Tag Archives: Terry Jones

Mickey Rooney …

A few days ago, I wrote that “nearly everyone who ever appeared in a silent movie is gone.”

Now, we’ve lost one more.

In 1988, Terry Jones invited me to visit him on the set of Erik the Viking, which he wrote and was directing. It was one of Tim Robbins’ first lead roles, and also featured John Cleese, Eartha Kitt and Terry.

When we were walking to the soundstage, Terry mentioned casually “Oh, and for Erik’s grandfather, we’ve also got Mickey Rooney.”

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Rooney had been appearing on stage in London in Sugar Babies. Apparently, he was bored during the daytime when he wasn’t performing, and so happily agreed to do Terry’s film. He was, at that time, a mere youth of 68.

After I got on the set, I looked around for Rooney. It wasn’t difficult to spot him. I just looked for the biggest crowd, and there he was at the center of it. I got close enough to hear him regaling the extras (mostly younger girls) with stories of his past. And boy, did he have stories. He ran the gamut, everything from Hollywood Past to the dangers of smoking (something to do with enlarging the pores and aging too quickly, which made you look much older on camera–with Mickey, everything eventually led back to Hollywood).

He happily offered to do an interview with me for an article I was writing on the film, and regaled me as well. And all the time I was listening to him, I kept thinking “This is Mickey Rooney! This is Hollywood history!”

A recent article noted that he had an 88-year show business career, setting a world record, longer than George Burns, longer than anybody. He starred in silent movies. He was featured in Manhattan Melodrama, the movie John Dillinger saw just before he was shot, which puts it into an amazing perspective. And he just finished filming a role in Night at the Museum 3.

The word “legend” is thrown around a lot in show business, and is very seldom deserved.

Mickey Rooney was a legend.

Terry Jones Progress

The latest news is that Terry Jones’ new film, Absolutely Anything, is coming along very well. Kate Beckinsale has now signed on to the sci-fi comedy, which will star Simon Pegg and the voice of Robin Williams, along with Eddie Izzard and the voices of John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, and Terry Gilliam. Shooting is set to begin in London on March 24, and there’s more information available here…

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And after he wraps, he should have just enough time to head over to the O2 Arena for the Monty Python reunion!

RIP Sid Caesar

There’s not much I can add to what so many others have written about the death of Sid Caesar since his death was announced. A genius? Yes. Brilliant? Of course.

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I only met him one time, briefly, and of course it involved Monty Python. In 1994, I was attending a party celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Monty Python at the British Consulate in L.A. It was an outdoor affair, a garden party, and as is usual for these sort of things, there were a number of celebrities, some undoubtedly Python Fans, and others having very interest in Python. Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Carol Cleveland, and Neil Innes were there representing Python. The press had turned out, and set up interviewing areas. A number of them were swarming around Richard Pryor, who was holding court in his wheelchair on a small makeshift stage. The Pythons themselves were more low-key, usually speaking to reporters one-on-one.

I ran into Andy Dick, who was a friend from Chicago, and we were catching up and name-checking some of our other mutual friends. Suddenly, in the middle of a story, Andy stopped and gasped “Oh my God, there’s Sid Caesar!” I turned and saw a tall, elderly man apparently wandering by himself. Andy and I scurried over to him and gushed a bit, expressing our admiration for the man and his work. Caesar looked a bit tired but grateful and thanked us. I was called away, but Andy remained, singing his praises to the legend himself. At that time, I think Andy had done NewsRadio, but it was before he had gone through his now well-known rough patch with drugs and alcohol, so he was a respected TV comedy figure. Whether Caesar even had a clue as to who Andy was, I don’t know. But I had the feeling that Caesar heard this a lot, and while he appreciated it no matter who it came from, he was also a little bored and frustrated because he was working very little. He looked old and tired, but managed to live another twenty years clean and sober, which for him, probably meant a lot.

A few minutes later, Andy ran over to me excitedly. “That was Sid Caesar! We just talked to Sid Caesar!” he gushed. While Caesar had probably forgotten both of us by that time, I think it’s something that both Andy and I will remember.

Happy Terry Jones Birthday!

Happy birthday to my dear chum Terry, who is getting a couple of great birthday presents this year–a brand new movie (Absolutely Anything) and a Python stage show. And many more, Terry!

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Early Pre-Python

This is one of the sketches I may be showing my iO class in the coming weeks. Known variously as “The History of Slapstick,” “The History of the Joke,” “The Custard Pie Sketch,” and probably by a few other names as well, this is probably the oldest sketch that ever made it into any of the Monty Python shows (the runner-up: probably “Four Yorkshiremen”). Written by Terry Jones and, I think, Michael Palin, long before the Pythons ever got together, it was eventually incorporated into the Python stage show, in part because the Pythons wanted to include some sketches that most of their fans hadn’t seen before. We’ll find out in July if they will include it in the O2 shows…
This version is from one of the Amnesty International Benefits. Enjoy.

Meaning of Creosote

Here’s another clip I’m using for my iO Chicago writing class (see yesterday). This is a classic, but is also NSFD (not safe for dinner) viewing.
At a workshop I conducted a while back, I asked Terry Jones about the writing of this scene. He revealed that it initially got an unenthusiastic response from the other Pythons, so he put it away. Then, about a month later, John Cleese rang him up and told him that he thought it could be very funny. As Terry put it, “John discovered that the waiter gets all the laughs!”
Enjoy.

Happy birthday Graham!

Happy birthday, Graham Chapman! Graham would have been 73 years old this Wednesday, and the world is a far less silly place without him. He left us nearly a quarter of a century ago, and he is sorely missed. 

