Monty Python at Work

by Michael Palin

Drawn from his published diaries, this is Michael Palin’s account of the making of the Monty Python TV and stage shows, films, books and albums.

Monty Python at Work opens on 8th July 1969 with Michael Palin’s diary entry for the first day of filming on the very first episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus . The diary entries that follow – up until the opening of their final feature film, The Meaning of Life , in 1983 – chart the tumultuous story of how the now famous shows and films were conceived and brought to life.

Palin records the evolution of Monty Python’s comic style, the moments of creative inspiration as well as discord, the persistent self-doubt, and the happy accidents that shaped what are now classic comedy moments. He captures too the group’s many anarchic exploits (John Cleese in a bikini; driving a Budget Rent-a-Van up Glencoe in full chainmail; filming ‘Scott of the Sahara’ on the beach at Torquay), as well as their battles with BBC suits, budget-conscious film producers and self-appointed censors.

Thanks to Palin’s as-it-happened accounts, we are taken behind the scenes to watch with unrivalled intimacy the creative processes that led to the finished work, seeing how it was actually put together. By distilling everything about the Pythons at work, this edition of Palin’s diaries serves as an intimate guide to the legendary shows, films, books and albums. It will delight Python fans everywhere, and be a source of instruction and inspiration to those who seek to follow in their footsteps.

"Michael Palin's rollercoaster account of Python's glory years." - The Stage

"Palin is a natural diarist and this amusing and barmy collection of day-by-day extracts gives a peek into the creative process of the comedy troupe." - Daily Mail


Michael Palin established his reputation with Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Ripping Yarns . His work also includes several films with Monty Python, as well as The Missionary , A Private Function , an award-winning performance as the hapless Ken in A Fish Called Wanda , American Friends and Fierce Creatures . His television credits include two films for the BBC’s Great Railway Journeys , the plays East of Ipswich and Number 27 , Alan Bleasdale’s GBH , and the three-part BBC drama, Remember Me . He has written books to accompany his eight very successful travel series, Around the World in 80 Days , Pole to Pole , Full Circle , Hemingway Adventure , Sahara , Himalaya , New Europe and Brazil . He is also the author of a number of children’s stories, the play The Weekend , and the novels Hemingway’s Chair and The Truth . Michael’s three volumes of diaries are 1969–1979: The Python Years , 1980–1988: Halfway to Hollywood and 1988–1998: Travelling to Work . In 2014, Michael and his fellow Pythons performed a ten-night sell-out show called Monty Python Live at the O2 Arena , London. Between 2009 and 2012, Michael was President of the Royal Geographical Society.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Biography

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2014

About the author

Sir Michael Edward Palin, KCMG, CBE, FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries.

Palin wrote most of his material with Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows such as The Ken Dodd Show, The Frost Report and Do Not Adjust Your Set. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "The Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Spanish Inquisition" and "Spam". Palin continued to work with Jones, co-writing Ripping Yarns. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as A Fish Called Wanda, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted the 30th favourite by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

After Python, he began a new career as a travel writer. His journeys have taken him across the world, the North and South Poles, the Sahara desert, the Himalayas and most recently, Eastern Europe. In 2000 Palin became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to television.

Reviews

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I manage to write some more of the 'Twibune'. Helen suggests he should have a friend, so I write in Biggus Dickus, who thpeaks with a lithp."

Michael Palin's Monty Python at Work (2014) is an essential read for Monty Python fans and a must-have book for Python completists. I also hope that the readers who do not know the British comedy masters from late 1960s and early 1970s - if there are any such people on the planet - and even people who know them but do not think they are the funniest item in the history of human entertainment, which should be an even rarer category, will find the book interesting. This work is an edited selection of material from the diaries of Michael Palin, one of the Magnificent Six, often called the "nicest Python", and an author of several popular travel books which still await their turn on my shelves.

Mr. Palin kept his diary since April of 1969 and we witness the entire history of the Pythons: I believe the author recorded every single important event that happened to the group between 1969 and 1983. We read about the pivotal Monty Python Flying Circus TV show, from its first "test" run in front of a small audience in August of 1969 to the fourth and last series aired in the UK in 1974. Next Mr. Palin provides a lively chronology of the troupe's work on their big-screen movies: And Now For Something Completely Different, Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Life of Brian (which was extremely successful in the US), and my personal favorite, Monty Python's Meaning Of Life. The following fragment of the diary entry refers to the famous Mr. Creosote sketch from the last movie, the sketch that contains the unforgettable "wafer-thin mint" line:

Evidently 9,000 gallons of vomit were made for the sketch, which took four days to film [...]

