"popular culture, but also an important moment in the evolution of television comedy."" Broadcast by the BBC between 1969 and 1974, ""Monty Python's Flying Circus"" was conceived, written, and performed by its members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach, aided by Gilliam's animation, it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content. A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing their work, the Pythons had creative control which allowed them to experiment with form and content,"
"era, and at its peak it was watched by 15 million people. British satire has also washed over into Quiz shows – popular examples include the news quiz ""Have I Got News for You"", ""Mock the Week"", ""8 out of 10 cats"" and music-based ""Never Mind The Buzzcocks"". One of the most influential groups in comedy is Monty Python. Their ""Flying Circus"" sketch show aired on the BBC between 1969-1974. The group itself consisted of six members, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. All were UK-born except Gilliam, who was US-born. Chapman, Cleese,"
"Lynda Bellingham. They were two of the performers and writers of the first ""Secret Policeman's Ball"" fundraiser in 1979, with Billy Connolly, John Cleese and Eleanor Bron. Rob Buckman was more distinguished as a popular science presenter and appeared on the programme ""Don't Ask Me"" in the 1970s, and then the medical programme ""Where There's Life"" with Miriam Stoppard for its first three series from 1981. He continued this career in Canada where he contributed to TV Ontario programmes such as ""Your Health"" and the CTV medical show ""Balance"" as well as frequent guest appearances on ""The Dini Petty Show""."
"television show, ""The Frost Report"", broadcast from March 1966 to December 1967, is credited as first uniting the British Pythons and providing an environment in which they could develop their particular styles. Following the success of ""Do Not Adjust Your Set"", broadcast on ITV in the UK from December 1967 to May 1969, ITV offered Gilliam, Idle, Jones, and Palin their own late-night adult comedy series together. At the same time, Chapman and Cleese were offered a show by the BBC, which had been impressed by their work on ""The Frost Report"" and ""At Last the 1948 Show"". Cleese was"
"Bill Oddie, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Roland MacLeod, Marty Feldman, Barry Cryer, Barry Took, Jim Franklin, Simon Brett and Chris Stuart-Clark. ""Broaden Your Mind"" was subtitled 'an encyclopaedia of the air' and consisted largely of short sketches. All of the programmes were wiped by the BBC after their first broadcast in 1968, and only a handful of brief filmed sequences survive, including the Peelers sketch, Turgonitis, and ""Ordinary Royal Family"". These are all from the 5th episode of the 2nd series, and were included, digitally restored, on Network DVDs 2003 release, ""The"
"BBC, initially for David Frost but also for Marty Feldman. Frost had recruited Cleese, and in turn Cleese decided he needed Chapman as a sounding board. Chapman also contributed sketches to the radio series ""I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again"" and wrote material on his own and with Bill Oddie. He wrote for ""The Illustrated Weekly Hudd"" (starring Roy Hudd), ""Cilla Black"", ""This Is Petula Clark"", and ""This Is Tom Jones"". Chapman, Cleese, and Tim Brooke-Taylor later joined Feldman in the television comedy series ""At Last the 1948 Show"". It was Chapman's first significant role as a performer as well"
"At Last the 1948 Show At Last the 1948 Show is a satirical TV show made by David Frost's company, Paradine Productions (although it was not credited on the programmes), in association with Rediffusion London. Transmitted on Britain's ITV network in 1967, it brought Cambridge Footlights humour to a broader audience. The show starred Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Marty Feldman and Aimi MacDonald. Cleese and Brooke-Taylor were also the programme editors. The director was Ian Fordyce. Chapman and Cleese would later be among the founders of the Monty Python comedy troupe, and several of the sketches first performed"
"script. Cynthia Cleese starred as Leach's daughter. Graham Chapman was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1989; Cleese, Michael Palin, Peter Cook, and Chapman's partner David Sherlock, witnessed Chapman's death. Chapman's death occurred a day before the 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of ""Flying Circus"", with Jones commenting, ""the worst case of party-pooping in all history"". Cleese's eulogy at Chapman's memorial service—in which he ""became the first person ever at a British memorial service to say 'fuck—has since become legendary. Cleese would later play a supporting role in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of ""Mary Shelley's Frankenstein"" alongside Branagh himself and Robert"
"Gentry Show"", broadcast initially on BBC2 and repeated later on BBC1. Other BBC series followed, including ""Happening For Lulu"" in 1969 as well as ""The Price of Fame"" starring Georgie Fame and Alan Price. They first appeared on ""Top of the Pops"" in April 1968, and became a regular weekly feature in January 1970. They appeared on several other BBC programmes including ""The Two Ronnies"". After 1971, Colby concentrated on choreography for Pan's People, and then from 1976 with new troupes she put together for ""TOTP"" named ""Ruby Flipper"", ""Legs & Co."" (both managed by former Pan's People dancer Ruth"
