Terry Jones
Encyclopedia
Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python
comedy team.
, Wales. The family home was named "Bodchwil". Jones' father was stationed with the RAF in India and Jones met him for the first time, on Colwyn Bay railway station
, when he returned. When Jones was four and a half the family moved to Surrey.
Jones was educated at the Royal Grammar School
in Guildford
(now an independent school), where he was head boy
in the academic year 1960–1; he read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford
, but "strayed into History". He graduated with a 2:1. While there, he performed comedy with Michael Palin
, among others, in The Oxford Revue
.
pulled out, so Terry employed Michael. He also wrote for Roy Hudd
about this time. Jones appeared in Twice a Fortnight
with Palin, Graeme Garden
, Bill Oddie
and Jonathan Lynn
, as well as a television series The Complete and Utter History of Britain
(1969). He also appeared in Do Not Adjust Your Set
(1967–69) with Palin, Eric Idle
and David Jason
(Jones speaks about this series during an interview which appears on both the DVDs for Do Not Adjust Your Set and the At Last the 1948 Show
). He wrote for The Frost Report
and several other of David Frost
's programmes on British television. Along with Palin, he also wrote lyrics for Barry Booth's 1968 album Diversions.
One of Jones's early concerns was devising a fresh format for the Python TV shows, and it was largely Jones who developed the stream-of-consciousness style which abandoned punchlines and encouraged the fluid movement of one sketch into another – allowing the team's conceptual humour the space to “breathe”. Jones also objected to TV directors’ use of sped-up film, over-emphatic music and static camera style, and he took a keen interest in the direction of the shows. He later directed the Python films Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(with Terry Gilliam
), The Life of Brian, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. As director he gained fuller control of the projects, devising a visual style that allowed the performers 'space'; for instance, the use of wide shots for long exchanges of dialogue, and more economical use of music. As demonstrated in many of his sketches with Palin, Jones was also interested in making comedy that was visually impressive, feeling that interesting settings augmented, rather than detracted from, the humour. His methods encouraged many future television comedians to break away from conventional studio-bound shooting styles, as demonstrated into the 21st century by shows such as Green Wing
, Little Britain
and The League of Gentlemen
.
Of Jones's contributions as a performer, his parodic, screechy-voiced depictions of "pepperpots" (middle-aged women, such as the waitress in the "Spam
" sketch) are among the most memorable. His humour, in collaboration with Palin, tends to be conceptual in nature; a typical Palin/Jones sketch draws its humour from the absurdity of the scenario. For example, in the “Summarise Proust Competition”, Jones plays a cheesy game show host who gives contestants 15 seconds to condense Marcel Proust
's lengthy work À la recherche du temps perdu
; in the "Mouse Organ" sketch, he uses mallets to bash mice that have been trained to squeak at a select pitch, to play the tune "Bells of St. Mary". In both cases, the laughs originate in the madness of the idea itself. Jones was also notable for his gifts as a Chaplinesque
physical comedian: For instance, his performance in the "Undressing in Public" sketch is totally silent, except for an organ rendition of the Colonel Bogey March
, which segues into an unplanned striptease
. He was often cast as the straight man, or as a nerdy or put-upon character, often with ambitions or dreams beyond his abilities, in contrast to the authority figures often played by John Cleese
or Graham Chapman
.
with Terry Gilliam
, and was sole director on two further Monty Python movies, Life of Brian
and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. (The latter featured one of his most famous characters, the grotesquely obese Mr. Creosote
.) As a film director, Jones finally gained fuller control of the projects and devised a visual style that complemented the humour. His later films include Erik the Viking
(1989) and The Wind in the Willows
(1996). In 2008, Jones wrote and directed an opera titled Evil Machines. In 2011, he was commissioned to direct and write the libretto for another opera, entitled The Doctor's Tale.
On the commentary track of the 2004 "2 Disc Special Edition" DVD for the film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Terry Jones stated that to his knowledge Ireland had banned only four movies, three of which he had directed: The Meaning of Life, Monty Python's Life of Brian
and Personal Services
.
, which ran for two seasons. Set in a fantasy medieval setting, the series' protagonists are dragons who are beset by evil humans, reversing a common story convention. When the series was broadcast on US television, several episodes were censored due to minor cursing and the implied sexuality of an overtly effeminate character named "Sir Blaze". It was turned into a game for the Sega Saturn
in 1994, which starred Jones's voice.
with Palin, and wrote the screenplay for Labyrinth
(1986), although his draft went through several rewrites and several other writers before being filmed; much of the finished film wasn't written by Jones at all. He has also written numerous works for children, including Fantastic Stories, The Beast with a Thousand Teeth, and a collection of Comic Verse called The Curse of the Vampire's Socks.