It is totally fascinating to learn how the Pythons created their sketches: some worked in pairs, some alone, and then they ran the drafts in front of the whole group, which provided the most severe and thorough vetting of humor potential. I find the stories about the group's struggles against censorship most interesting. Over the years many individuals and organizations tried to censor the Pythons' work on obscenity, offensiveness or religious grounds and often the attempts proved funnier than the humor itself. There is a priceless passage dated December 19, 1975 that describes the Pythons' New York courtroom argument to defend their sketch about a courtroom argument.

On slightly more serious note, Mr. Palin's modesty is commendable and quite rare in the genre of (quasi-)autobiographies. In most cases he praises the other Pythons' material higher than his own. And on even more fundamental level: I find it quite illuminating to witness the change of the artists' priorities and goals between the times when they were just a relatively unknown group on their way up and the late 1970s when they were enjoying a huge financial success. Even the funniest people on the face of this Earth change their outlook when they come into money.

A hugely informative diary, an interesting read, and an essential source for all Monty Python fans.

Three and a half stars.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edits from Michael Palin's voluminous diaries have been compiled in this edition, reflecting the Monty Python years and their comedy output. Strictly for fans only, 'Monty Python at Work' provides a fascinating first hand account of the writing process behind Monty Python's Flying Circus, Holy Grail, Life of Brian and Meaning of Life.

The beauty of a diary is that thoughts are written unedited and Python fans can be greatful for Michael Palin being the keen diarist of the group, as he describes all the petty disagreements and frustrations they faced with probably the least amount of bias.

Rewatching their output has a new freshness having read how sketches and film storylines were developed. For any budding comedy writer it will provide a wistfulness to a time where a new series on the BBC would be piloted with a thirteen episode run. There are also envy-inducing descriptions of writing holidays to exotic locations.

Personally the most enjoyable aspects of the book were the glimpses in to the relationships between the Pythons. It was particularly interesting to read extracts about Palin's denial over Graham Chapman's alcoholism and how it developed into concern over time. The entry where Chapman promises to remain sober are emotionally affecting and seeing his renewed vigor in 'Life of Brian' will strike me at every rewatch now.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always love these diaries but I was really quite horrified at some of the racist language back then. Upsetting ‘the blacks’ because these actors thought they would be in suits but were told would be in loin cloths. I am not surprised they were pissed off.

Then ‘browning up’ some Glaswegians to do it instead. I just wouldn’t expect this from Palin and I don’t accept it’s a sign of the times.

Everything else is fab but wow. ‘The Blacks’. That will stay with me like a horrible taste in my mouth for a very long time.

If a group of black people tell you your sketch is extremely racist and upsetting. You basically listen. Don’t do it and definitely don’t ‘brown up some Glaswegians’

I love Python so much. I just wish the 70s weren’t such a racist quagmire

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

42 WORD REVIEW:

A collection of those of Palin’s diary entries that deal with Monty Python. There is surprisingly little here of the creative process, but some slightly interesting (if dampening) insights into the Pythons’ relationships and the business world that lurks predatorily behind comedy.

[Mark J C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Nostalgic Read

A very pleasant ramble through Python's history written in Michael Palin's relaxed but to the point style. Good to realise that Python sketches are still funny after all these years even when they're only referred to in passing.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is definitely for Monty Python fans only. The edited diaries of Michael Palin covering the Python years with their ups, downs, trials and tribulations.
I enjoyed the book and it gives a good insight into the Pythons behind the scenes.

[Ben Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the individual diaries but it's nice to have all the Python stuff in one place. A good "dipper" book.

[Mark Suffern · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy Python, then you will probably enjoy this too

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

and now for something completely different. …

Monty Python's Flying Circus began in 1969 on the BBC. The show began in the United States five years later on PBS stations. It was the top public TV program in New York by Feb 1975.

Six years before Saturday Night Live went on the air, Monty Python's Flying Circus brought its own innovations to TV comedy. The program included cold openings and absurd sketches without punchlines. This book of diary entries requires some knowledge of Monty Python's works from 1969-83.

Mercifully, this book abridges Michael Palin's original diaries, which ran for six hundred pages. I'm interested enough to read this quick abridgment, but not interested enough to read hundreds and hundreds of pages.

