116-483: Terrence Vance Gilliam ( / ˈ ɡ ɪ l i ə m / GIL -ee-əm ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage animator , and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese , Eric Idle , Michael Palin , Terry Jones , and Graham Chapman . Together they collaborated on the sketch series Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) and
232-532: A Bachelor of Arts in political science. Gilliam began his career as an animator and strip cartoonist . One of his early photographic strips for the US magazine Help! featured future Python cast member John Cleese . When Help! folded, Gilliam went to Europe. Moving to England, he animated sequences for the children's series Do Not Adjust Your Set which he worked on from 1968 to 1969, and which also featured Eric Idle , Terry Jones , and Michael Palin . Gilliam
348-536: A Grammy Award as well as nominations for two Tony Awards . Idle reached stardom when he co-created and acted in the sketch series Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) and the films Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983) with John Cleese , Michael Palin , Terry Gilliam , Terry Jones , and Graham Chapman . Known for his elaborate wordplay and musical numbers, Idle composed and performed many of
464-508: A protest song of sorts, the " FCC Song ", in which he lambasts the U.S. FCC for fining him $ 5,000 for saying "fuck" on national radio. The song contains 14 uses of the word. In the same year, the musical comedy Spamalot debuted in Chicago; it opened in New York's Shubert Theatre on 14 February 2005. Idle wrote the lyrics and book for Spamalot , collaborating with John Du Prez on much of
580-683: A standing ovation ), and was released in French theatres the same day. His production of Into the Woods , which he co-directed with Leah Hausman, premiered at the Theatre Royal, Bath in August 2022 to positive reviews. In June 2024, Gilliam announced the making of a new film called The Carnival at the End of Days . It will star Depp, reuniting with Gilliam, along with Bridges, Driver, and Jason Momoa . The production of
696-631: A Beatles tribute band. In 1986, Idle provided the voice of Wreck-Gar, the leader of the Junkions (a race of robots built out of junk that can only speak in film catchphrases and advertising slogans) in The Transformers: The Movie . In 1987, he 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
812-517: A Python, happy to talk about Python, happy to revisit the group's glory days. Even though he has gone on to his own work – dozens of films, plays, TV shows, albums, books and screenplays – he is perhaps the most active standard-bearer for the group. It was Idle who toured extensively in 2000 and 2003, performing Python songs with a band and back-up singers. He went on the road with the Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python Tour , then with
928-786: A budget of $ 30 million, has been an international commercial success, grossing over $ 60 million in worldwide theatrical release. According to Box Office Mojo , Gilliam's films have grossed an average of $ 21,602,510. Gilliam has been married to British makeup artist Maggie Weston since 1973. She worked on Monty Python's Flying Circus , many of the Python films, and Gilliam's films up to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen . They have three children: Amy Rainbow (born 1978), Holly Dubois (born October 1980), and Harry Thunder (born 3 April 1988), all of whom have also appeared in or worked on several of his films. In 1968, Gilliam obtained British citizenship. He held dual American and British citizenship for
1044-600: A competition in exchange that McCartney knows what the competition in question is so that he can avoid it. In addition, Idle did an unmasked performance of " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life " from Life of Brian . In February 2024, Idle made headlines in the UK after revealing that he was still working at the age of 80 for financial reasons. Idle has written several books, both fiction and non-fiction. His novels are Hello Sailor and The Road to Mars . In 1976, he produced
1160-610: A feature film for Paramount Pictures , with Nicholaw directing and Dan Jinks producing. In 2022, Idle competed in season eight of The Masked Singer as "Hedgehog". He did a cover of the Beatles ' " Love Me Do " with help from the USC Trojan Marching Band . When eliminated in the first episode alongside William Shatner as "Knight" and Chris Kirkpatrick as "Hummingbird", Idle mentioned to Nick Cannon that he had to get approval from Paul McCartney to do "Love Me Do" for
1276-580: A full-time job and bringing up a child, so when Idle was seven, she enrolled him in the Royal Wolverhampton School as a boarder . At that time the school was a charitable foundation dedicated to the education and maintenance of children who had lost one or both parents. Idle said: "It was a physically abusive , bullying , harsh environment for a kid to grow up in. I got used to dealing with groups of boys and getting on with life in unpleasant circumstances and being smart and funny and subversive at
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#17328516106241392-517: A horse in Sheffield on 24 August 1891 at age twenty-seven. His interment was in West Brompton near the same plot as Surrounded. Fifty-nine-year-old Oglala Sioux, Long Wolf, died during the tour due to pneumonia on 13 June 1892. His interment was in West Brompton. Two months later, a two-year-old girl named White Star Ghost Dog died when she fell from her mother's arms during horseback. Her remains shared
1508-551: A licence-free download of Adobe After Effects or similar files Gilliam's first successful feature, Time Bandits (1981), earned more than eight times its original budget in the United States alone. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), although commercially unsuccessful, was nominated for four Oscars and won three BAFTA Awards , among several other Prizes in Europe. The Fisher King (1991), his first film not to feature
1624-455: A member of the Monty Python troupe, had a budget of $ 24 million and grossed more than $ 41 million at United States box office. 12 Monkeys grossed more than US$ 168 million worldwide, making it his most commercially successful film. The Brothers Grimm , despite a mixed critical reception, grossed over US$ 105 million worldwide. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus , with
1740-566: A mixed-raced heritage with parents both American, of German and English ancestry for her father and of African-American background for her mother. Their son, Archie , who was born in London on 6 May 2019, has had dual British and American citizenship since birth. Sheila Ferguson , a former member of The Three Degrees , was born in and grew up in Philadelphia and has permanently settled in England since
