Diaries 1969–1979 The Python Years
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Monroe, Marilyn, 229, 566–7
Mom St Michel, New York, 219
Monterey, 125
Montmorency (dog), 240, 242
Montreal, 121, 153
Montreux Festival, 13, 59, 65
Monty Python: The Case Against, 603 and n
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 225, 274, 303, 325, 343, 579
finances, 108, 140, 141–3, 148, 169–70
meetings about, 109, 152
script, 111, 145, 146, 147, 158–9, 163
John Cleese and, 132–3, 151
rehearsals, 166
filming in Scotland, 166–80, 390n
rough cut, 182
publicity, 185
preview, 189–90, 191
revisions, 192
and Magical Mystery Tour, 204
Magazine Critics’ showing, 206
synopsis for EMI, 206
album, 211, 214
opening, 211–13
film certificate, 212–13, 214–15
premiere, 225–6
reviews, 227
success of, 227–8
New York opening, 228–32
at Hampstead Classic, 237
success in US, 239
MP sees in Norwich, 241
shown in Yugoslavia, 248
success in France, 279, 546
book, 398, 421
re-released, 550
tax position, 564
Monty Python Productions Ltd, 31
Monty Python’s Big Red Book, 65, 106–7
Monty Python’s Brand New Book, 136, 142, 143, 147, 149, 153, 194
Monty Python’s First Farewell Tour (repeat), Drury Lane show, 150, 152–3, 154, 157, 158, 159–60
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
origins of, ix
name, 1n
first days’ filming, 1–3
tide music, 5
filming in Southwold, 9
first show, 10–11
title animation, 10
cinema film for US proposed, 13, 14, 22
success of first series, 13
second series, 15, 18–19, 21–2, 28–9, 31, 35, 37, 48–9
awards, 17, 21, 103
screened in America, 22–3, 112, 187, 194, 206, 211, 251, 417–18, 458
LPs, 23, 56, 60–2, 65, 82, 85, 109, 136–9, 153, 163, 208, 209
filming in Torquay, 24–7
repeats, 37
third series, 47, 57, 67, 72, 74–5, 79
Bavarian TV shows, 48, 59 and n, 71, 79, 85–91, 321, 356–7, 579
as a stage show, 52–3
on introduction of decimal coinage, 54–5
spin-offs, 56–7
wins Silver Rose at Montreux Festival, 59, 65
fancy-dress squash match, 64
foreign sales, 65
football matches, 83
BBC cuts third series, 88, 94–5, 99, 104
future plans discussed, 93–4, 98
‘collective responsibility’, 94
single, 94, 95–6
viewing figures, 95
‘First Farewell Tour’, 104–5, 111, 112–19, 149
Canadian tour, 119–24, 150
American tour, 121–2, 123, 124–8
fourth series, 122, 130–1, 133, 136, 143–4, 153, 162–3, 184, 186, 188, 193–7, 201, 319
business meetings, 139–40, 185, 208–9, 236, 254, 321
accounts, 140
and the oil crisis, 149
at Drury Lane, 150, 152–3, 154, 157, 158, 159–60
Live at Drury Lane album, 163, 180, 185, 208
BBC censors, 193, 194
financial problems at Charisma Records, 194, 195
possible fifth series, 197–8, 228
demise of, 209–11, 214
US publicity tour, 215–24
New York stage show, 266–7
court case against ABC, 267 and n, 269–79, 289, 319, 323, 324–5, 355
New York show, 280, 284, 301–14
video rights, 355
BBC wipes tapes, 362 and n
in Japan, 362
asked to appear on Royal Variety Performance, 399
in Penguin Dictionary of Modem Quotations, 421
‘Complete Monty Python’ fan book, 475
Los Angeles stage show, 544
Royal 10th Anniversary of Python celebration in New York, 558
BBC documentary on, 560 and n
The Secret Policeman’s Ball, 561, 562, 563
tax position, 563, 564
plans for fourth film, 572, 579, 581, 584, 598, 599, 602
