Believe it or not, Graham has not allowed death to stop him from furthering his career.  After a New Years' Eve send-off blast into Y2K of his ashes from a mountaintop in Wales (strapped to a rocket and the fuse lit by the Dangerous Sports Club), the ex-Dr. Chapman has stunned the world once again when a previously unknown play of his was discovered by his companion David Sherlock and Jim Yoakum (archivist of Chapman's papers).  The play, "Oh Happy Day," was performed by an improv theater group in Atlanta, GA, this past September, with John Cleese and Michael Palin serving as consultants.  Read the BBC Online article HERE.

Last updated: 23 April 2001 

John Cleese

John just seems to get busier and busier these days (no wonder he hired KHJ as his PA!). After his documentary "The Human Face" debuted on BBC1 to favorable reviews, Cleese has been preparing for various roles in several new movies. His latest movie to be released is the upcoming film Rat Race in which he co-stars with Whoopi Goldberg, John Lovitz, Amy Smart, Seth Green, and Rowan Atkinson. The film, directed by Jerry Zucker, does not have a definite release date but should be out this summer. Cleese has also been cast in the newest Bond film, as yet unnamed, newly promoted to the character of 'Q'. Cleese originally portrayed 'R,' a trainee under the tutelage of the original 'Q,' played wonderfully by Desmond Llewelyn, who sadly died in a road accident last year. Joining John for a second time will be Dame Judi Dench as the hard-bitten 'M', and Pierce Brosnan again returns to the role of the world's premier super-agent. The film is scheduled to be released in 2002.

In the meantime, Cleese has a full schedule of filming. Next month he will begin filming of a new thriller with Woody Harrelson and Alicia Silverstone entitled "Scorched," the story of two gangs of amateur thieves that unwittingly plan to rob the same bank at the same time. Around that time the tall one will also begin work on the upcoming Harry Potter movie in which he plays "Nearly-Headless Nick".

With all those movies, who has time for anything else? Apparently John does! He'll be serving as executive producer of a German version of his famous "Fawlty Towers" program. In addition, he recently reprised his role as an alien rival on NBC's "Third Rock from the Sun" (in one of its final episodes). As if that weren't nearly enough, John has been approached on the possibility of appearing in a new series.

Of course, such pioneering feats have not slowed John's big screen career in the least.  After being primed for the role of  "R" in the James Bond movies, Cleese is now filming the new Harry Potter film due this November, in which he plays "Nearly Headless Nick."

Last updated: 6 June 2001 

Terry Gilliam

Straight from the horse's mouth:
"Here's the scoop. Provincetown Internationsl Film Festival(Maine) June 16 ...the premiere of a spanking new print of Jabberwocky + Storytime. Forget about Holy Grail this is the big one!!! Jabberwocky is going to be traveling around the country this year drawing millions away from the so-called Python film. Stay tuned! Gilliam has to go to LA to pick up the Film Alliance's prestigious Vision award on 27 June....only the second time this award has been presented. On the 29th he joins E. Idle at the Hollywood Bowl representing Python in some arcane induction ceremony into the HB Hall of Fame...all singing, all dancing entertainment guaranteed. Is there no stopping the exciting events surrounding this modern day da Vinci? Does anyone care or even notice?"

Also, the ever resourceful Mr. Gilliam was one of the jurors at the recent 2001 Cannes Film Festival. True to form, when announced during the evening's events he entered the stage, video camera in hand!

Last updated: 6 June 2001

Eric Idle

On Friday, 9 March 2001, Eric appeared at the screening of the Rutles' All You Need Is Cash at the William S. Paley Festival.  Kim 'Howard' Johnson was there, and gave the Pantomime Goose a full report on what he saw at this momentous event (with a capital E). The screening was such a success that Eric has now begun the production of a second Rutles feature, Can't Buy Me Lunch. Although KHJ has been sworn to secrecy, he has dropped us a few morsels about the project, as he has already seen portions of the project. It includes lots of funny stuff including interviews, and looks very promising.

A year after his smash-hit tour, "Eric Idle Sings Monty Python," Eric is also working on a television version of the tour. That's why he's earned the nickname "most musical Python" (well, he came up with it, and who are we to argue?)

Last updated: 13 May 2001
 

Terry Jones

Terry Jones has also been keeping very very busy. He's just returned from Paris where he was doing research for his new book, "Who Murdered Chaucer" (for those of you who don't know, the scholarly Mr. Jones holds a BA in English and has already published a book on Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales entitled Chaucer's Knight -- check it out!). In addition to that, he's just finished one screenplay and is working on another. All this while also presenting a new documentary series for the Discovery Channel and the BBC entitled "Hidden Histories." The documentary will consist of three parts: "Ancient Egypt," "Rome," and finally "Sex and Love." Jonesy has already produced several high-quality documentaries, and this one will be no exception! An accomplished children's book author, Terry J. would like to get back to that medium, and has received offers from Hallmark to write a history of the world.

Last updated: 13 May 2001
 

Michael Palin

Last summer Michael received an honorary degree from Queen's College in Belfast, Ireland.  The degree was to honor his contributions and services to film, television, and literature.

After writing a novel (Hemingway's Chair) and filming a documentary (with another subsequent book, Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventures!) about the great American author Ernest Hemingway, Michael has decided to take some time to reflect and, you guessed it, travel.  His myriad of travel programs, Pole to Pole, Full Circle, etc. etc. can still be seen all over on public television.  Check them out if you haven't yet!

Last updated 23 April 2001