"the cast. As well as writing and acting in the revue, Bill Oddie also wrote the music for the revue, and an album of sketches and songs, produced by George Martin, was released by Parlophone in 1963. Graham Chapman took over from Tony Buffery when he left the revue to pursue an academic career. Likewise, Jonathan Lynn took over from Chris Stuart-Clark when Stuart-Clark left to become a schoolteacher. This revue is a notable part of British television history because it includes early appearances by John Cleese and Graham Chapman (later members of Monty Python), as well as Tim Brooke-Taylor"
"made by Chapman on an obsolete format had been given to the National Film Television and Videotape Archive. It was restored, a process which took 2 years and shown at the National Film Theatre on Saturday, 2 December 2006 as part of the Missing Believed Wiped event. Out of the Trees Out of the Trees is a 1975 television sketch show pilot written by Graham Chapman, Douglas Adams and Bernard McKenna that was broadcast on BBC 2 in 1976. The show shared some of the stream-of-consciousness style of ""Monty Python's Flying Circus"", of which Chapman was a member. Actors included"
"Tom Tom (TV series) Tom Tom (1965–1970) was a science-themed children's television series on the BBC, from BBC Bristol. Presented initially by Jeremy Carrad and John Earle, and from July 1968 by Norman Tozer. It later featured three female presenters - Janet Kelly (July–December 1968), future BBC TV newsreader Jan Leeming (1970) and Michele Brown (who later married Giles Brandreth). First broadcast on 12 October 1965, the series replaced an earlier title from the same production team, ""Treasure House"" (13th October 1964 - 21 July 1965) hosted by Carrad together with a robotic hound named ‘Serendipity Dog’ (a pun on"
"Out of the Trees Out of the Trees is a 1975 television sketch show pilot written by Graham Chapman, Douglas Adams and Bernard McKenna that was broadcast on BBC 2 in 1976. The show shared some of the stream-of-consciousness style of ""Monty Python's Flying Circus"", of which Chapman was a member. Actors included Mark Wing-Davey and Simon Jones. The concept of the show was, according to Chapman, to follow the exploits of two modern-day linguists who would travel around a Britain gripped in rapid decline. The linguists would comment upon the origins of a word or phrase, which would then"
"by fans at home with a microphone in front of the TV speaker, exist in varying quality, including The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing a live version of ""Hey Joe"" in December 1966. Some segments of ""TOTP"" which have been wiped by the BBC do survive in some form owing to having been included in other programmes, either by the BBC itself or by foreign broadcasters. The only surviving footage of The Beatles on the programme, for instance, comes from its re-use in episode one of 1965 ""Doctor Who"" serial ""The Chase"". Additionally a number of recordings are believed to exist"
"1969 to 1973, by the actor Derek Fowlds (known as ""Mr Derek""); then until 1976 by actor and singer Roy North (""Mr Roy""); then by ""Mr Howard"" Howard Williams, who was in the original ""Three Scampies""; and finally by ""Mr Billy"" (Billy Boyle). By the mid-1970s the show was aimed at a family audience, so was usually broadcast on BBC1 in an early evening timeslot on Saturdays (although in the early days it had aired during children's programmes on Thursdays, before the evening news at 5:45 pm), typically running for 13 weeks in each series. The show was recorded in"
"BBC as a ""Sunday Night Play"" in 1954 starring Peter Cushing as ""Smith"", André Morell as ""O'Brien"" and Yvonne Mitchell as ""Julia"". The same script was remade in 1965 for the BBC 2's ""Theatre 625"" series. Kneale's 1954 adaptation was produced again by the BBC, with some modifications in 1965. Starring David Buck, Joseph O'Conor, Jane Merrow and Cyril Shaps, it was broadcast in BBC2's ""Theatre 625"" anthology series as part of a season of Orwell adaptations sub-titled ""The World of George Orwell"", on 28 November 1965. Long believed lost, on 12 September 2010 it was announced in various media"
"in period costume in a similar fashion. Other long-running British variety shows that originated in the 1950s include ""Tonight at the London Palladium"" (1955-1969), ""The Black and White Minstrel Show"" (1958-1978), ""The White Heather Club"" (1958-1968) and ""Royal Variety Performance"" (an annual event televised since the 1950s). Popular American variety shows that began in the 60s include a revival of ""The Jackie Gleason Show"" (1960-1970), ""The Andy Williams Show"" (1962-1971), ""The Danny Kaye Show"" (1963-1967), ""The Hollywood Palace"" (1964-1970), ""The Dean Martin Show"" (1965-1974), ""The Carol Burnett Show"" (1967-1978) and ""The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour"" (1967-1969). 1969 saw a flurry"
