " or " straight " character in the scene can react with dull surprise, disdain, boredom, or detached interest, thus heightening comic tension. Characters' intentions are set up in a series of scenes significantly different from what the audience might ordinarily encounter in daily life. The unique social situations, expressed thoughts, actions, and comic lines are used to spark laughter, emotion, or surprise as to how

3404-557: The "Asses of Fire skit" in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut . In 2006, Oddie appeared in the BBC show Never Mind the Buzzcocks , and also appeared on the topical quiz show 8 out of 10 Cats . He was also the voice behind many B&Q adverts throughout 2006/2007. On 25 May 2007, Oddie made a cameo appearance on Ronni Ancona 's new comedy sketch show , Ronni Ancona & Co . Also in 2007, three artists each painted

3496-526: The "Dead Parrot sketch", derived from the piece within How to Irritate People and involving a customer returning a faulty toaster, was "How can we make this madder ?", turning the toaster into a dead Norwegian Blue parrot. Cleese later said he and Chapman believed that "there was something very funny there, if we could find the right context for it". Cleese was in particular concerned that the Cheese Shop sketch simply

3588-423: The 1948 Show . It was Chapman's first significant role as a performer as well as a writer and he displayed a gift for deadpan comedy (such as in the sketch " The Minister Who Falls to Pieces ") and imitating various British dialects . The series was the first to feature Chapman's sketch of wrestling with himself. Despite the series' success, Chapman was still unsure about abandoning his medical career. In between

3680-509: The American radio comedy troupe the Firesign Theatre (1966–2012). The Firesigns wrote sophisticated comic radio plays, many of which were recorded on albums . Surrealist humour is predominantly approached in cinema where the suspension of disbelief can be stretched to absurd lengths by logically following the consequences of unlikely, reversed or exaggerated premises. Luis Buñuel is

3772-648: The BBC series Play It Again . In the episode he attempts to realise his dream of becoming a rock guitarist . Initially teacher Bridget Mermikides tries to teach him using traditional methods but he rebels: instead he turns to old friends Albert Lee , Dave Davies (of The Kinks ) and Mark Knopfler for advice and strikes out on his own. He succeeds in the target of playing lead guitar for his daughter Rosie's band at her 21st birthday party and even manages to impress his erstwhile teacher. In November 2010, he agreed, along with fellow members of The Goodies , to rerelease their 1970s hit "The Funky Gibbon" to raise funds for

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3864-484: The BBC, many produced by Stephen Moss , including: The first broadcast, in 2004, of Britain Goes Wild set a record for its timeslot of 8 pm on BBC Two of 3.4 million viewers, one million more than the Channel 4 programme showing at that time. Britain Goes Wild , renamed Springwatch the following year, became a wildlife broadcasting phenomenon, attracting over 4 million viewers. He became president of

3956-507: The Bright Side of Life ", from Life of Brian , and later closed his remarks by saying: "I'd just like to be the last person at this meeting to say 'fuck'." Ten years after Chapman's death, his ashes were first rumoured to have been " blasted into the skies in a rocket " with assistance from the Dangerous Sports Club. In a second rumour, Chapman's ashes had been scattered on the mountains of Snowdonia , Wales , where he had visited regularly as

4048-553: The Four Little Children Who Went Round the World (1871) is filled with contradictory statements and odd images intended to provoke amusement, such as the following: After a time they saw some land at a distance; and when they came to it, they found it was an island made of water quite surrounded by earth. Besides that, it was bordered by evanescent isthmuses with a great Gulf-stream running about all over it, so that it

4140-565: The Keyhole . He has appeared three times on the programme Pointless Celebrities , the most recent appearance being in 2016. In 2017, he appeared in three episodes of The Real Marigold Hotel . In 2018, he featured on the programme The Two Ronnies: In Their Own Words . In 2019, he appeared on the show The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited . In 2020, Oddie appeared in the documentary Celebrity Britain by Barge: Then & Now . Oddie undertook an Australian tour during June 2013 in all of

4232-469: The Pythons' income and finances. He subsequently moved to Los Angeles to avoid British income tax . In the mid-1980s, he returned to the UK and moved to Maidstone , Kent , with Sherlock and Tomiczek. Tomiczek later became Chapman's business manager; he died of a heart attack in 1992 at age 35. Chapman took up pipe smoking aged 15, which became a lifelong habit. He began drinking heavily during his time at Cambridge and St. Bartholomew's, favouring gin . By