1856-458: A new project with his writing partner Charles McKeown. One day later, the fansite Dreams reported that the new project was titled The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus ; the following October, Dreams confirmed that this would be Gilliam's next project and was slated to star Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits . Production began in December 2007 in London. On 22 January 2008, production of the film
1972-616: A number of charitable and humanitarian causes. In 2009, he became a board member of Videre Est Credere (Latin for "to see is to believe"), a UK human rights charity. Videre describes itself as giving "local activists the equipment, training and support needed to safely capture compelling video evidence of human rights violations. This captured footage is verified, analysed and then distributed to those who can create change." He participates alongside movie producer Uri Fruchtmann , music producer Brian Eno and executive director of Greenpeace UK John Sauven . American-British Americans in
2088-420: A second crew that had been hired by Gilliam to document the making of Quixote . After the cancellation, both Gilliam and the film's co-lead, Johnny Depp , wanted to revive the project. The insurance company involved in the failed first attempt withheld the rights to the screenplay for several years with the production on hold until 2008. Following the failure of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote , J. K. Rowling ,
2204-623: A set on Top of the Pops in October 1991. The following month Idle, accompanied by opera singer Ann Howard , sang the song at the Royal Variety Performance . He recorded a special version for Mayo's own use on air ("Come on Simon, get another song on now; why don't you put on a nice Cliff Richard record?") and changed the line "life's a piece of shit" to "life's a piece of spit" in order to get daytime airplay on radio. In 2004, Idle recorded
2320-403: A sketch show on BBC2 with music by Neil Innes . RWT was 'Britain's smallest television network'. The name was a parody of London Weekend Television , the independent television franchise contractor that provided Londoners with their ITV services at weekends; Rutland had been England's smallest county, but had recently been 'abolished' in an administrative shake-up. To make the joke complete,
2436-655: A skirmish in 1586. He had his baptism at Saint Mary the Virgin's Church in March 1588. He died from influenza in Grenville's house on 2 April 1589. His interment was at that same church five days later. Raleigh was the first Native American to have a Christian conversion and an English resting place. Chief Powhatan 's daughter, Pocahontas spent some of her life in London two years after she married English colonist John Rolfe . At age twenty-one, Pocahontas died due to an unknown disease. She
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#17328516106242552-485: A software company, to tentatively release in the autumn of 1996 a CD-ROM under the same title as his 1978 book, containing all of his thousands of 1970s animation templates as licence-free clip arts for people to create their own flash animations , but the project hovered in limbo for years, probably because Enteractive was about to downsize greatly in mid-1996 and changed its focus from CD-ROM multimedia presentations to internet business solutions and web hosting in 1997 (in
2668-506: A spin-off book to Rutland Weekend Television , titled The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book . In 1982, he wrote a West End farce Pass the Butler , starring Willie Rushton . During his Greedy Bastard Tour of 2003, he wrote the diaries that would be made into The Greedy Bastard Diary: A Comic Tour of America , published in February 2005. Idle also wrote the book and co-wrote the music and lyrics for
2784-664: A vessel, whether slave, indentured servant, or free, was recorded, along with the details of enslavement, escape, and military service, in a document called the Book of Negroes . Between 400 and 1,000 African Americans emigrated to London and were later given the title of Black Loyalist for their service in the British Armed forces and formed the core of the early Black British community. African-American guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix started to get his big break in London as part of his band The Jimi Hendrix Experience . He first entered
2900-662: Is Wilnelia Merced , the widow of the late entertainer, Sir Bruce Forsyth . Martin Frobisher returned from a voyage to discover the Northwest Passage in 1576, bringing with him a native Inuit that he had seized. The man died days after reaching London and was buried in the churchyard at St. Olave's. Sir Richard Grenville captured the Roanoke Island Native American Raleigh (named for Sir Walter Raleigh ) and brought him to Bideford following
3016-622: Is a US-born British actress of Jewish-Ukrainian ancestry, Louis Theroux is the son of American writer Paul Theroux , whilst Mika has a Lebanese mother and an American father born in Jerusalem. Boris Johnson , former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019-22, was born in New York City . Until 2016, he held dual citizenship of both the United States and the United Kingdom. He relinquished his US citizenship to prove his allegiance to
3132-412: Is a first cousin of Canadian conductor Peter Oundjian and Nigel Wray, former chairman of Saracens Rugby Club. David Bowie made Idle godfather to his son, film director Duncan Jones . Idle is an atheist , but does not like using the term and is quoted as saying "I don't like that word, it implies that there's a God not to believe in." In 2019, Idle was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer . He
3248-469: Is a songwriter with about 150 songs to his credit. He composed and performed many of Pythons' most famous comic pieces, including " Eric the Half-a-Bee ", " The Philosophers' Song ", " Galaxy Song ", " Penis Song " and, probably his most recognised hit, " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ", which was written for the closing scene of the Monty Python film Life of Brian , and sung from the crosses during
3364-534: The Previous Record album. After the success of Python in the early 1970s, all six members pursued solo projects. Idle's first solo work was his own BBC Radio One show, Radio Five (pre-dating the real Radio Five station by 18 years). This ran for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 and involved Idle performing sketches and links to records, playing nearly all the multi-tracked parts himself. On television, Idle created and wrote Rutland Weekend Television (RWT),
