Michael Palin - Diaries, 1969-1979: The Python Years

DIARIES 19691979
THE PYTHON YEARS

ALSO BY MICHAEL PALIN

Himalaya

Sahara

Michael Paliris Hemingway Adventure

Full Circle

Hemingways Chair

MICHAEL PALIN

Thomas Dunne Books
St. Martins Press
New York

THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS .
An imprint of St. Martins Press.

DIARIES 19691979. Copyright 2006 by Michael Palin. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.stmartins.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Palin, Michael.

Diaries 1969-1979 : the Python years / Michael Palin.1st U.S. ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-312-36935-4

ISBN-10: 0-312-36935-2

1. Palin, MichaelDiaries. 2. ActorsGreat BritainDiaries. 3. ComediansGreat BritainDiaries. 4. Monty Python (Comedy troupe) I. Title.

PN2598.P27 A3 2007
791.4502'8092dc22
[B]

2007027910

First published in Great Britain by Weidenfeld & Nicolson,
an imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd

First U.S. Edition: September 2007

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my mother and father

On pages xviii and xxi of the preliminary pages:

As Ethelred the Unready in Complete and Utter History of Britain, 1969 1
MP in Hampstead pub 1

Section One:

Edward Palin, MPs great-grandfather 1

Edward Palin, MPs father 1

Edward Ted and Mary Palin 1

With Ian Davidson at a Python rehearsal, 1970 2

At a charity football match, 1970 2

The Pythons in Germany, 1971 1

With Hazel Pethig and Eric Idle at Norwich Castle, 1971 1

With Eric Idle, 1972 1

With Ian MacNaughton, Windsor, 1972 1

Anne Gibbins with William and Tom Palin, 1972 1

Cathy Gibbins with Tarquin, Abbotsley 1

With Helen at a local fete, 1972 1

With Tom at home, 1973 1

Edward and Mary Palin, 1975 1

Dead Parrot sketch with John Cleese, 1973 1

Front cover of the Radio Times, August 14th, 1973 1

With Eric Idle and Mark Forstater on location for The Holy Grail, 1974 3

Cast and crew of Holy Grail on location for The Holy Grail, 1974 3

The Pythons on location for The Holy Grail, 1974 3

With Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones on stage, 1975 2

With Terry Jones, 1975 1

Section Two:

On stage with John Cleese, Drury Lane, 1975 1

MPs passport photograph, 1975 1

With Terry Jones and Graham Chapman on Central Park South, New York, 1975 4

With Terry, Mary Palin, Jeremy Herbert and Alison Jones in Camberwell 1

Helen, the children and Diana and Sean Duncan on Pikomayo, River Dee, 1975 1

MP and Graham Chapman with fans in America, 1975 4

Python publicity photo with Neil Innes standing in for Terry Jones 2

With Stephen Moore, Tim Curry and Montmorency on the set of Three Men in a Boat, 1975 1

Three Men in a Boat on location, June 1975 1

With Mary Palin and Angela Herbert, Dulwich 1

Miles Innes and Tom Palin, New York, 1976 1

Rachel and Helen Palin, Gospel Oak, 1976 1

Peter Cook on stage with the Pythons, 1976 2

On stage performing Gumby Flower Arranging, City Center, New York, 1976 1

The Pythons at Bronx Zoo, 1976 1

During filming of Jabberwocky at Chepstow Castle, 1976 1

As Dennis Cooper in Jabberwocky, 1976 1

Helen and Ranji Veling, Amsterdam, 1971 1

With a submarine cannon in the back garden at Gospel Oak, 1978 5

Section Three:

With John Belushi on Saturday Night Live, 1978 6

The Chilites dance routine with Garrett Morris, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, 1978 6

MP dancing with live cats down his trousers, Saturday Night Live, 1978 6

With Rachel Palin, Eric idle and his son, Carey, Tunisia, 1978 1

Tom Palin during filming of Tlie Life of Brian, 1978 1

With Helen, Tom, Anthea, Ian Davidson and Edward Burd on holiday at Roques 1

Rachel, Tom and William Palin, The Coach House, Sag Harbour, New York, 1979 1

Graham Stuart-Harris 1

On the pond at Abbotsley, 1979 1

Opening a school fete at William Ellis School, 1979 1

Mary and Edward Burd, Roques 1

With Lome Michaels before the show, Saturday Night Live1

Helen, Rachel, Tom and William and Mikoto, 1979 1

Rachel with Al Levinson, Sag Harbour, New York, July 1979 1

With Donald Carroll, July Cooper, Steve Race and Katharine Whitehorn at a Yorkshire Post literary lunch, 1979 1

With Will, Rachel and Tom, Gospel Oak, 1979 1

1 From the authors private albums

2 John Ferro Sims

3 Drew Mara

4 Carl Samrock

5 Camera Press (Lionel Cherrvault)

6 Edie Baskin

While every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, if any have inadvertently been overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to acknowledge them in any future editions of this work.

Certain names recur at various points during the diaries. Here is a rough list of those who make regular appearances.

FAMILY

Edward (Ted) Palin born July 1900

Mary Palin (ne Ovey) born January 1904

Retired from Sheffield to Reydon, near Southwold, Suffolk in December 1966 Children:

Angela born 1934, died 1987

Michael born 1943

Angela married Veryan Herbert in 1958 Children:

Jeremy, born 1960

Camilla, born 1962

Marcus, born 1963

Michael married Helen Gibbins, born 1942, on April 16, 1966 Children:

Thomas (Tom), born 1968

William, born 1970

Rachel, born 1975

Helens family:

Father, Dearman Gibbins, died 1963

Mother, Anne Gibbins, born 1913

Elder sister, Mary, born 1940. Married Edward Burd in 1964.

Daughter, Catherine.

Younger sister, Cathy, born 1945

FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES

The Stuart-Harris family. Lived next door to the Palins in Sheffield. Father, Charles, was a doctor and became Professor of Medicine at Sheffield University. Mother, Marjorie. Graham, the eldest son, married to Margot, and MPs oldest friend. Daughter Susan is a psychologist and younger son, Robin, also a doctor. Married to Barbara, a New Zealander.

Robert Hewison. Contemporary of MP at Brasenose College Oxford, 19625. Fellow cabaret performer and writer. Author of a series of books on modern cultural history, expert on John Ruskin.

Terry Jones. Met MP at Oxford in 1963. First performed together in the Oxford Revue, Edinburgh Festival 1964. Wrote together for television on The Frost Report, 1966. Married Alison Telfer, 1969. Children: Sally and Bill.

John Cleese, married to Connie Booth. Separated in mid-1970s.

Eric Idle, married to Lyn Ashley. Separated in mid-1970s.