"comedies passes through television. Monty Python team, created in 1969, is composed of six members : Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam. Even if most British comedy films of the early 1970s were spin-offs of television series, including ""Dad's Army"" and ""On the Buses"", the greatest successes, however, came with the films of the Monty Python team, including ""And Now for Something Completely Different"" (1971), ""Monty Python and the Holy Grail"" (1975) and ""Monty Python's Life of Brian"" (1979). One of the most famous movies of the 1980s (in part realized by Monty"
"shows, including ""Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl"". The Four Yorkshiremen sketch was originally written and performed for the 1967 British television comedy series ""At Last the 1948 Show"" by the show's four writer-performers: Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman. A near derivative of the sketch appears in the BBC Radio show ""I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again"" Series 7, Episode 5 on 9 February 1969, in which the cast (Cleese, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie and David Hatch) in the guise of old buffers at a gentlemen's club, employ the same trope of out-doing"
"the outside world through a library of specially made films. Because of a blackout the previous night, the first edition of ""Play School"" inadvertently opened the new BBC 2 service on 21 April 1964. One of its innovations was a rotating team of diverse presenters with as many men as women. According to Samira Ahmed, Whitby found Brian Cant's ""unpretentious charm"" at his audition ideal for the new show. The presenters were not all English. Paul Danquah is thought to have been the first black presenter of a children's programme. Rick Jones was Canadian and Marla Landi, Italian. Eric Thompson"
"Michael Palin and Terry Jones. The reputation of the original four shows has endured and grown over the years. In September 2006, 30 years after the first show, a profile in the respected British newspaper The Daily Telegraph referred to the ""talismanic power of the words The Secret Policeman's Ball"" and ""the show's folkloric status"". There are many factors that contributed to the reputation of the shows, particularly those of the 'first wave': Following the success of ""The Secret Policeman's Ball"" shows, there was a substantial increase in the number of benefit shows and charity projects in the UK in"
"May 2011, The Tynemouth Priory Theatre, in Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear, were granted the rights to become the first non-professional company to stage the production. It became one of the theatre's most attended productions, selling out well in advance for all performances. Terry was played by Brendan Egan and Bob by Stu Bowman. Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a British sitcom which was broadcast between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974 on BBC1. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit ""The Likely Lads"". It was created and written, as"
"British Masters (TV series) British Masters is a three-part BBC television series on 20th century British art, presented by Dr James Fox and first broadcast in July 2011 on BBC Four. The series covers the period from 1910 to 1975. The first programme explored the lives and works of Mark Gertler, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Walter Sickert, Wyndham Lewis, Lawrence Atkinson, David Bomberg, Richard Nevinson, Paul Nash and Stanley Spencer. The second programme explored the works of John Nash, Stanley Spencer, Alfred Munnings, William Coldstream, Paul Nash and John Piper. In the third programme, subtitled 'A New Jerusalem,' Fox explored British art"
"(1962-5) and ""Happy Ever After"" (1974-77), both of which were BBC vehicles for Terry Scott. ""Fresh Fields"" (1984–86), for Thames Television, featured Anton Rodgers and Julia McKenzie in the leads. Chapman was married to actress Betty Impey, from Whitehall and they had four children, Mark, Adam, Justin and Guy (who died when he was young). Chapman died in Périgueux, France on 3 September 2001, aged 74. John Chapman (screenwriter) John Roy Chapman (27 May 1927, London – 3 September 2001, Périgueux, France) was a British actor and playwright. Born in London, the nephew of the actor Edward Chapman, his father"
"the mid-1950s most of the country was covered, transmitting a 405-line interlaced image on VHF. When the ITV was launched in 1955, the BBC Television Service (renamed ""BBC tv"" in 1960) showed popular programming, including comedies, drama, documentaries, game shows, and soap operas, covering a wide range of genres and regularly competed with ITV to become the channel with the highest ratings for that week. The channel also introduced the science fiction show ""Doctor Who"" on 23 November 1963 - at 17:16 - which went on to become one of Britain's most iconic and beloved television programmes. BBC TV was"
"1969 Pot Black The 1969 Pot Black was the first edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which was broadcast in July, August and September 1969. The tournament was held at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, and featured eight professional players. All matches were one-frame shoot-outs. Broadcasts were on BBC2 and started with an introductory program at 8:50pm on Wednesday 23 July 1969 The first match, between John Spencer and Jackie Rea, was broadcast on 30 July, followed by weekly broadcasts until the final on 10 September. The programmes were presented by Keith Macklin with Ted Lowe as the commentator."