3480-415: The 70th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2013. In June 2014, Gilliam followed up on his success with Faust with a new ENO production of another opera by Berlioz, the rarely performed Benvenuto Cellini . After regaining the rights to the screenplay of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote , Gilliam restarted preproduction in 2008, with Johnny Depp still attached to the project. The film
3596-498: The Cannes Film Festival in 2016, it was confirmed that The Man Who Killed Don Quixote was going to be made, with Michael Palin and Adam Driver in starring roles. In March 2017, filming finally began, with Driver and Jonathan Pryce starring. On 4 June 2017, Gilliam announced that the shooting of the film was complete. The film premiered on 19 May 2018, as the closing film of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival (where it received
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3712-598: The Footlights smoker , and that led to me discovering about and getting into the Footlights, which was great. Idle started at Cambridge only a year after future fellow-Pythons Graham Chapman and John Cleese . He became Footlights President in 1965 and was the first to allow women to join the club. He starred in the television comedy series Do Not Adjust Your Set co-starring his future Python castmates Terry Jones and Michael Palin . Terry Gilliam provided animations for
3828-783: The Greedy Bastard Tour , which was documented extensively on the Python website he launched in 1996." —Dave Eggers in The Guardian , September 2006. Idle received good critical notices appearing in projects written and directed by others – such as Terry Gilliam 's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989), alongside Robbie Coltrane in Nuns on the Run (1990) and in Casper (1995). He also played Ratty in Terry Jones' version of The Wind in
3944-906: The Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Idle contributed a cover of Buddy Holly 's " Raining in My Heart " for the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly , released 6 September 2011. He also wrote and sang a variant of the "Galaxy Song" for Professor Brian Cox 's show Wonders of Life , as well as
4060-619: The Normandy invasion was launched. Troop numbers gradually came down after that. The 2001 UK Census recorded 158,434 people born in the United States. According to the 2011 UK Census , there were 173,470 US-born residents in England, 3,715 in Wales, 15,919 in Scotland , and 4,251 in Northern Ireland . The Office for National Statistics estimates that 197,000 US-born immigrants were resident in
4176-595: The Victorian era . He also appeared in several sketches, though he rarely had main roles and did considerably less acting in the sketches. Gilliam did, however, have some notable sketch roles, such as Cardinal Fang of the Spanish Inquisition ; the bespectacled commenter who said, "I can't add anything to that!" in the sketch " Election Night Special "; Kevin Garibaldi, the brat on the couch shouting "I want more beans!" in
4292-571: The contemporary film certificates ) and stripped of his prefecture , though by that time he was head boy . Idle had already refused to be senior boy in the school cadet force, as he supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and had participated in the yearly Aldermaston March . He says there was little to do at the school, and boredom drove him to study hard and consequently win a place at Cambridge University . Idle attended Pembroke College, Cambridge , where he studied English . At Pembroke, he
4408-525: The "craziness of our awkwardly ordered society and the desire to escape it through whatever means possible." All three films focus on these struggles and attempts to escape them through imagination: Time Bandits through the eyes of a child, Brazil through the eyes of a man in his thirties, and Munchausen through the eyes of an elderly man. In the summer of 1986, he cut ties with Arnon Milchan and 20th Century Fox and started directing Munchausen through his own new Prominent Films banner independently. In
4524-610: The 1980s where she is still famous with her own solo career. Covert Affairs star Sendhil Ramamurthy resides in London, and is of Indian descent. English musician Dhani Harrison is the son of George Harrison of The Beatles and Mexican-American Olivia Trinidad Arias (who also now lives in the UK). In 2001 , 306 Puerto Rican-born people alone were residing in the United Kingdom (the nineteenth-most common birthplace amongst Latin American states). The most notable Puerto Rican-Briton
4640-455: The 1990s, Gilliam directed a trilogy of Americana: The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), which took place on North American soil and, while still surreal, had fewer fantastical plots than his previous trilogy. In 1999, Gilliam attempted to film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote , which was budgeted at US$ 32.1 million, making it among
4756-651: The Audience! , which was an attraction at the Imagination Pavilion at Walt Disney World 's Epcot from 1994 until 2010 and at Disneyland from 1998 until 2010. The film also stars Rick Moranis and other members of the cast of the 1989 feature film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids . In 1999, he reprised the role in the short-lived second incarnation of the Journey into Imagination ride at Epcot, replacing Figment and Dreamfinder as
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4872-572: The British immigration authorities to enable him to find work. Williams ended up as an elephant keeper at the Belle Vue Zoo . He died on 28 July 1929 from pneumonia at age fifty-two. His interment was in Gorton's cemetery. More recently, notable British people of Native American descent include actress Hayley Atwell , who has dual UK-US citizenship due to her part-Native American father. American schools in
4988-661: The British were known as Black Patriots (modern day African Americans in the US), but rather if they were fighting for the Crown or American Independence both were mostly doing it in return for promises of freedom from enslavement or indentured servitude. The British-American Commission identified the Black people who had joined the British before the surrender, and issued "certificates of freedom" signed by General Birch or General Musgrave. Those who chose to emigrate were evacuated by ship. The fallout of