He has written books and presented television documentaries on medieval
and ancient history
and the history of numeral system
s. His series often challenge popular views of history: for example, Terry Jones' Medieval Lives
(2004) (for which he received a 2004 Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming") argues that the Middle Ages was a more sophisticated period than is popularly thought, and Terry Jones' Barbarians
(2006) presents the cultural achievements of peoples conquered by the Roman Empire
in a more positive light than Roman historians typically have, while criticizing the Romans as the true "barbarians" who exploited and destroyed higher civilizations.
He has written numerous editorials for The Guardian
, The Daily Telegraph
and The Observer
condemning the Iraq war. Many of these editorials were published in a paperback collection titled Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror.
Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary (1980) offers an alternative take on the historical view of Geoffrey Chaucer
's The Knight's Tale
as being a paragon of Christian virtue. Jones asserts that, after closer examination of historical rather than literary context, the Knight is actually a typical mercenary
and a potentially cold-blooded killer.
His most recent book, "Evil Machines", was launched by the online publishing house Unbound at the Adam Street Club in London on 4th November 2011. Evil Machines is the world's first book to be published by a crowd funding
website dedicated solely to books. Jones provided significant support to Unbound as they developed their publishing concept.
He is also a member of the UK Poetry Society and his poems have appeared in Poetry Review.
and appears on their 2007 CD Ringing the changes (Park Records PRKCD98).
In January 2008, the Teatro São Luiz, in Lisbon
, Portugal, premiered Evil Machines – a musical play, written by Jones (based on his book) and with original music by Portuguese
composer Luis Tinoco. Jones was invited by the Teatro São Luiz to write and direct the play, after a very successful run of Contos Fantásticos, a short play based on Jones' Fantastic Stories
, also with music by Luis Tinoco.
's Jabberwocky
and a memorable minor role as a drunken vicar in BBC sitcom The Young Ones
, Jones has rarely appeared in work outside of his own projects. Since January 2009, however, he has provided narration for The Legend of Dick and Dom
, a CBBC
fantasy series set in the Middle Ages.
On 21 October 2006, it was reported in The Daily Mirror
that Jones had been diagnosed with bowel cancer. Another article dated three days later, also by The Mirror, indicated that the exploratory surgery performed on Jones had good results. It was reported in the British media on 27 April 2009 that Jones was due to become a father for the third time in the autumn of 2009, by way of Söderström. But he remained married to Telfer.
Jones's daughter Siri was born in early September 2009.
Illustrated by Michael Foreman
Illustrated by Brian Froud
Illustrated by Martin Honeysett & Lolly Honeysett
With Alan Ereira
, The Guardian
, The Independent
, and The Observer
. Many of these articles criticized the war on terror
, belittling it as "declaring war on an abstract noun" and comparing it to attempting to "annihilate mockery".
Further reading
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
comedy team.
Early life
Jones was born in Colwyn BayColwyn Bay
- Demography :Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a municipal borough with a population of c.25,000, but in 1974 this designation disappeared leaving five separate parishes, known as communities in Wales, of which the one bearing the name Colwyn Bay encompassed...
, Wales. The family home was named "Bodchwil". Jones' father was stationed with the RAF in India and Jones met him for the first time, on Colwyn Bay railway station
Colwyn Bay railway station
Colwyn Bay railway station is on the Crewe to Holyhead North Wales Coast Line.The current station consists of the platform faces that served the Up Slow and Up Fast lines. The platform faces to the Down Slow and Down Fast lines were taken out of service and have been obliterated as a result of the...
, when he returned. When Jones was four and a half the family moved to Surrey.
Jones was educated at the Royal Grammar School
Royal Grammar School, Guildford
The Royal Grammar School is a selective English independent day school for boys in Guildford, Surrey. The school dates its founding to the death of Robert Beckingham in 1509 who left provision in his will to 'make a free scole at the Towne of Guldford'; in 1512 a governing body was set up to form...
in Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
(now an independent school), where he was head boy
Head boy
Head Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth.-United Kingdom:...
in the academic year 1960–1; he read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford
St Edmund Hall, Oxford
St Edmund Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Better known within the University by its nickname, "Teddy Hall", the college has a claim to being "the oldest academical society for the education of undergraduates in any university"...
, but "strayed into History". He graduated with a 2:1. While there, he performed comedy with Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
, among others, in The Oxford Revue
The Oxford Revue
The Oxford Revue is a comedy group featuring students from Oxford University, England. Founded in the early 1950s, The Oxford Revue has produced many prominent comedians and satirists. The Revue writes, produces and performs several shows each term...
.