Nonetheless, Palin, who may be the most literate of the Pythons, wrote about the diary as a literary style. Palin regards diaries as works-in-progress rather than achievement explained or reputation gained. His diary entries offer direct and immediate thoughts, unvarnished by time.

For those mystified by the troupe's style, Palin writes about the cumulative effect of Monty Python that a single showing of its Flying Circus program could not convey. Python's style comes, in part, from the humor of frustration and from the irritation of constantly being diverted by trivia, wrote Palin.

Palin offers insight to his companions. John Cleese, for example, became a curmudgeon early on, although he was good at "corpsing," a British term for breaking up the others during a sketch. Eric Idle, meanwhile, earned praise as a good analyst who, time and again, identifies the weak and strong parts of sketches. Although Idle can have his moments, Eric "is like the top scholar of the year at the Dale Carnegie School of Positive Thinking," wrote Palin.

Interesting book. I'm familiar enough with the body of work that the diaries made sense. I did well in high school comedies and improv. So, I enjoy learning about the creation of humor for the stage and film.

This book released last summer, when the troupe produced its 2014 farewell film, "Monty Python Live (Mostly)." Highlights of the show, directed by Eric Idle:

— "The Galaxy Song," which ends with a cameo by a grinning Stephen Hawking, a surprisingly touching moment when the nurse held up his hand so that Stephen could wave to everyone, which brought sustained cheers.

— "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," the final all-star encore before waving a final goodbye. Twenty thousand fans joined in the familiar chorus during the singalong, which could have gone on longer. But the song did not begin well. It was "received coolly" when Eric Idle first played it for the others in 1978. Now it is Monty Python's best-known song, often sung at funerals.

If vaudeville were alive today, it might look like this farewell production. Great staging and set design. Otherwise, it is (mostly) tired material better performed by these guys in their twenties, not by men in their seventies.

It is easy to find Python in its prime. For a good best-of, try Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, taped in 1980. "The sketches were well performed and quite well filmed," wrote Palin. "Performances very strong, especially Eric."

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no idea how often I've watched The Holy Grail, A Fished Named Wanda is amongst my favourite comedies, and I happily go back to Flying Circus sketches on a fairly regular basis. So, I will gladly listen and read what Michael Palin has to say.

I personally journal once a day, and I don't know whether this is due to good editing or whether Palin actually journals like this, but in the book the diary entries even have a narrative quality to them with raising tension and setting up jokes that have their pay-off at the end. If Palin actually writes like this for himself, not even with the plan to publish said writing, then colour me impressed.

The sequence of entries is also well done, giving a real sense of dramatic and comedic weight to Palin's accounts. The whole thing is obviously coloured by one man's perspective, but it's interesting to hear his accounts of how the Python's interacted with each other.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend this to someone who hasn't read the Python's Autobiography and isn't a die-hard Python fan. It's a compilation of shortened diary entries from the lovely Michael Palin, and even though it consists little explanation notes it still doesn't create the full picture of most of what is going on.

I have to say that I haven't yet read the compilation of Palin's complete diary entries from the Python years, but I have it on my shelf, and I am presuming that that will create a much more complete look into the Palin mind during the Python years :)

[James Lark]

A very easy read. Wouldn't make much sense to anyone who wasn't already familiar with all of the Python output, and as it goes on it increasingly feels like the excerpts that it is. Still, my appetite is whetted to read the full diaries and what this does give you is a concentrated and insightful glimpse behind the scenes of Monty Python's successes and otherwise, with most depth in the Life of Brian section.

[Reza Amiri Praramadhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Michael Palin is part of my all time favourite comedy troupe, the Monty Python, I felt that I have to do justice and put aside my fanaticism for all things Python. Since the book is strictly a diary of him, don't be too expecting many hilarious things from this book. I know I did, at least, when Michael talked about the production of a comedic sketch, my mind automatically recall the scene from the TV show, which makes the reading of this book more interesting.

[Scott Vout · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed what i read of this book. I used to be a hardcore Python fan and it was interesting to read the behind the scenes of a lot of their work.

this is diary form and hits the highlights of their careers but does not go deep into their cavorting.

if you are a python fan it is a fun read

[Shawn Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, more like a diary, a journey through his charmed Monty Python life where he clearly is never as confident about the outcome as it looks in his tv/movie life! I want to read the rest of his diaries now!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Culled from the existing diaries so nothing new but still a fascinating insight into how the lunacy was constructed

[Christopher Roden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshing!