In my own life, I think the three main cultural influences that saturate my personality are Star Trek (Original Series), George Carlin, and Monty Python. One of the great joys of my youth was being able to catch an episode of MPFC on PBS when it was on. My friends and I knew every sketch backwards and forwards, and I owned all the albums.
It was thus with sadness I read, moments ago, of the passing of Terry Jones. He’s the chap on the left of this photo.
Of the six original Pythons, we lost the handsome Graham Chapman years ago when he was merely 48 years old. So now just 2/3rds of the boys are still with us. Terry was a brilliant writer, actor, director, and producer. He was utterly charming in interviews, although the dementia in his last few years rendered him unable to speak.
Below is one of my favorite clips of all time, which happens to feature the two departed Pythons. I was so fixated on Terry’s character in this clip, I actually created a very accurate rendering of his costume one Halloween, including the super-long, operable arms. It remains the favorite costume I ever donned. Rest in Peace, Terry.