Before Python
The first recorded instance of Terry Jones and Michael Palin working together professionally occurred when Jones was on a writing course. Sarah MilesSarah Miles
-Early life and career:Sarah Miles was born in the small town of Ingatestone, Essex, in South East England.She first attended Roedean but at the age of 15 she enrolled at RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
pulled out, so Terry employed Michael. He also wrote for Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :...
about this time. Jones appeared in Twice a Fortnight
Twice a Fortnight
Twice a Fortnight, which was made in 1967, was a British sketch comedy television series with Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, Jonathan Lynn and Tony Buffery....
with Palin, Graeme Garden
Graeme Garden
David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
, Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie
William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
and Jonathan Lynn
Jonathan Lynn
Jonathan Lynn is an English actor, comedy writer and director. He is best known for being the co-writer of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.-Personal life:...
, as well as a television series The Complete and Utter History of Britain
The Complete and Utter History of Britain
The Complete And Utter History Of Britain was a 1969 television comedy sketch show. It was created and written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones between the two series of Do Not Adjust Your Set...
(1969). He also appeared in Do Not Adjust Your Set
Do Not Adjust Your Set
Do Not Adjust Your Set was a children's television series produced originally by Rediffusion, London, then by the fledgling Thames Television for British commercial television channel ITV from 26 December 1967 to 14 May 1969....
(1967–69) with Palin, Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
and David Jason
David Jason
Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
(Jones speaks about this series during an interview which appears on both the DVDs for Do Not Adjust Your Set and the At Last the 1948 Show
At Last the 1948 Show
At Last the 1948 Show is a satirical TV show made by David Frost's company, Paradine Productions , in association with Rediffusion London...
). He wrote for The Frost Report
The Frost Report
The Frost Report was a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It ran for 29 episodes from 1966 to 1967. It is most notable for introducing John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett to television and also launching the careers of several comedians and performers.The main cast were...
and several other of David Frost
David Frost (broadcaster)
Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE is a British journalist, comedian, writer, media personality and daytime TV game show host best known for his two decades as host of Through the Keyhole and serious interviews with various political figures, the most notable being Richard Nixon...
's programmes on British television. Along with Palin, he also wrote lyrics for Barry Booth's 1968 album Diversions.
One of Jones's early concerns was devising a fresh format for the Python TV shows, and it was largely Jones who developed the stream-of-consciousness style which abandoned punchlines and encouraged the fluid movement of one sketch into another – allowing the team's conceptual humour the space to “breathe”. Jones also objected to TV directors’ use of sped-up film, over-emphatic music and static camera style, and he took a keen interest in the direction of the shows. He later directed the Python films Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
(with Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
), The Life of Brian, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. As director he gained fuller control of the projects, devising a visual style that allowed the performers 'space'; for instance, the use of wide shots for long exchanges of dialogue, and more economical use of music. As demonstrated in many of his sketches with Palin, Jones was also interested in making comedy that was visually impressive, feeling that interesting settings augmented, rather than detracted from, the humour. His methods encouraged many future television comedians to break away from conventional studio-bound shooting styles, as demonstrated into the 21st century by shows such as Green Wing
Green Wing
Green Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
, Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
and The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
.
Of Jones's contributions as a performer, his parodic, screechy-voiced depictions of "pepperpots" (middle-aged women, such as the waitress in the "Spam
Spam (Monty Python)
"Spam" is a popular Monty Python sketch, first televised in 1970. In the sketch, two customers are in a greasy spoon café trying to order a breakfast from a menu that includes the processed meat product in almost every dish. The term spam is derived from this sketch...
" sketch) are among the most memorable. His humour, in collaboration with Palin, tends to be conceptual in nature; a typical Palin/Jones sketch draws its humour from the absurdity of the scenario. For example, in the “Summarise Proust Competition”, Jones plays a cheesy game show host who gives contestants 15 seconds to condense Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
's lengthy work À la recherche du temps perdu
In Search of Lost Time
In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past is a novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust. His most prominent work, it is popularly known for its considerable length and the notion of involuntary memory, the most famous example being the "episode of the madeleine." The novel is widely...
; in the "Mouse Organ" sketch, he uses mallets to bash mice that have been trained to squeak at a select pitch, to play the tune "Bells of St. Mary". In both cases, the laughs originate in the madness of the idea itself. Jones was also notable for his gifts as a Chaplinesque
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
physical comedian: For instance, his performance in the "Undressing in Public" sketch is totally silent, except for an organ rendition of the Colonel Bogey March
Colonel Bogey March
The "Colonel Bogey March" is a popular march that was written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts , a British army bandmaster who later became director of music for the Royal Marines at Plymouth...
, which segues into an unplanned striptease
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
. He was often cast as the straight man, or as a nerdy or put-upon character, often with ambitions or dreams beyond his abilities, in contrast to the authority figures often played by John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
or Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
.