4324-522: The Week That Was . He appeared in Bernard Braden 's television series On The Braden Beat in 1964. Subsequently, he was a key member of the performers in the BBC radio series I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again , where many of his musical compositions were featured. Some were released on the album Distinctly Oddie (Polydor, 1967). He was one of the first performers to parody a rock song, arranging

4416-829: The appearance of an intention to shock and offend. Surreal humour is the effect of the illogical and absurd being used for humorous effect. Under such premises, people can identify precursors and early examples of surreal humour at least since the 19th century, such as in Lewis Carroll 's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass , both of which use the illogical and absurd ( hookah -smoking caterpillars , croquet matches using live flamingos as mallets, etc.) for humorous effect. Many of Edward Lear 's children's stories and poems contain nonsense and are basically surreal in approach. For example, The Story of

4508-456: The assistance of Cleese and Palin. In 2006, the album and DVD release Looks Like Another Brown Trouser Job came out, featuring a college lecture recorded in April 1988. In June 2011, it was announced that Cleese, Jones, Gilliam and Palin would perform in a 3D -animated version of Chapman's memoir A Liar's Autobiography: Volume VI . Co-director Jeff Simpson worked closely with Chapman's estate and

4600-457: The autumn of 1976, Oddie was involved in the successful identification of Britain's first-ever record of Pallas's reed bunting on Fair Isle , Shetland. One of Oddie's first forays into the world of television natural history was as a guest on Animal Magic in December 1977. Another early natural-history radio appearance was in October, as the guest on Radio 4's Through My Window , discussing

4692-517: The birds of Hampstead Heath . On 30 July 1985, he was the subject of a 50-minute Nature Watch Special: Bill Oddie – Bird Watcher , in which he was interviewed by Julian Pettifer at places where he had spent time birding, including Bartley Reservoir, the Christopher Cadbury Wetland Reserve at Upton Warren , RSPB Titchwell Marsh and Blakeney Point . Oddie has since hosted a number of successful nature programmes for

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4784-608: The chimney sweep in the 1996 film The Willows in Winter . In 1997 and 1998, he appeared on the Channel 4 archaeological programme Time Team , as the team excavated a Roman villa site in Turkdean , Gloucestershire. He was the compère of a daytime BBC gameshow History Hunt (in 2003); and has appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Doctor Who and the Pirates . In 2004, he appeared on

4876-505: The compilation CD Life Too, Has Surface Noise: The Complete Dandelion Records Singles Collection 1969–1972 (2007). In 1966 he was credited as the vocalist with Spencer's Washboard Kings on " Five Feet Two " (Rayrick LCR1001a). The vocalist on the B-side of this 45rpm single, " If You Knew Susie ", was Jean Hart, Oddie's future wife. He played the drums and saxophone and appeared as Cousin Kevin in

4968-525: The early 1980s. Chapman was openly homosexual and a supporter of gay rights and was in a long-term partnership with David Sherlock. He was an alcoholic from his time at Cambridge until he quit drinking shortly before working on Life of Brian . He became an enthusiast and patron of the Dangerous Sports Club in the later years of his life. In 1989, Chapman died of tonsil cancer which had spread to his spine. His life and legacy were commemorated at

5060-444: The elephant sit on the marshmallow?" "Because he didn't want to fall into the cup of hot chocolate." "The joke is incompletely resolved in their opinion," noted Elliott Oring , "because the situation is incompatible with the world as we know it. Certainly, elephants do not sit in cups of hot chocolate." Oring defined humour as not the resolution of incongruity, but "the perception of appropriate incongruity," that all jokes contain

5152-543: The event include Ray Mears , Katherine Jenkins and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall . In 2011, Oddie featured as an investigator in Snares Uncovered: killers in the countryside . The film was an exposé of snaring in Scotland and was commissioned by animal protection charity OneKind . During the investigation Oddie discovered more than 70 snares and several stink pits. Oddie wrote original music at Cambridge University for

5244-415: The events occurred or unfolded, in ways sometimes favorable to other unexpectedly introduced characters. Surreal humour in theater is usually about the insensitivity, paradox, absurdity, and cruelty of the modern world. Absurd and surrealist cinema often deals with elements of dark humour : disturbing or sinister subjects like death, disease, or warfare are treated with amusement and bitterness, creating

5336-646: The first ever episode of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? , in which he looked into his ancestry: he was visibly moved by its revelations. In 2005, he took part in Rolf on Art – the big event at Trafalgar Square and in September that year was also a celebrity guest along with Lynda Bellingham on the ITV1 programme Who Wants to Be a Millionaire . He also gave opinions on 100 greatest cartoons on Channel 4 that year, talking about Tom and Jerry and cartoon incidents such as