‘Python Sings’, 605
see also individual films, books and albums
Monty Python’s Flying Circus sketches
‘Argument’, 69, 113, 301, 308
‘Bicycle Repairman’, 1
‘Big Boots’, 126
‘Black Eagle’, 49
‘Blackmail’, 280, 306
‘Book of the Month Club Dung’, 28n
‘Bruces’, 280
‘Celebrity Sketch’, 563
‘Changing on the Beach’, 2
‘Cheese Shop’, 561 and n, 562
‘Children’s Story’, 126
‘Cocktail Bar’, 280
‘Co-Ed’, 36
‘Confuse-a-Cat’, 9
‘Court Martial’, 277
‘Court Sketch’, 297, 300, 301, 306
‘Crunchy Frog’, 280, 301
‘Custard Pie’, 113, 159–60, 561
‘The Death of Mary Queen of Scots’, 306
‘Derby Council v. The All Blacks’, 25
‘Election’, 160
‘Eric the Half-Bee’, 94, 114
‘Fairy Story’, 252
‘Fish Licence’, 251
‘Four Yorkshiremen’, 160
‘Gambolputty’, 58
‘Golden Age of Ballooning’, 319 and n
‘Gorn’, 277
‘Grimsby Fish-Slapping dance’, 57
‘Gumby Flower Arranging’, 52, 58, 126
‘Hearing-Aid’, 87–8
‘Hilter’, 22, 23
‘How Not to be Seen’, 41
‘Hungarian Phrase Book’, 29
‘Idiot Song’, 117
‘It’s Man’, 35 and n
‘Joke’, 41
‘Little Red Riding Hood’, 356
‘Llamas’, 52, 113
‘Lochinvar’, 10
‘Long John Silver v. Gynaecologists’, 251
‘Lumberjack Song’, 41, 58, 85n, 203, 257–8 and n, 259–60, 300, 301, 309, 311, 511
‘Man Who Gives Abuse’, 308
‘Michael Miles’, 280
‘Mr Neutron’, 193, 267
‘Montgolfier Brothers’, 267
‘Nudge-Nudge’, 23, 117, 126
‘Paradise Lost’, 74–5
‘Pepperpots’, 128, 159, 280
‘Pet Shop/Parrot’, 29, 58, 81, 113, 115, 160, 300, 301, 498
‘Pither Cycling Tour’, 100n, 101, 226
‘Proust Competition’, 81, 452
‘Psychiatrists’ Dairies’, 26
‘Queen Victoria and Her Gardener’, 1, 10
‘RAF Banter’, 277
‘Salvation Fuzz’, 280
‘Scott of the Antarctic’, 251
‘Scott of the Sahara’, 26
‘Shabby’, 58
‘Silly Elections’, 280
‘Silly Ministers’, 69
‘Silly Olympics’, 126, 356
‘Silly Walks’, 65, 113, 159, 305
‘Soft Fruit’, 23, 41, 452
‘Spam’ song, 82, 85n
‘Spanish Inquisition’, 509
‘Superman’, 9
‘Thomas Hardy Novel-Writing’, 218
‘Time-Check’, 69
‘Travel Agent Sketch’, 312
‘Tudor Jobs’, 79
‘Undertakers’, 22
‘Upper Class Twit of the Year’, 22, 45
‘Working Class Culture’, 36
‘World For
um’, 58
‘World of History’, 22
‘The World’s Most Awful Family’, 267
‘Wrestling’, 113, 126
‘Yangtse Song’, 94
Monty Python’s Life of Brian
discussions about, 224, 236, 310–11, 335
projected profit, 328
script, 344, 348–56, 367–74, 395, 397–8, 402
filming, 372, 390, 393–4, 402, 445
casting, 395, 423, 426, 434, 472–3
read-throughs, 396–7, 475
financing, 420, 436, 444–5, 446–7, 462, 464, 465, 479
rewrites in Barbados, 420–1, 428–35
music, 440, 443
further rewrites, 440–1, 445
Pythons sue EMI, 465, 497
title, 473, 533, 535
costumes, 480
filming in Tunisia, 484–509, 510
Tunisian extras, 491, 505
early working cuts of, 510, 515 and n
publicity, 514–15, 517, 564–5, 566, 567, 569, 573, 592–3
editing, 516, 523, 532, 534–5, 544–5, 549
US distribution problems, 517, 533, 543–4
Festival of Light objects to, 518, 545, 547, 594, 596 and n
reactions to, 519, 523–4, 577
previews, 522–3, 525, 531–3, 534, 544, 546, 559
American viewings, 534
book, 371n, 538, 539, 541–2, 543, 545–6, 607
merchandising, 545
soundtrack album, 545, 565, 570, 571
film certificate, 547
US marketing trip, 554–8
blasphemy case unlikely, 559
‘Ex-Leper’ sequence re-shot, 561–2, 564
Pythons’ earnings from, 563, 579–80
