The group includes Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle (the trio from Cambridge, who are all taller than all the other members of the group, and known as the more "aggressive" half of the group), Terry Jones (from Wales), Michael Palin (from Oxford) and Terry Gilliam (Minnesota in the United States). Chapman wrote the sketches with Cleese, Jones wrote with Palin, Idle wrote alone and Gilliam did the animations. Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland have both on occasion been mentioned as the "7th Python".
Graham Chapman, widely known as "The Dead One", died of cancer on October 4, 1989, the day before Python's 20th anniversary (thus being called "the greatest party pooper of all time" by Terry Jones), is tagged as the greatest actor among the group by his fellow Pythons. He had problems with alcohol and was a dedicated smoker of the pipe (he appears with a pipe in his hand in most of the Python sketches). He was known for his outstanding and abstract sense of humour; Cleese states that during their sketch-writing partnership Chapman did not say much, but when he said something it was often brilliant. The term "pepperpot" which is used to describe middle-aged ladies was found by Chapman.
John Cleese, probably the most famous Python on the other side of the Atlantic, is most widely known for his silly walk - the famous walk that he invented for Monty Python's Flying Circus, and repeated in one episode of Fawlty Towers, where he tries very hard not to remind his German visitors of the World War II by doing impersonations of Hitler. He lives in the USA. He played the lead as Basil Fawlty in "Fawlty Towers". He has been reported to be the first man to say "shit" on British TV and the first man to say "fuck" at a British memorial service.
Eric Idle is the composer of most Python songs (along with Neil Innes) such as the Python anthem "Always Look on the Bright Side Of Life" (which is also played after Iron Maiden's shows). His outstanding linguistic abilities have earned him the name "Master of the One-Liner". He created the Beatles parody "The Rutles" along with Neil Innes, and recently adapted the Python movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" as a Broadway musical called "Monty Python's Spamalot". His most famous Python role is the character he plays in the "Nudge Nudge" sketch. He is the self-acclaimed third tallest and sixth nicest Python.
Terry Gilliam was the only American in the group and has one of the most successful post-Python careers among the six, as he is the director of hugely popular movies like Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Fisher King. His part was instrumental in helping Python gain their reputation as a unique comedy group, his animations helping them link sketches (which, of course, don't have punch lines) in an unprecedented manner. He has become a British citizen in early 2006 and renounced his American citizenship shortly afterwards. He acknowledges The Goon Show, a radio show aired in the 1950s on BBC radio, written by Spike Milligan and performed by Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers, as the main reason he chose Britain as his homeland.
Terry Jones is the most successful actor of the woman role (as demonstrated in the Spam sketch, which is only one of numerous occasions in which he has voiced the trademark of a high-pitched female impersonation). He is the director (or co-director) of all Python movies. He has also written, directed and appeared in a few more movies which featured some of his Python mates; despite the fact that these movies aren't quite a match for his work in the Flying Circus, they include some hilarious scenes, such as the singing scene in Erik the Viking. He is the writer of such excellent songs as "I'm So Worried" and "Traffic Lights". He has done a few historical documentaries, and in one of them he briefly acts the part of King Richard III (called "Ring Kichard the Thrid" by the Eric Idle character "the man who speaks entirely in anagrams", which prompts Michael Palin the interviewer to suggest that "Ring Kichard is surely a spoonerism and not an anagram", which results in Eric Idle's character leaving the studio, saying "If you are going to split hairs, I'm going to piss off" (which can serve as a pointer to the Eric Idle-John Cleese movie "Splitting Heirs")).
Michael Palin, known as the nicest python, and the favorite Python to work with for John Cleese, has done numerous travel documentaries during his post-Python career. His amazing sense of humour has inevitably permeated into what would otherwise be just ordinary documentaries (occasions like the Polushka Pole incident and thanking the goddess for her "nice mountain", to name a couple). This nice man, who finds it very difficult to say "no", is the only one who said "no" to a reunion in their 30th year. He is the inventor of the threat "If you don't cooperate, I will get nasty and start using some Dutch words".
As admitted on several occasions, the group likes to dress up as women.
Having said all that, Terry Jones is actually Welsh.
All Things Dull and Ugly
Monty Python Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All creatures short and squat,
All things rude and nasty,
The Lord God made the lot.