5428-576: The last appearance of Feldman, who suffered a fatal heart attack in December 1982. The project was fraught with financial difficulties and at times there was not enough money to pay the crew. It was released to mixed reviews. David Robinson , reviewing the film in The Times , said that "the Monty Python style of comic anarchy requires more than scatology, rude words and funny faces". Chapman published his memoirs, A Liar's Autobiography , in 1980, choosing

5520-400: The latter of whom had to be led out of the room to deal with his grief. Peter Cook had intended to visit, but arrived too late and was visibly shaken by the news. Chapman's death occurred on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the Pythons' collective debut on British television, and Jones called it "the worst case of party-pooping in all history". "I guess that we're all thinking how sad it

5612-413: The main characters. Chapman wanted his friend Keith Moon to play a co-lead role alongside him, but Moon could not pass an acting test, so the part went to David Jason who had previously appeared on Do Not Adjust Your Set with Pythons Idle, Jones and Palin. The film was moderately successful. Chapman guest-starred on several television series including The Big Show . In 1976, Chapman began writing

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5704-594: The mainland states capital cities – Brisbane , Sydney , Melbourne , Adelaide and Perth – in a series of one-off shows, An Oldie but a Goodie . A video message from Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden was shown during the performances. Oddie made personal appearances on both The Project and Adam Hills Tonight TV shows during the tour; he also filmed a guest-programming spot for the ABC-TV's all-night music video show Rage . In 1966, Oddie married Jeanne Hart, and from this marriage he has two daughters, one of whom

5796-450: The other Pythons with all our love. PS: Stop us if we're getting too silly". The Rolling Stones also sent a floral arrangement, saying "Thanks for all the laughs." A public memorial service for Chapman was held at St Bartholomew's on 3 December, two months after his death. The service began with a chorus of the hymn " Jerusalem " sung in Engrish with a mock Chinese accent . Cleese delivered

5888-520: The pair enjoyed visiting gay clubs in Central London. In the early 1970s, after Chapman had found fame with Monty Python, they moved to a house in Highgate , North London. In 1972, on a television show hosted by English jazz and blues singer George Melly , Chapman first disclosed his homosexuality publicly, becoming one of the first celebrities to do so. He was a vocal spokesman for gay rights, supporting

5980-425: The perpetrator and killed him. In 1971, Chapman and Sherlock adopted John Tomiczek as their son. Chapman met Tomiczek when Tomiczek was a 14-year-old run-away from Liverpool. After discussions with Tomiczek's father, it was agreed that Chapman would become Tomiczek's legal guardian. Both Sherlock and Tomiczek remained a constant presence in Chapman's life. During the 1970s, Chapman became increasingly concerned about

6072-426: The ridiculousness and unlikeliness of a situation, so that amusement is founded on an unpredictability that is separate from a logical analysis of the situation. Surreal humour is concerned with building up expectations and then knocking them down; even seemingly masterful characters with the highest standards and expectations are subverted by the unexpected, which the scene emphasizes for the viewer's amusement. Either

6164-557: The scene, filmed in Tunisia, caused problems with the female Muslim extras. In 1975, Chapman and Douglas Adams wrote a pilot for a television series, entitled Out of the Trees , but it received poor ratings after being broadcast at the same time as Match of the Day and only the initial episode was produced. In 1978, Chapman co-wrote the comedy film The Odd Job with McKenna and starred as one of

6256-741: The school's rugby union team. He then studied English literature at Pembroke College, Cambridge . While at Cambridge University Oddie appeared in several Footlights Club productions. One of these, a revue called A Clump of Plinths , was so successful at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that it was renamed Cambridge Circus and transferred to the West End in London, then New Zealand and Broadway in September 1964. Meanwhile, still at Cambridge, Oddie wrote scripts for and appeared briefly in TV's That Was

6348-502: The sight remained in his memory. Chapman was educated at Melton Mowbray Grammar School . He showed a strong affinity for science, sports and amateur dramatics and was singled out for attention when a local paper reviewed his performance of Mark Antony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar . Graham and his brother John were both avid fans of radio comedy, being especially fond of The Goon Show and Robert Moreton 's skill of telling jokes

6440-485: The style of Joe Cocker 's " With a Little Help from My Friends ". The B-side, "Harry Krishna", featured the Hare Krishna chant, substituting the names of contemporary famous people called Harry, including Harry Secombe , Harry Worth , Harry Lauder and Harry Corbett , as well as puns such as "Harry [Hurry] along now" and "Harrystotle [Aristotle]" and ending with "Harry-ly [I really] must go now". Both tracks appear on

