Monty Python’s influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles’ influence on music, a pivotal moment in the evolution of television humor. Celebrating the cultural legacy and influence of the troupe, this special pairs their original material with new and entertaining commentary from celebrities who consider Monty Python hugely significant, both personally and to the history of screen satire. Celebrity humorists discuss, laugh, and reminisce about various Python segments and bring a fresh perspective to the material, connecting Monty Python’s work to today’s most successful television humor. In a time when a few moments of escape and laughter couldn’t be more sought after, this special reminds viewers of Python’s cultural impact, and that PBS introduced them to American viewers.
06-05-2021
58 min
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Main Cast
Movie Details
Production Info
Production:
PBS
Locations and Languages
Country:
US
Languages:
en
Main Cast
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green (né Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor. His film debut came with a role in the comedy-drama film The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), and he went on to have supporting roles in comedy films throughout the 1980s, including Radio Days (1987) and Big Business (1988).
During the 1990s and 2000s, Green began starring in comedy films such as Idle Hands (1999), Rat Race (2001), Without a Paddle (2004), and Be Cool (2005). He also became known for his portrayal of Scott Evil, Dr. Evil's son, in the Austin Powers film series (1997–2002). Green has also taken serious roles in films, including The Attic Expeditions (2001) and Party Monster (2003). He has provided the voice for Howard the Duck in a number of Marvel Cinematic Universe films and series, including Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and in the animated series What If...? (2021–present). In 2019, he wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy-drama film Changeland.
Green's first lead role on television was on the ABC sitcom Good & Evil in 1991, for which he won a Young Artist Award. Green later gained attention for his supporting roles as Oz, a teenage guitarist and the boyfriend of Willow Rosenberg, on the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2000), and as the voice of Chris Griffin on the Fox adult animated comedy series Family Guy (1999–present). He also voiced Leonardo in the Nickelodeon animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014–2017) and the Joker in the Mass Effect video game series (2007–2012). Green created, directed, wrote, and produced the adult animated comedy series Robot Chicken and its spinoffs (2005–present), which have earned him three Primetime Emmy Awards and five Annie Awards.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Seth Green, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr. Show and for his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox sitcom Arrested Development.
Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a disinformationist who aims to disorient his audience, often in a comedic fashion.
Paula Poundstone is an American stand-up comedian, author, actress, interviewer and commentator. Beginning in the late 1980s, she performed a series of one-hour HBO comedy specials. She provided backstage commentary during the 1992 presidential election on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She is a frequent panelist on National Public Radio's weekly news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jokes and one-liners with contrived situations.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Steven Wright, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
American stand-up comedian, writer and actor Patton Oswalt first began performing standup comedy in the late 1980s to early 1990s. After spending two seasons writing for MADtv, and starring in his own 1996 comedy special for HBO, he began performing in films and television shows.In January 2011, Oswalt released his first book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. Oswalt married writer Michelle Eileen McNamara on September 24, 2005. Their daughter, Alice Rigney Oswalt, was born on April 15, 2009.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Brian Edmund Posehn (born July 6, 1966) is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.
Simon Jones is a distinguished British actor known for his versatile performances on stage, television, and in films. Born in Wales, Jones has showcased his talent across various mediums. He gained recognition for his roles in projects like "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," where he portrayed the affable and bewildered Arthur Dent, earning him widespread acclaim. Jones's contributions to both theatre and screen, including appearances in acclaimed plays and television series, highlight his versatility and skill. His ability to bring authenticity and depth to his characters has earned him admiration, establishing him as a respected figure in the entertainment industry.
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He is known for his sophisticated and often unorthodox music, his occasionally lavish stage shows, and his later experiments with interactive entertainment. He also produced music videos and was an early adopter and promoter of various computer technologies, such as using the Internet as a means of music distribution in the late 1990s.
A native of Philadelphia, Rundgren began his professional career in the mid 1960s, forming the psychedelic band Nazz in 1967. Two years later, he left Nazz to pursue a solo career and immediately scored his first US top 40 hit with "We Gotta Get You a Woman" (1970). His best-known songs include "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light" from Something/Anything? (1972), which get frequent air time on classic rock radio stations, and the 1983 single "Bang the Drum All Day", which is featured in many sports arenas, commercials, and movie trailers. Although lesser known, "Couldn't I Just Tell You" (1972) was influential to many artists in the power pop genre. His 1973 album A Wizard, a True Star remains an influence on later generations of bedroom musicians.
Rundgren is considered a pioneer in the fields of electronic music, progressive rock, music videos, computer software, and Internet music delivery. He organized the first interactive television concert in 1978, designed the first color graphics tablet in 1980, and created the first interactive album, No World Order, in 1994.[1][5] Additionally, he was one of the first acts to be prominent as both an artist and producer. His notable production credits include Badfinger's Straight Up (1971), Grand Funk Railroad's We're an American Band (1973), the New York Dolls' New York Dolls (1973), Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell (1977) and XTC's Skylarking (1986).
Graham Arthur Chapman (January 8, 1941 – October 4, 1989) was an English comedian, physician, writer, and actor and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe. He was also the lead actor in their two narrative films, playing King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Brian in Monty Python's Life of Brian. He co-authored and starred in the film Yellowbeard.
Chapman was born in Leicester but was raised in nearby Melton Mowbray. After graduating from Emmanuel College, Cambridge and St Bartholomew's Medical College, he turned down a career as a doctor to be a comedian.
John Marwood Cleese (born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, writer and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s he became a member of Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and the four Monty Python films: And Now for Something Completely Different, Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. In the mid 1970s, Cleese and his first wife Connie Booth, co-wrote and starred in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers. Later, he co-starred with Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis and former Python colleague Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures. He also starred in Clockwise, and has appeared in many other films, including two James Bond films, two Harry Potter films, and three Shrek films. With Yes Minister writer Antony Jay he co-founded the production company Video Arts, responsible for making entertaining training films.
Description above from the Wikipedia article John Cleese, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam (born November 22, 1940) is an American-British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Subsequent to his early work with the Pythons, Gilliam became known for directing fantasy and sci-fi films, including "Time Bandits" (1981), "Brazil" (1985), "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" (1988), "The Fisher King" (1991), "12 Monkeys" (1995), "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998) and "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (2009). He is the only Python not born in Britain; he took British citizenship in 1968.
Eric Idle (born March 29, 1943) is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer who wrote and performed as a member of the popular British comedy group Monty Python.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Eric Idle, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Terence Graham Parry Jones was a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team.
At the age of 4, the Jones family moved to Surrey in England. Jones attended primary school at Esher COE school and later attended the Royal Grammar School in Guildford, where he was school captain in the 1960-61 academic year. He later read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, but "strayed into history". While there, he performed comedy with future Monty Python cast-mate Michael Palin in The Oxford Revue.
Jones appeared in the comedy TV series "Twice a Fortnight" with Michael Palin; Graeme Garden; Bill Oddie and Jonathan Lynn, as well as the television series |"The Complete and Utter History of Britain" (1969). He appeared in" Do Not Adjust Your Set" (1967–69) with Michael Palin; Eric Idle and David Jason. He wrote for "The Frost Report" and several other David Frost programmes.
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS (born 5 May 1943) 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 comedic 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 "Argument Clinic", "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", and "The Spanish Inquisition".
Palin continued to work with Jones after Python, 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 and travel documentarian. His journeys have taken him across the world, including the North and South Poles, the Sahara desert, the Himalayas and, most recently, Eastern Europe. In 2000 Palin was honoured as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to television.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Palin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