Each little snake that poisons,
Each little wasp that stings,
He made their brutish venom.
He made their horrid wings.
All things sick and cancerous,
All evil great and small,
All things foul and dangerous,
The Lord God made them all.
Each nasty little hornet,
Each beastly little squid
Who made the spikey urchin?
Who made the sharks? He did!
All things scabbed and ulcerous,
All pox both great and small,
Putrid, foul and gangrenous,
The Lord God made them all.
Amen.
The lyrics to Monty Python's "All Things Dull and Ugly" appear to be poking fun at the idea of a loving and benevolent God. The song suggests that God not only created the beautiful and wondrous things in nature, but also the unpleasant ones, such as poisonous snakes, wasps, hornets, and cancerous diseases. The repetition of the phrase "The Lord God made them all" reinforces this ironic juxtaposition of good and evil in the natural world. The song's humor lies in its irreverent tone, as it subverts the traditional Christian belief that God is solely responsible for all creation and should be revered as such.
Line by Line Meaning
All things dull and ugly,
The song begins by acknowledging that there are many things in existence that are mundane or unattractive.
All creatures short and squat,
The song names a specific type of creature, implying that the hymn is referencing all creatures regardless of their physical appearance.
All things rude and nasty,
The song continues by noting that some things are more than just dull, but downright unpleasant.
The Lord God made the lot.
Despite some things being unpleasant or unattractive, the singer notes that God is the creator of everything, both good and bad.
Each little snake that poisons,
The song begins to name specific creatures that are often seen as dangerous or unpleasant. The singer notes that even these creatures were created by God.
Each little wasp that stings,
Another example of a creature that is often seen as dangerous or annoying, but was still created by God.
He made their brutish venom.
God isn't just responsible for creating these creatures, but also for creating the venom and toxins they produce.
He made their horrid wings.
The song continues by noting that God also created all aspects of these creatures, including their physical characteristics.
All things sick and cancerous,
The song moves on to naming more unpleasant things, this time focusing on illnesses and diseases.
All evil great and small,
The singer continues to name evil things, broadening the scope to include anything that is wicked or cruel.
All things foul and dangerous,
The song name-drops yet another unpleasant category of things, focusing on items or substances that are repulsive or hazardous.
The Lord God made them all.
The song concludes that everything, no matter how unpleasant or dangerous, is created by God.
Each nasty little hornet,
The song continues listing specific creatures that are harmful or unpleasant, once again pointing out that God created them.
Each beastly little squid
The scope of unpleasant creatures expands beyond land predators to include the aquatic realm, along with the reminder that they too were created by God.
Who made the spikey urchin?
The song poses a rhetorical question about a specific type of creature to spark further thought about how the different species came to be.
Who made the sharks? He did!
The answer to the rhetorical question posed in the previous line is given here, reiterating that God created everything, including sharks.
All things scabbed and ulcerous,
The song returns to discussing various illnesses and afflictions, emphasizing the fact that all of these things were made by God.
All pox both great and small,
Pox is a general term for any type of rash, lesion or blister. This line continues to discuss how even the most unpleasant diseases were created by God.
Putrid, foul and gangrenous,
The final line before the song concludes is once again referencing sick and harmful things, emphasizing that these also were created by God.
The Lord God made them all.
The final line of the song serves as a reminder that everything in existence, no matter how unpleasant, was created by God.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN DU PREZ, ERIC IDLE, TRAD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tsukishiro70
If that isn't played at my funeral then I'm not going.
Maunster!
Excellent idea. I'll add it to my funeral plans.
Alison Lekarev
I'm having this at my funeral. :D
G6JPG
I think the thing I love most about this clip is the obvious enjoyment of the kids singing it. ("He did!")
JohnHughesChampigny
They probably, like me, had to sing the stupid version so often that this was a enormous relief. The great part of the joke is that if you believe in that stuff it is obviously exactly as true as the boring version.
EEEEYUKE
'e did.
Karen A T
I like their accents - not the usual RP english, but with dropped aitches etc.
G6JPG
@Karen A T Oh? They pronounce "nasty" as if it has an R in it, rather than (as I would) like "spastic", so I assumed they were from a posh school.
X. X.
That´s the courage, wisdom and humor of Monty Python. God bless them.
Siamak Hooshidar
God does!