5104-508: The Lord High Executioner, Ko-Ko; a performance of it was taped by Thames Television for broadcast, directed by John Michael Phillips, and subsequently released on DVD by A&E. In 1989, he appeared in the U.S. comedy television series Nearly Departed , about a ghost who haunts the family inhabiting his former home; the series lasted for six episodes as a summer replacement series. "Idle has always, it seemed, been happy to have been
5220-504: The O2 Arena , London, between 1 and 20 July 2014. In December 2016, Idle was the writer and co-presenter of The Entire Universe , a "comedy and musical extravaganza with the help of Warwick Davis , Noel Fielding , Hannah Waddingham and Robin Ince , alongside a chorus of singers and dancers", broadcast by BBC Two. In 2020, it was announced that Idle would adapt his script for Spamalot into
5336-511: The O2 arena , 20 July 2014. As Ko-Ko in the 1987 English National Opera production of The Mikado , Idle wrote his own 'Little List' on " As some day it may happen ". In 1989, Idle co-wrote and sang the theme tune to the popular British sitcom One Foot in the Grave and although the series became immensely popular, the song did poorly in the charts. However, when "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"
5452-705: The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie . In recent years, Idle has provided voice work for animation, such as in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut , in which he voiced Dr. Vosknocker. He has made four appearances on The Simpsons as documentarian Declan Desmond . Idle provided the voice of Merlin the magician in the DreamWorks animated film Shrek the Third (2007) with his former Python co-star John Cleese, who voiced King Harold . He has also narrated
5568-621: The Revolution resulted in an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 Black Americans scattering across the Atlantic world, profoundly affecting the development of Nova Scotia , the Bahamas , Jamaica , and the African nation of Sierra Leone as prominent leaders in the emerging freed black communities. To make sure no one attempted to leave who did not have a certificate of freedom, the name of any Black person on board
5684-548: The Rutles. In 1978, the Rutles' mockumentary film All You Need Is Cash , a collaboration between Python members and Saturday Night Live , was aired on NBC television, written by Idle, with music by Innes. Idle appeared in the film as "Dirk McQuickly" (the Paul McCartney -styled character of the group), as well as the main commentator, while Innes appeared as "Ron Nasty" (the band's stand-in for John Lennon ). Actors appearing in
5800-414: The Third (2007). Idle made his Broadway debut with his adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) into a musical, Spamalot (2005), which was a critical and commercial success earning the Tony Award for Best Musical , and Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album . He also wrote Not the Messiah (2009). He performed at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony . Eric Idle
5916-412: The UK began as early as the late-eighteenth century after American slaves failed in their attempt to defend the British Crown in the American Revolution . The Revolution began in the thirteen American colonies and United States in the late-1770s. The British promised freedom to any slave or rebel who fought the Americans on their behalf. African Americans made up over 20% of the American population at
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#17328516106246032-417: The UK during World War II. Nancy Astor , Britain's second Member of Parliament , was born in Virginia and married into the wealthy Anglo-American Astor family . Henry James , considered one of the greatest novelists in the English language, was born to a Boston Brahmin family and moved to London in 1869. Aside from brief periods spent on the Continent and two short trips back to the US, James spent
6148-405: The UK in 2013. In a 2020 House of Commons research briefing on immigrants working in the National Health Service out of 1.28 million members of staff, 1,380 declared that they were American. The largest single local cluster of Americans in the UK recorded by the 2001 UK Census was in Mildenhall in North-West Suffolk —the site of RAF Mildenhall and nearby RAF Lakenheath . This is because of
6264-442: The UK on 24 September 1966 at London Airport (now Heathrow Airport ). The African-American singer Edwin Starr , moved to the UK in the 1970s, and lived there until his death in 2003. The British politician and former Labour MP Oona King , is the daughter of the African-American civil rights academic Preston King . Meghan Markle , the Duchess of Sussex since her marriage to Prince Harry , kept her American citizenship and has
6380-476: The United Kingdom or American Britons are emigrants from the United States who are residents or citizens of the United Kingdom . Between the late 19th century and World War II , many so called " dollar princesses " married British aristocrats. They were mostly the daughters of newly rich American men, who married the men with aristocratic titles to improve the social standing of their family in America. In return, these American heiress brought their wealth in
6496-432: The United Kingdom. Andrew Tate is an American-British former professional kickboxer and social media influencer , was born in Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. , then moved to United Kingdom . YouTuber Evan Edinger who does vlogs about the comparisons between the UK and the United States since moving to the UK in 2012, gained British citizenship in June 2021. African-American immigration to
6612-446: The United Kingdom: International School of Aberdeen was formerly the American School in Aberdeen. Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles . Idle studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge , and joined Cambridge University Footlights . He has received
6728-407: The Willows (1996). However, his own creative projects – such as the film Splitting Heirs (1993), a comedy he wrote, starred in and executive-produced – were mostly unsuccessful with critics and audiences. In 1994, Idle appeared as Dr. Nigel Channing, chairman of the Imagination Institute and host of an 'Inventor of the Year' awards show in the three-dimensional film Honey, I Shrunk
6844-405: The audiobook version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl . In late 2003, Idle began a performing tour of several American and Canadian cities entitled The Greedy Bastard Tour . The stage performances consisted largely of music from Monty Python episodes and films, along with some original post-Python material. In 2005, Idle released The Greedy Bastard Diary , a book detailing