6532-671: The surviving Python members to "get this exactly right". The film, titled A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman , was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012 and premiered in the UK the following month as part of the BFI London Film Festival . The voices of Cleese, Gilliam, Jones and Palin were spliced into commentary recorded by Chapman reading from his memoir and taped shortly before his death. The film's official trailer quoted Chapman as saying, "This

6624-469: The television comedy series Doctor in the House , including most of the first season and all of the second season. He has occasionally appeared on the BBC Radio 4 panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue , on which Garden is and Brooke-Taylor was a regular panellist. In 1982 Garden and Oddie wrote, but did not perform in, a six-part science-fiction sitcom called Astronauts for Central and ITV . The show

6716-463: The time Monty Python went out on tour in 1973, Chapman's drinking had begun to affect his performance, causing him to miss cues to go on stage. He was known to suffer from delirium tremens (DTs). He stopped drinking during Christmas 1977, concerned about being able to act in Life of Brian successfully, and remained sober for the rest of his life. In 1988, Chapman made a routine visit to a dentist, who found

6808-451: The title because he said "it's almost impossible to tell the truth". He returned to Britain permanently after Yellowbeard was released. He became involved with the extreme sports club Dangerous Sports Club , which popularised bungee jumping . Chapman was scheduled to perform a bungee jump himself, but it was cancelled due to safety concerns. After reuniting with the other Pythons in the film The Meaning of Life (1983), Chapman began

6900-590: The traditional Yorkshire folk song " On Ilkla Moor Baht'at " in the style of Joe Cocker 's hit rendition of the Beatles ' " With a Little Help from My Friends " (released on John Peel 's Dandelion Records in 1970 and featured in Peel's special box of most-treasured singles), and singing " Andy Pandy " in the style of a brassy soul number such as Wilson Pickett or Geno Washington might perform. In many shows he would do short impressions of Hughie Green . On television Oddie

6992-432: The two series of At Last The 1948 Show , he completed his studies at St Bartholomew's and became professionally registered as a doctor. Chapman and Cleese also wrote for the long-running television comedy series Doctor in the House , and both appeared on a one-off television special, How to Irritate People alongside Brooke-Taylor and future Python member Michael Palin . One of Cleese's and Chapman's sketches, featuring

7084-483: The writing room was an intuition for what was funny. Gilliam later recalled that "Graham would do the nudge that would push it into something extraordinary". The series was an immediate success, and Chapman was delighted to learn that medical students at St Bartholomew's crowded round the television in the bar to watch it. Chapman was frequently late for rehearsing or recording, leading to the other Pythons calling him "the late Graham Chapman". Chapman's main contribution to

7176-540: The wrong way round and reversing punchlines. Biographer Jim Yoakum said "the radio shows didn't necessarily make him laugh". In 1959, Chapman began to study medicine at Emmanuel College, Cambridge . He joined the Cambridge Footlights , where he first began writing with John Cleese . Following graduation, Chapman joined the Footlights show Cambridge Circus and toured New Zealand , deferring his medical studies for

7268-604: Was dismissed from Springwatch and that this had caused the depressive illness. Oddie presented the BBC Radio 4 Appeal programme on 10 August 2014 on behalf of the charity Bipolar UK. He revealed that as a consequence of his bipolar disorder he had attempted suicide during one of his depressive episodes. On the UK TV programme Who Do You Think You Are? he attributed his depression and bipolar disorder as an adult to his minimal and painful relationship with his mother. Oddie supports

7360-451: Was "particularly a wonderful actor". Chapman played the lead role in two Python films, Holy Grail and Life of Brian . He was chosen to play the lead in Holy Grail because of the group's respect for his straight acting skills, and because the other members wanted to play lesser, funnier characters. Chapman did not mind being filmed fully nude in front of a crowd in Life of Brian , but

7452-611: Was Chapman's final onscreen appearance with the other five Python members. Chapman was intended to be cast in the Red Dwarf episode " Timeslides ", but died before shooting could begin. Chapman first met his long-term partner David Sherlock in Ibiza in 1966. He later described realising he was homosexual as "an important moment in my life". The following year, he told his close friends, including Cleese and Feldman, about his relationship. Chapman and Sherlock moved to Belsize Park in 1968, and

