…John Cleese will be guesting on Real Time with Bill Maher this Friday night. If you enjoyed his solo interview last year, wait till you see him on the panel!
Tag Archives: #johncleese
Great Pre-Python News!
…Two more episodes of At Last the 1948 Show have been discovered! Details are here: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-09-16/lost-comedy-precursor-to-monty-python-starring-john-cleese-and-graham-chapman-is-found-after-48-years @montypython @johncleese
Full Monty…
I mentioned recently that Python fans would have an opportunity this fall to see at least four of them in front of an audience. Michael Palin will be touring in England in September and October, John Cleese and Eric Idle will be performing in the Florida-Georgia-Virginia area in October, and Terry Jones will be making a rare U.S. appearance at Dragon Con in Atlanta September 5-7.
Did you think Terry Gilliam would be the only holdout? Fret no more. Terry will be in L.A. (actually, Glendale) to promote his new book Gilliamesque on October 19th at the Alex Theatre. Here’s the scoop.
Tickets will be going fast for this one, so don’t hesitate. If you enjoyed the John and Eric evening last year–or for that matter, if you’re reading my posts–what are you waiting for?
And in case you were wondering–I’m not done yet! I should have yet another announcement to post soon! #montypython @ericidle @johncleese @pythonjones @montypython @terrygilliam #terrygilliam
Cleese and Idle…together again for the first time!…
When I saw @johncleese recently, he told me that he would be touring around Florida this fall with @ericidle. And now, the official announcement has been made here. If you saw John and Eric in LA last November, you know this is not to be missed. Say no more.
@johncleese with Seth Meyers (starting about 13 minutes in): http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/video/john-cleese-linda-cardellini-barney-frank/2861006
#johncleese #montypython
The green room at the Beacon (actually, under the Beacon) Theatre was well-stocked with food and drink after the Q & A, as the Pythons and friends made their way downstairs (thanks to Jeff Slate for the photo!). One of the nicest things about a Monty Python party (and, to paraphrase from Life of Brian, I should know, I’ve been to a few) is how so many familiar faces and members of the Python family seem to turn up. It’s always particularly happy to see the various family members, former co-workers and devoted friends that only seem to turn up every few years at these kinds of events. Strange as it may sound, Python is a family (and of course, the fans are a valued part of that family. But it was delightful to see folks like Roger Graef, Simon Jones and his wife Nancy, and John and Linda Goldstone.
I followed Terry Jones and John Oliver into the room and we all had a drink as the rest of them poured in, and everyone had a chance to catch up properly. I was approached by several people whom I had forgotten, and had to be reminded that I knew because they were “friends of Graham.” I took them at their word because, well, Graham certainly had a lot of friends.
A few famous faces made their way in, and I saw John talking to Hank Azaria. It soon became rather crowded, and Terry J suggested that we head down the block to the Amsterdam Ale House for dinner, where I mentioned earlier that they were serving Stone Dry Hopped IPA on cask. Terry hadn’t forgotten. I made my way over to John to let him know I was leaving, and I saw him talking to John Goldstone. As I approached him, however, I realized it was not John Goldstone, but in fact Kevin Kline and his son. I apologized for my intrusion, but Kevin was glad to see me, as we had spoken on the phone several times when I worked for John, but we had never met. We also joked about how John used to make fun of his acting, noting that while he felt Kevin was a great actor, he was an even greater over-actor.
And so with that, Terry J and I and a couple of other friends headed up to the Ale House for dinner and drinks. Despite the jet lag and general lack of sleep (I had gotten up at 3 a.m. for my flight), we found some extra adrenalin that kept us going well past midnight for a successful day, and a memorable Python anniversary.
@montypython #montypython
More Tribeca Python…montypython
@montypython
Still more Python red carpet…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnhWenSzbQs
@montypython
#montypython
A bit of TriBeCa fun.
Watch the whole thing:
As the screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail was concluding in front of the audience, backstage the Pythons were obviously having a great time chatting with John Oliver in a very Anglo-centric conversation. They were all miked and waiting for their cue, posing for a few last-minute shots. As Terry Jones nibbled on a few of the snacks set out in the wings, none of them seemed particularly nervous about stepping out in front of the sold-out crowd. (Of course, if you can walk out in front of 16,000 people ten nights at the O2, perhaps the Beacon may not seem as intimidating.)
We heard their introduction and Jeff, Holly, a few Tribeca Film Festival folks and I stepped into the auditorium. The crowd roared as they slipped into their row of chairs and John Oliver began the conversation. It wasn’t long before the boys became restless however, and John Cleese walked offstage for a few moments. He returned with another chair, and pandemonium–very hilarious pandemonium–slowly began. Among the highlights: each of them re-arranging chairs so that half of them were facing the back of the stage; all of them but Eric dragging their chairs over next to John Oliver, encircling him; and John Cleese disappearing again and eventually waving his hand through the backdrop, causing enormous laughter completely out of context so that John Oliver was visibly baffled at the audience’s reaction (until he saw John’s waving hand).
After it drew to a close, we all convened backstage. “I think you needed a whip and a chair out there,” I told John Oliver who laughed, but I assured him he did a great job controlling the uncontrollable.
We all proceeded to the green room, where the guests would soon be arriving. I quickly learned the reason for the Marx Brothers routine: “We couldn’t hear a thing!” John explained. He decided to go backstage because (a) it was a bit of physical comedy, and (b) because he felt that if they couldn’t hear, the whole discussion would be a disaster. Later on that night, the two Terries confirmed it (and they were sitting closer to John Oliver than John was). Nevertheless, everyone was in a jolly mood and the party began.
To be continued…
@montypython #montypython @ericidle
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