6960-434: The author of the Harry Potter series and a fan of Gilliam's work, advocated for him to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2000, but Warner Bros. ultimately chose Chris Columbus for the job. In 2002, Gilliam directed a series of television advertisements called " Secret Tournament ". Part of Nike 's 2002 FIFA World Cup campaign, the advertisements feature a secret three-on-three tournament between
7076-419: The back-up support of a partner. The other Pythons usually worked in teams and Cleese admitted that this was slightly unfair – when the Pythons voted on which sketches should appear in a show, "he (Idle) only got one vote". However, he also says that Idle was an independent person and worked best on his own. Idle himself admitted this was sometimes difficult: "You had to convince five others. And they were not
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#17328516106247192-440: The customer in the "Travel Agency" sketch who won't stop talking about his unpleasant experiences with holidays), and he would frequently spoof the unnatural language and speech patterns of television presenters. Idle is said to be the master of insincere characters, from the David Frost -esque Timmy Williams, to small-time crook Stig O'Tracy, who tries to deny the fact that organised crime master Dinsdale Piranha nailed his head to
7308-443: The end of the Cold War, the highest proportion of Americans resident in the United Kingdom per head of population was centred on the Scottish seaside town of Dunoon , Argyll and Bute , the former site of the Holy Loch US Navy base. At its height in the early 1990s, around one quarter of Dunoon's population was American. In the 2000s, some Americans in the UK were older, ex-servicemen who returned to Britain after being based in
7424-477: The expense of authority. Perfect training for Python." Idle has stated that the two things that made his life at school bearable were listening to Radio Luxembourg under the bedclothes and watching the local football team, Wolverhampton Wanderers . He disliked other sports, and would sneak out of school every Thursday afternoon to the local cinema. He was eventually caught watching the film BUtterfield 8 (rated as suitable for audiences of age 16 and over under
7540-444: The film included Saturday Night Live 's John Belushi , Bill Murray and Gilda Radner , as well as fellow Python Michael Palin , but also real musicians of the 1960s such as former Beatle George Harrison , as well as Mick Jagger and Paul Simon . Idle wrote and directed the Rutles comeback in 2008 for a live show Rutlemania! to celebrate the 30th anniversary. The performances took place in Los Angeles and New York City with
7656-509: The film is expected to begin in January 2025 according to Gilliam. Johnny Depp will play Satan , and Jeff Bridges will play God in the film. In addition to film projects as director, Gilliam has been involved with developing projects for other artists and mediums. On 16 December 2010, Variety reported that Gilliam was to "godfather" a film called 1884 , described as an animated steampunk parody of George Orwell 's Nineteen Eighty-Four , with several former Pythons lending their voices to
7772-400: The film. Thanks to this arrangement the principal photography was completed on 15 April 2008, on schedule. During the filming, Gilliam was accidentally hit by a bus and suffered a broken back. The film had successful screenings including a premiere at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival . The UK release for the film was scheduled for 6 June 2009, but was pushed back to 16 October 2009. The USA release
7888-1012: The films Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, which Gilliam co-directed as well), Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983). In 1988, they received the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema . In 2009, Gilliam received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement. Gilliam transitioned to directing serious films with themes exploring imagination and oppositions to bureaucracy and authoritarianism . His films are sometimes set in dystopian worlds and involve black comedy and tragicomedic elements. He has directed 13 feature films, gaining acclaim for Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). He later directed The Brothers Grimm (2005), Tideland (2005), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), The Zero Theorem (2013), and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018). Gilliam
8004-500: The floor. The second-youngest member of the Pythons, Idle was closest in spirit to the teenagers who made up much of Python's fanbase. Python sketches dealing most with contemporary obsessions like pop music , sexual permissiveness and recreational drugs are usually Idle's work, often characterised by double entendre , sexual references, and other "naughty" subject matter – most famously demonstrated in " Nudge Nudge ". Idle originally wrote "Nudge, Nudge" for Ronnie Barker , but it
8120-446: The form of dowries to the homes of the British aristocracy. The trend only slowed when the women of newly rich families, who had been shunned by the American high society, began to be accepted by them. During the Second World War, the first influx of American troops arrived in Britain on January 26, 1942 in Belfast , Northern Ireland . More than 1,600,000 American servicemen and servicewomen were in Great Britain by June 6, 1944, when
8236-418: The game's sequel , and composed and sang its theme song, "That's Death". In 1998, Idle appeared in the lead role in the poorly received film Burn Hollywood Burn . That same year, he also provided the voice of Devon, one of the heads of a two-headed dragon, with Don Rickles as the other head Cornwall, in the Warner Bros. animated film Quest for Camelot , and as Slyly, the albino Arctic fox in Rudolph
8352-582: The group, Jabberwocky , also a comedy set in the Middle Ages . It featured Python member Michael Palin in the lead role, and was based on the poem of the same name . In 1978, he published Animations of Mortality , an illustrated, tongue-in-cheek, semi-autobiographical how-to guide to his animation techniques and the visual language in them. Gilliam served as art director on Monty Python's Life of Brian , Terry Jones having taken on sole directing duties. Gilliam made Time Bandits in 1981. Following directing