ImageReaders Digest used to run a feature about "The Most Unforgettable 
Person I Ever Met." While I have known a few people who would qualify, 
I don't know if anyone fit the bill more than Graham. In addition to 
being a member of Monty Python, he was also a goatherder, a Petula 
Clark writer, an alcoholic and then a recovered alcoholic, openly gay 
at a time when it wasn't well-accepted, a mountaineer, and a fully 
qualified medical doctor who went to New Zealand as the result of an 
off-handed comment during a meeting with the Queen Mother. He was 
sometimes prolific, sometimes not, though at one point, he was 
simultaneously writing for three different television shows.

[He would undoubtedly have been at the forefront of the gay rights/gay 
marriage movement over the past 25 years, as he was when he was 
alive--he never really got the credit, but he was, arguably, the first 
openly gay star of a Hollywood movie.]

His greatest accomplishment may have been his triumph over alcohol. He 
used to party with his friends Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson, and Ringo 
Starr, a group not known for their temperance (they all eventually 
quit--or in the case of Keith, tried to quit--drinking; all but Ringo 
are gone now). At the beginning of the filming of Monty Python and the 
Holy Grail, Graham self-diagnosed himself as alcoholic and made the 
decision to quit drinking, though it took some time. But when he 
finally came out of it newly sober, he proved himself to be wonderful 
capable in films like Life of Brian.

The first couple of times I met Graham, he was still hampered by 
alcohol. The Chicago premiere of Holy Grail (where he was accompanied 
by Terry Jones) was early in the day, and he did not seem to be 
affected. The following year, I met him again backstage at New York's 
City Center, between two Saturday evening performances of the Monty 
Python Live! stage show. He wandered around shirtless with a large 
tumbler of something that looked suspiciously like Gordon's Gin. He 
emitted the occasional random squawks!  and sang "Ya De Buckety!" for 
no apparent reason. But he held himself together enough during the 
performance that I saw, and I enjoyed it immensely.
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When I flew to London two years later, I met a completely changed 
Graham. Quiet and soft-spoken, but still with a wickedly funny sense of 
humor, he had quit drinking at the beginning of the year and was a 
totally different person. He invited me to stay at his house on 
Southwood Lane, along with his partner David, foster son John, dogs 
Harry, Sly, and Clint, and a semi-regular assortment of drop-in guests, 
including a semi-scary man in black leather called Spike, and Bernard 
McKenna, with whom he was writing at the time. He introduced me to the 
Angel Pub in Highgate (where there is now a plaque in his honor), where 
he drank ginger ale. Having read about it in guidebooks, I ordered 
the shepherd's pie; when it came, Graham eyeballed it, looking a bit 
disturbed, and asked me "Are you sure that's what you wanted?" (Graham 
was right about the shepherd's pie.)

And so began our long friendship, one which lasted as long as Graham 
himself. Happy birthday, Gray.

More good news for Python fans

I’m always delighted when I can pass along some great news about another Python-related project, following in the wake of the Python Reunion shows in London next summer. I’m even happier when it involves a long gestating project that my pal Terry Jones has been trying to put together for a while. There have been various announcements over the past couple of years, but it looks like it’s official: Terry Jones’ Absolutely Anything is set to begin filming next March in London, with Simon Pegg (Star Trek, The World’s End, Mission Impossible 4) in the lead. There are more details here, but most people here will be especially interested to know that John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, and Michael Palin will be lending their voices to the aliens who give Neil Clarke (Pegg’s character) his magical powers. Robin Williams will be voicing Neil’s dog in the comedy. Terry and Gavin Scott penned the script, and this is going to be great. And, after principal photograph wraps, Terry will be climbing on stage at the O2 Arena in London with the other Pythons. Yes, 2014 should be a good year… 

 

iO Chicago Python Class:

I just realized that I never followed up my earlier post here about the iO Chicago class that I teased a couple of weeks ago. I actually do have a good reason for it, but that’s a pretty lame excuse.

I had long talked about doing a workshop for the Writing Program at the iO Chicago, a workshop based in what I know of the Monty Python approach to sketch comedy writing. (Hey, after sitting across the office from John Cleese for several years, interviewing them all many times, and writing with Terry Jones, some of it had to rub off.) Finally, after substitute teaching a few classes for Michael McCarthy recently, he said “What are you waiting for?”

So, I organized the syllabus and we prepared to schedule and announce it. At which point, I posted my earlier comments about a class of interest at the iO. Then, at the end of the day, the director of the Training Center told me he would announce the class shortly. When I logged on to my Mac the next morning, I was a little surprised to see that it had already filled up!

There didn’t seem to be much point announcing a class that was already sold out, so I didn’t.

But the good news is, it looks like there will be another, expanded class announced very shortly, so if you’re within commuting range of the iO and want to learn how to think like a Python, and learn the art of re-writing and collaborating, check back here. Or, maybe you should check back directly with the iO. By the time I get it posted, I’ll probably be too late again…

And Now For Something Completely Trivial

My second Monty Python book has been out of print ever since 1991, and this seemed like a good time to rectify that. When Terry Jones leaked the news about the Python reunion, I rushed this into production as an e-book, and I’m rather delighted with the results. Here’s an easy way to order it.

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Fantasia Frog Designs was able to construct a cover (above) in nearly record time, and did an amazing job. It’s on sale right now on amazon.com as an e-book at the shockingly low price of $1.99, and will provide hours of brain-hurting entertainment for Mom, Dad, Junior, and Sis.

I’ll write a little more soon on how I originally wrote this, and why it took so incredibly long to do so. Stay tuned.