"lost, including the only live appearance by the Beatles. Of the first 500 episodes (1964–73), only about 20 complete recordings remain in the BBC archives, and the majority of these are from 1969 onwards. The earliest surviving footage dates from 26 February 1964, and consists of performances by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas and the Dave Clark Five. Some programmes exist only partially (largely performances that were either pre-recorded or re-used in later editions). There are also two examples of rehearsal footage, which are both from 1965, one which includes Alan Freeman introducing the Seekers, and another with Sandie"
"he worked for ATV, for whom he directed twenty-six schools programmes entitled ""Içi la France"". This led on to other French language documentary work, for which he was created a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Also for ATV, he produced John Betjeman's ""Steam and Stained Glass""; the UK's first hidden camera show, Bob Boothby's ""Dinner Party""; and the country's first consumer programme, ""On The Braden Beat"". In 1964, Coleman was appointed Senior Producer, Music and Arts at the newly launched BBC 2. He produced a wide range of specials and series, including ""Shakespeare and Music"", ""Solti"
"of well-known character actors, of whom the film star Kenneth More was the most famous name. The series was originally shown over twenty-six episodes on Saturday evenings between 7 January and 1 July 1967 on BBC2, with each episode repeated the following Tuesday evening. This was originally intended to encourage viewers to switch over to BBC2, which had launched in 1964. However, only a small proportion of the viewing public could receive the channel as it was broadcast on the then-new 625-line broadcasting system, which required a new TV set to receive, compared to the old 405-line system that BBC1"
"show was described by Graham McCann as ""the West End's biggest money-spinner for years"". Terry-Thomas compered the show as well as appearing in some of the sketches, including his own ""Technical Hitch"" routine. In 1959 he described the effect of ""Piccadilly Hayride"" on his career, saying ""This show made me overnight. I'd arrived"". Ivor Brown, writing in ""The Observer"", remarked on the ""glorious rag of BBC modes, moods and intonations by Mr. Terry Thomas, a grand discovery"". Within three weeks of starting his run, Terry-Thomas was invited to appear at the Royal Command Performance on 4 November 1946 at the"
"the opening ceremony of Disneyland Paris for ITV. He later worked for LBC radio. Nowadays he mainly works as a voiceover artist, commentating on such events as the ""Royal Variety Performance"" and the ""British Comedy Awards"". He also presents a weekly show on Scotland 69am (www.scotland69am4u.com). Steve Jones (English presenter) David ""Steve"" Jones (born 7 June 1945) is an English disc jockey, television presenter, Voiceover artist and former musician. He is most well known for presenting gameshow ""The Pyramid Game"" from 1981 to 1984 and 1989. The game had previously been part of LWT's ""The Steve Jones Game Show"" in"
"BBC television arts programme ""The Culture Show"" broadcast a special on 28 October 2010, consisting of a 60-minute interview with Keith Richards, conducted by Andrew Graham-Dixon. The programme covered ""his childhood in Dartford, his passion for music and the decade that catapulted the Rolling Stones from back-room blues boys to one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands in the world"". It included contributions from co-writer James Fox, Dick Taylor, former Stones PA Georgia Bergman and Bobby Keys and covered the same territory as the book. The programme was repeated on 12 November 2010. The book was generally well received"
"in April 1988. In June 2011, it was announced that Cleese, Jones, Gilliam and Palin would perform in a 3-D animated version of Chapman's memoir ""A Liar's Autobiography: Volume VI"". Co-director Jeff Simpson worked closely with Chapman's estate and the surviving Python members to ""get this exactly right"". The film, titled """", was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012 and premiered in the UK the following month as part of the BFI London Film Festival. The voices of Cleese, Gilliam, Jones, and Palin were spliced into commentary recorded by Chapman reading from his memoir and taped"