8468-466: The highest-budgeted films to use only European financing; but in the first week of shooting, the actor playing Don Quixote ( Jean Rochefort ) suffered a herniated disc , and a flood severely damaged the set. The film was cancelled, resulting in an insurance claim of US$ 15 million. Despite the cancellation, the aborted project did yield the 2002 documentary Lost in La Mancha , produced from film from
8584-502: The host. Due to an outcry from Disney fans, the attraction was reworked in 2001, reintroducing Figment into the ride while also retaining Idle's role as Nigel Channing. Idle is also writer and star of the 3-D film Pirates – 4D for Busch Entertainment Corporation. In 1995, Idle appeared in Casper opposite Cathy Moriarty and voiced Rincewind the "Wizzard" in a computer adventure game based on Terry Pratchett 's Discworld novels. In 1996, he reprised his role as Rincewind for
8700-605: The inaugural Luminato arts festival in Toronto . Idle performed live during this 50-minute oratorio, along with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir . Du Prez was also present. Shannon Mercer, Jean Stilwell, Christopher Sieber , and Theodore Baerg sang the principal parts. The American premiere was at Caramoor ( Westchester County, New York ) on 1 July 2007. Soloists were
8816-485: The introduction to their 2004 book Terry Gilliam: Interviews , David Sterrit and Lucille Rhodes claimed that the internet had overwhelmed the "computer-communications market" and gave this as the reason that the Animations of Mortality CD-ROM never materialised). Around the time of Gilliam's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), the project had changed into the idea of releasing his 1970s animation templates as
8932-546: The legacy of the Cold War and NATO cooperation. 17.28% of Mildenhall's population were born in the United States. In London, the majority of Americans are businesspeople and their families which ties in with the strong economic relations between the City of London and New York City or Washington, D.C. Chelsea (where 6.53% of residents were born in the US in 2001) and Kensington (5.81%) have large American communities. Prior to
9048-462: The mass crucifixion . The song has since been covered by Harry Nilsson , Bruce Cockburn , Art Garfunkel , and Green Day . Idle, his fellow Pythons, and assorted family and friends performed the song at Graham Chapman 's memorial service. Idle performed the song at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on 12 August 2012 and as the farewell song of the last show of the Python's reunion at
9164-462: The most un-egotistical of writers, either." He occasionally wrote with Cleese. Idle's work in Python is often characterised by an obsession with language and communication: many of his characters have verbal peculiarities, such as the man who speaks in anagrams , the man who says words in the wrong order, and the butcher who alternates between rudeness and politeness every time he speaks. A number of his sketches involve extended monologues (for example
9280-489: The music. The original 2005 Broadway theatre production was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won three: Best Musical , Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical ( Sara Ramirez ), and Best Direction of a Musical ( Mike Nichols ). In 2006 he wrote, produced and performed the song "Really Nice Day" for the movie The Wild . In June 2007, Not the Messiah , a comic oratorio by Idle and Du Prez. premiered at
9396-554: The musical Monty Python's Spamalot , based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail . It premiered in Chicago before moving to Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004–05 season. Idle won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics . In a 2005 poll to find "The Comedians' Comedian" (UK), he was voted 21 in the top 50 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Idle
9512-521: The new theme for Cox's radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage . Idle has been married twice. His first marriage was in 1969 to actress Lyn Ashley , with whom he had one son before their divorce in 1975. He met Tania Kosevich, a former model, in 1977, and they married in 1981. They have an adult daughter. From 1995 they lived in a five-bedroom, 7,000-square-foot (650 m ) mansion in the Hollywood Hills , listing it for sale in February 2023. He
9628-457: The next 38 years, until he renounced his American citizenship in January 2006. In an interview with Der Tagesspiegel , he described the action as a protest against then-President George W. Bush , and in an earlier interview with The A.V. Club , he also indicated that it was related to concerns about future tax liability for his wife and children. As a result of renouncing his citizenship, Gilliam
9744-433: The other characters over the head with a plucked chicken. He also designed the covers of most of the Monty Python albums, including Another Monty Python Record , The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief , Monty Python Live at Drury Lane , and all of their later film soundtrack albums. In 1975, Gilliam began his career as a director by co-directing Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry Jones . Gilliam
9860-758: The production opened at the Vlaamse Opera in Ghent , Belgium , in the opera's original French-language version and received praise from critics and audiences alike. After a number of performances in Ghent, the production moved to the opera house in Antwerp for a sold-out run of performances. In July 2012, Gilliam revealed plans for a film which would be shot in Bucharest , Romania. He denied that it would be Don Quixote but refused to give any further details. On 13 August 2012, this project
9976-538: The programme went out on a weekday. Other regular performers were David Battley , Henry Woolf , Gwen Taylor and Terence Bayler . George Harrison made a guest appearance on one episode. A legacy of RWT was the creation, with Innes, of The Rutles , an affectionate parody of the Beatles . The band became a popular phenomenon, especially in the U.S. where Idle was appearing on Saturday Night Live – fans would send in Beatles LPs with their sleeves altered to show
10092-451: The project; Gilliam was to be credited as "creative advisor". Fifteen years after the publication of Gilliam's Animations of Mortality , between the release of the CD-ROM game Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time in 1994, which used many of Gilliam's animation templates, and the making of Gilliam's film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), Gilliam was in negotiations with Enteractive,