US opening, 571, 572, 573
Jewish reactions in US, 574
success in US, 574, 575, 576, 580, 582, 583
US publicity, 576–7
banned in South Carolina, 588–9
slows in US, 588–9
showing for the crew, 592
Bishop of Southwark and Malcolm Muggeridge criticize, 595–6, 597
reviews of, 597
success of, 597, 607
MP’s mother sees, 600
Monty Python’s Papperbok, 194
Monty Python’s Scrap Book, 581
Moon, Keith, 248 and n, 410, 432 and n, 443, 472, 484
moon landings, 3, 4–5, 20–2, 222, 427
Moore, Dudley, 40, 297
Moore, Stephen, 240 and n, 241–4, 246, 255, 256
More, Kenneth, 291
Morecambe, Eric, 21, 101, 425
Morecambe, Lancashire, 83
Morecambe and Wise, 12, 469
Morley, Sheridan, 224 and n
Morning Telegraph (Sheffield), 315
Mornington Foot Clinic, 598–9
Morris, Colin, 599
Morris, Garrett, 456
Morris, Jan, 473
Mortimer, John, 559 and n
Morton’s restaurant, London, 264–5
Moses, Grandma, 310
Mountbatten, Lord, assassination, 573
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 329
Muggeridge, Malcolm, 594, 595–6, 597, 604
Muir, Frank, 18n, 262n
Mulchrone, Vincent, 39
Munich
Monty Python Bavarian TV shows, 48, 59 and n, 71, 79, 85–91
Olympic Games, 86
bookshops, 441
Municipal Arts Society of New York, 588
Munro, David, 562 and n, 563
The Muppet Show (television series), 433, 442
‘Murder at Moorstones Manor’ see Ripping Yarns
Murphy, Stephen, 214
Murray, Bill, 453n, 456–7 and n, 458–9, 461, 462, 529–30, 553
Musgrove, Mr (throat specialist), 291
Myra Breckinridge (film), 56
N
Nabokov, Vladimir, 38
Ada, 392
Despair, 392
Nag’s Head, Hampstead, 438
La Napoule, North Audley Street, 69
Nash, John, 471
Nash, Julia, 436–7
Nation, Terry, 441, 442
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, 289
National Book League, 473
National Coal Board (NCB), 385
National Farmers’ Union, 399
National Film Finance Corporation
(NFFC), 142 and n, 391 and n
National Film School, 283–4
National Film Theatre (NFT), 38, 415
National Front, 517
National Gallery, London, 155
National Lampoon, 249–50, 263
National Theatre, London, 331, 415
National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), 248–9, 524
National Viewers’ and Listeners’Association, 115n
Natural History Museum, London, 584
Navarro Hotel, New York, 222–4, 229, 231, 271, 272, 577
NBC TV
Burbank Studios, 126–7
and The Rutles, 367
comedy special, 465, 468, 474, 478
and Ripping Yarns, 482
MP invited to be guest host on Saturday Night Live, 436 and n, 453–4, 455–62
MP’s second appearance on Saturday Night Live, 528–31
MP’s third stint on Saturday Night Live, 551–3
Neal Street Restaurant, London, 331
Neal’s Yard, London, 296 and n, 314, 320, 364, 403–4, 516, 531, 532, 564
Nellie Dean (pub), 136, 227
Nesbit, Evelyn, 361
Neuschwanstein Castle, 87
Neville, John, 29
Neville, Richard, 62 and n
New College, Oxford, 318
New England, 250–1
New Haven, Connecticut, 527–8
New Musical Express, 155, 163–4, 176, 227
New Orleans, 76n, 458
New Statesman, 39, 415
New York
MP’s first trip to, 76n
difficulties in selling Monty Python to, 153
Monty Pythons success in, 194
US publicity tour, 215–19, 222–4
Monty Python and the Holy Grail in, 228–32, 239
Bert Fegg publicity tour, 249–50, 251–3
Monty Python stage show, 266–7, 280, 284, 301–14
Monty Python court case against ABC, 271–8