7544-593: Was born on 7 July 1941 in Rochdale , Lancashire , but moved to Birmingham at a young age; his father was assistant chief accountant at the Midlands Electricity Board. His mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and, during most of his youth, lived in a hospital. He was educated at Lapal Primary School, Halesowen Grammar School (now The Earls High School , Halesowen ) and King Edward's School, Birmingham , an all-boys direct grant school , where he captained

7636-711: Was co-writer and performer in the comedy series Twice a Fortnight with Graeme Garden , Terry Jones , Michael Palin and Jonathan Lynn . Later he was co-writer and performer in the comedy series Broaden Your Mind with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, for which he became a cast member for the second series. Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden then co-wrote and appeared in their television comedy series The Goodies (1970–1982). The Goodies also released records, including "Father Christmas Do Not Touch Me"/"The In-Betweenies", " The Funky Gibbon " (co-written by Oddie with Dave MacRae ) and "Black Pudding Bertha", which were hit singles in 1974–75. They reformed, briefly, in 2005 for

7728-413: Was dealing with depression and bipolar disorder , describing the period as "probably the worst 12 months of my life". Oddie stated that he was planning to meet BBC executives to discuss his return to television work. His illness meant that Oddie did not appear in the 2009 and 2010 series of Springwatch , although he made a guest appearance in the penultimate episode of the latter. He subsequently said he

7820-403: Was not funny, in that it was just mainly a man listing different types of cheese. Chapman urged his partner to continue with it, telling him "Trust me, it's funny." When it was read out at the next script meeting, Cleese found that the others, particularly Palin, thought it was hilarious. The group felt that Chapman had the best acting skills among them. Cleese complimented Chapman by saying that he

7912-440: Was perfectly beautiful, and contained only a single tree, 503 feet high. In the early 20th century, several avant-garde movements, including the dadaists , surrealists , and futurists began to argue for an art that was random, jarring and illogical. The goals of these movements were in some sense serious, and they were committed to undermining the solemnity and self-satisfaction of the contemporary artistic establishment . As

8004-543: Was released. It is a semi-sequel to A Liar's Autobiography , with Chapman's works compiled by Yoakum. A compendium of writings, Calcium Made Interesting: Sketches, Letters, Essays & Gondolas , also compiled and edited by Yoakum, was published in 2005 in association with the David Sherlock and John Tomiczek trust. In 2000, Chapman's play O Happy Day was performed by Dad's Garage Theatre Company in Atlanta , Georgia , with

8096-574: Was reportedly admitted to Capio Nightingale psychiatric hospital in Marylebone for treatment. His then agent, David Foster, said: "Bill gets these bouts every two or three years where he gets down for about two weeks and recovers. He sometimes goes into hospital or takes a break or has a change of scenery to recharge his batteries." In January 2010 Oddie spoke to the media, revealing that he had in fact had two separate stays in different hospitals, only being discharged "in time for Christmas". He said that he

8188-577: Was saved from drowning by Freddy from popular children's series Rainbow and Rod, Jane and Freddy while on holiday in the Seychelles . In February 2015, Oddie appeared in The Keith Lemon Sketch Show as the narrator of the sketch Ed Sheeran Watch . He appeared as a contestant on a celebrity edition of Fifteen to One in August 2015 and the following month he appeared on Through

8280-662: Was set in an international space station in the near future. Oddie's first published work was an article about the birdlife of Birmingham's Bartley Reservoir in the West Midland Bird Club 's 1962 Annual Report. (He is first credited in the 1956 report, in which reports of his bird observations are tagged with his initials "WEO". ) He has since written a number of books about birds and birdwatching as well as articles for many specialist publications including British Birds , Birdwatching Magazine and Birdwatch . He discussed bird-song recordings with Derek Jones in an August 1973 BBC Radio 4 programme called Sounds Natural . In

8372-567: Was split into well-defined teams, with Chapman collaborating almost exclusively with Cleese. Chapman was particularly keen to remove stereotypical punchlines in sketches and created The Colonel , who would stop them in mid-flow by saying they were "too silly". Although the pair were officially equal partners, Cleese later thought that Chapman contributed comparatively little in the way of direct writing, saying "he would come in, say something marvelous and then drift off in his own mind". The other Pythons have said that Chapman's biggest contribution in

8464-550: Was visibly upset by the death of his mother that July, by which time he was terminally ill . Shortly afterwards, Chapman filmed scenes for the 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of Monty Python's Flying Circus , the final time he appeared on television. Chapman died on 4 October 1989 in Maidstone Hospital from resulting complications, aged 48. At the time of his death, he was being visited by Sherlock, brother John and his sister-in-law, and fellow Pythons Palin and Cleese,

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