10208-635: The rest of his life in England. (See Lamb House ). He was naturalised as a British subject in the final year of his life. T. S. Eliot left his family home in St. Louis , Missouri , to go to Harvard , in New England. From there he moved to Europe and stayed in Germany and France. When World War I began, he moved to Oxford , United Kingdom. He gained British citizenship and joined the Church of England . Wallis Simpson
10324-599: The same as in the Toronto performance, but the accompanying chorus was made up of members of New York City's Collegiate Chorale. The show was revised and expanded for a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2007, including two sell-out nights at the Sydney Opera House . A tour during the summer of 2008 included performances with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts ,
10440-697: The same grave as Long Wolf's remains. Long Wolf and White Star Ghost Dog's coffins were repatriated to the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1997. Two years later, Paul Eagle Star's coffin was repatriated to the Rosebud Indian Reservation . Tribal descendants include John Black Feather (Long Wolf's great-grandson), Moses Eagle Star and Lucy Eagle Star (Paul Eagle Star's two grandchildren). Blackfoot Sioux chief Charging Thunder came to Salford at age twenty-six as part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in 1903. Like many Lakota tribesmen, Charging Thunder
10556-404: The short film The Crimson Permanent Assurance , which opened showings of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life , Python effectively ceased working together, and Gilliam pursued his career as a filmmaker. The "Trilogy of Imagination", written by Gilliam, about "the ages of man", consisted of Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). All are about
10672-414: The show. The show's cast included comic actors David Jason and Denise Coffey . Idle also appeared as guest in some episodes of the television series At Last the 1948 Show , which featured Cleese and Chapman in its principal cast. Idle wrote for Python mostly by himself, at his own pace, although he sometimes found it difficult in having to present material to the others and make it seem funny without
10788-508: The sketch "Most Awful Family in Britain 1974" (episode 45); the Screaming Queen in a cape and mask in "The Visitors"; and Percy Bysshe Shelley in "Ant Poetry Reading". More frequently, he played parts that no one else wanted to play, generally because they required a lot of makeup or uncomfortable costumes, such as a recurring knight in armour who ended sketches by walking on and hitting one of
10904-517: The songs featured in Python projects, including " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ". After Monty Python's Flying Circus he created the sketch show Rutland Weekend Television (1975–1976), and hosted Saturday Night Live four times (1976–1979). He has also acted in films, including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Nuns on the Run (1990), Splitting Heirs (1993), Casper (1995), An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997), Ella Enchanted (2004), and Shrek
11020-633: The stage show Slava's Diabolo , created and staged by the Russian clown artist Slava Polunin . The show combined Polunin's clown style, characterised by deep nonverbal expression and interaction with the audience, with Gilliam's rich visuals and surrealistic imagery. The show premiered at the Noga Hall of the Gesher Theatre in Jaffa , Tel Aviv , Israel. In January 2007, Gilliam announced that he had been working on
11136-619: The things the cast and crew encountered during the three-month tour. In 2004, Idle created Spamalot , a musical comedy based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail . The medieval production tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they journey on their quest for the Holy Grail . Spamalot features a book and lyrics by Idle, music by Idle and John Du Prez , direction by Mike Nichols , and choreography by Casey Nicholaw . Idle's play What About Dick?
11252-591: The time, which was the second-largest ethnic group in British North America only after the English and as many as 30,000 slaves escaped to British lines. The largest regiment was the Black Pioneers who followed troops under Sir General Henry Clinton . Working as soldiers, labourers, pilots, cooks, and musicians, they were a major part of the unsuccessful British war effort. African Americans who fought against
11368-458: The world's best football players, including Ronaldo , Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry , who are inside a huge tanker ship. The advertisements are accompanied with a remixed version of the Elvis Presley song " A Little Less Conversation ". In 2005, Gilliam released The Brothers Grimm , followed later in the year by Tideland . In 2006, Gilliam made his debut as theatre director by directing
11484-538: Was a member of Monty Python's Flying Circus from its outset, credited at first as an animator (his name was listed separately after the other five in the closing credits) and later as a full member. His cartoons linked the show's sketches together and defined the group's visual language in other media, such as LP and book covers and the title sequences of their films. His animations mix his own art, characterised by soft gradients and odd, bulbous shapes, with backgrounds and moving cutouts from antique photographs, mostly from
11600-470: Was adopted as a football chant in the late 1980s, Idle's then neighbour Gary Lineker suggested Idle re-record and release the popular track. With help from BBC Radio 1 breakfast show host Simon Mayo , who gave the song regular airplay and also used the chorus within a jingle, it became a hit, some 12 years after the song's original appearance in Life of Brian , reaching number 3 in the UK charts and landing Idle
11716-669: Was an exceptional horseman and performed thrilling stunts in Buffalo Bill's show in front of huge crowds, on the site of what is now Lowry in Salford Quays. But when the show rolled out of town, he remained in the North West. He married Josephine, an American horse trainer who had just given birth to their first child, Bessie and together they settled in Darwen , before moving to Gorton . His name became George Edward Williams, after registering with
11832-574: Was announced to be The Zero Theorem , set to start shooting in Bucharest on 22 October, produced by Dean Zanuck (son of the late Richard D. Zanuck , who was originally to produce the film in 2009), with worldwide sales handled by Voltage Pictures , Toronto, and starring the Academy Award–winner Christoph Waltz in the lead (replacing Billy Bob Thornton , who had been attached to the project in 2009). The Zero Theorem premiered at
11948-546: Was born in Minnesota , but spent his high school and college years in Los Angeles . He started his career as an animator and strip cartoonist. He joined Monty Python as the animator of their works, but eventually became a full member and was given acting roles. The only Monty Python member not born in Britain, Gilliam became a naturalised British citizen in 1968 and formally renounced his American citizenship in 2006. Terry Gilliam
12064-627: Was born on 22 November 1940 in Minneapolis , Minnesota, the son of Beatrice (née Vance) and James Hall Gilliam. His father was a travelling salesman for Folgers before becoming a carpenter. Soon after, they moved to nearby Medicine Lake, Minnesota . In 1952, the family moved to the Los Angeles neighborhood of Panorama City . Gilliam attended Birmingham High School . During high school, he began to avidly read Mad magazine, then edited by Harvey Kurtzman , which would later influence Gilliam's work. Gilliam graduated from Occidental College in 1962 with
12180-974: Was born on 29 March 1943 in Harton Hospital , in South Shields . His mother, Norah Barron Sanderson, was a nurse, and his father, Ernest Idle, served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, only to be killed in a road accident while hitchhiking home for Christmas in December 1945. Idle said his mother "disappeared for a while into depression" and consequently he was brought up by his grandmother in Swinton, Lancashire . Idle spent part of his childhood in Wallasey in Cheshire , and attended St George's Primary School. His mother had difficulty coping with
12296-639: Was buried at St George's Church in Gravesend afterwards. Her son Thomas Rolfe lived in England until the age of 20 before returning to Virginia. Lakota tribes arrived in England when they were part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show . Surrounded By the Enemy, a twenty-two-year-old Oglala gun-slinging and horse-riding stuntman and a year old boy named Red Penny died during the tour in 1887. Their interments were at West Brompton 's cemetery . Brulé tribesman Paul Eagle Star died after breaking his ankle when he fell off
12412-518: Was disrupted following the death of Heath Ledger in New York City. Variety reported that Ledger's involvement had been a "key factor" in the film's financing. Production was suspended indefinitely by 24 January, but in February the actors Johnny Depp , Jude Law , and Colin Farrell signed on to continue Ledger's role, transforming into multiple incarnations of his character in the "magical" world of
12528-575: Was given a staged reading at two public performances at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood on 10–11 November 2007. The cast included Idle, Billy Connolly , Tim Curry , Eddie Izzard , Jane Leeves , Emily Mortimer , Jim Piddock and Tracey Ullman . The play returned on 26–29 April 2012 in the Orpheum Theatre , most of the cast returning with the exception of Emily Mortimer, who
12644-462: Was invited to join the prestigious Cambridge University Footlights Club by the president of the Footlights Club, Tim Brooke-Taylor , and Footlights Club member Bill Oddie . I'd never heard of the Footlights when I got there, but we had a tradition of college smoking-concerts, and I sent in some sketches parodying a play that had just been done. Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie auditioned me for
12760-588: Was on 25 December 2009. Eventually, this $ 30 million-budgeted film had grossed more than $ 60 million in worldwide theatrical release and received two Academy Award nominations. The film's end credit states that the film is dedicated to the memories of Ledger and William Vince . Depp, Farrell, and Law donated their proceeds from the film to Ledger's daughter. Gilliam made his opera debut at London's English National Opera (ENO) in May 2011, directing The Damnation of Faust , by Hector Berlioz . On 16 September 2012,
12876-585: Was permitted to spend 30 days each year in the United States over the next ten years, "less than any European". Holly followed suit, renouncing her American citizenship in 2017. He maintains a residence in Italy near the Umbria – Tuscany border. He has been instrumental in establishing the annual Umbria Film Festival, held in the nearby town of Montone . Gilliam also resides in Highgate , London. Gilliam has been involved with
12992-433: Was rejected because there was 'no joke in the words'. A talented guitarist, Idle composed many of the group's most famous musical numbers, most notably " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ", the closing number of Life of Brian , which has grown to become a Python signature tune. He was responsible for the " Galaxy Song " from The Meaning of Life and " Eric the Half-a-Bee ", a whimsical tune that first appeared on
13108-495: Was replaced by Sophie Winkleman . Russell Brand also joined the cast. The play was made available for digital download on 13 November 2012. Idle performed at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in London on 12 August, singing " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ". He was the creator and director of the live show Monty Python Live (mostly) – One down, Five to go which took place at
13224-522: Was responsible for photography and also appeared as both Patsy and the Old Man from Scene 24, while Jones guided the actors' performances. It was the only Python film directed by Gilliam, though he continued to act in their subsequent projects. As Python started to take longer breaks between projects following Monty Python and the Holy Grail , Gilliam became a solo filmmaker, building upon the experience he had acquired. In 1977, he directed his first film outside
13340-642: Was the American-born wife of Anglo-American businessman Ernest Simpson before her marriage to the Duke of Windsor , formerly King Edward VIII . The latter famously abdicated in 1936, the same year he ascended the British throne; in order to marry her. Despite living primarily in France , she was buried next to her husband in the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore , the first American to be interred there. Zoë Wanamaker
13456-497: Was to be reshot completely, with Rochefort's role recast. Michael Palin reportedly entered into talks with Gilliam about stepping in for Rochefort and playing Don Quixote. However, Gilliam revealed on the Canadian talk show The Hour on 17 December 2009 that Robert Duvall had been cast to play Quixote, before the film was postponed once again. In January 2014, Gilliam wrote on Facebook that "Dreams of Don Quixote have begun again". At
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