Directorial work
Jones co-directed Monty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
with Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
, and was sole director on two further Monty Python movies, Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. (The latter featured one of his most famous characters, the grotesquely obese Mr. Creosote
Mr. Creosote
Mr. Creosote is a fictional character who appears in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Creosote is a monstrously obese restaurant patron who is served a vast amount of food while vomiting repeatedly. After being persuaded to eat one more mint, he explodes in a very graphic way...
.) As a film director, Jones finally gained fuller control of the projects and devised a visual style that complemented the humour. His later films include Erik the Viking
Erik the Viking
Erik the Viking is a 1989 feature film written and directed by Terry Jones. The film was inspired by Jones's children's book The Saga of Erik the Viking , but the plot is completely different. Jones also appears in the film as King Arnulf....
(1989) and The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
The Wind in the Willows, released on video in the U.S. as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, is a 1996 adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic novel The Wind in the Willows , although it differs substantially from the novel...
(1996). In 2008, Jones wrote and directed an opera titled Evil Machines. In 2011, he was commissioned to direct and write the libretto for another opera, entitled The Doctor's Tale.
On the commentary track of the 2004 "2 Disc Special Edition" DVD for the film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Terry Jones stated that to his knowledge Ireland had banned only four movies, three of which he had directed: The Meaning of Life, Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
and Personal Services
Personal Services
Personal Services is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland. It is the story of the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payne, the legendary "House of Cyn" madam. The film...
.
Animation
He was the creator and co-producer of the animated television program Blazing DragonsBlazing Dragons
Blazing Dragons is the title of a popular British cartoon series, the brainchild of Monty Python's Terry Jones. A coinciding graphic adventure video game was released for the original PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996 by Crystal Dynamics...
, which ran for two seasons. Set in a fantasy medieval setting, the series' protagonists are dragons who are beset by evil humans, reversing a common story convention. When the series was broadcast on US television, several episodes were censored due to minor cursing and the implied sexuality of an overtly effeminate character named "Sir Blaze". It was turned into a game for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
in 1994, which starred Jones's voice.
As an author
He co-wrote Ripping YarnsRipping Yarns
Ripping Yarns is a British television comedy series, shown on BBC 2 from 1976 to 1979. It was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame...
with Palin, and wrote the screenplay for Labyrinth
Labyrinth (film)
Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
(1986), although his draft went through several rewrites and several other writers before being filmed; much of the finished film wasn't written by Jones at all. He has also written numerous works for children, including Fantastic Stories, The Beast with a Thousand Teeth, and a collection of Comic Verse called The Curse of the Vampire's Socks.
He has written books and presented television documentaries on medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and ancient history
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and the history of numeral system
Numeral system
A numeral system is a writing system for expressing numbers, that is a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using graphemes or symbols in a consistent manner....
s. His series often challenge popular views of history: for example, Terry Jones' Medieval Lives
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives is a 2004 Emmy award nominated television documentary series produced for the BBC. Written and hosted by Terry Jones, each half-hour episode examines a particular Medieval personality, with the intent of separating myth from reality.The episode The Peasant was nominated...
(2004) (for which he received a 2004 Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming") argues that the Middle Ages was a more sophisticated period than is popularly thought, and Terry Jones' Barbarians
Terry Jones' Barbarians
Terry Jones' Barbarians is a 4-part TV documentary series first broadcast on BBC 2 in 2006. It was written and presented by Terry Jones, and it challenges the received Roman and Roman Catholic notion of the barbarian....
(2006) presents the cultural achievements of peoples conquered by the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in a more positive light than Roman historians typically have, while criticizing the Romans as the true "barbarians" who exploited and destroyed higher civilizations.
He has written numerous editorials for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
and The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
condemning the Iraq war. Many of these editorials were published in a paperback collection titled Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror.
Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary (1980) offers an alternative take on the historical view of Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
's The Knight's Tale
The Knight's Tale
"The Knight's Tale" is the first tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The story introduces many typical aspects of knighthood such as courtly love and ethical dilemmas. The story is written in iambic pentameter end-rhymed couplets.-Story:...
as being a paragon of Christian virtue. Jones asserts that, after closer examination of historical rather than literary context, the Knight is actually a typical mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
and a potentially cold-blooded killer.
His most recent book, "Evil Machines", was launched by the online publishing house Unbound at the Adam Street Club in London on 4th November 2011. Evil Machines is the world's first book to be published by a crowd funding
Crowd funding
Crowd funding describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations...
website dedicated solely to books. Jones provided significant support to Unbound as they developed their publishing concept.
He is also a member of the UK Poetry Society and his poems have appeared in Poetry Review.
Working with musicians
Jones has performed with The Carnival BandThe Carnival Band (folk group)
The Carnival Band is an English early music group. Their broad repertoire focuses on popular music fromthe 16th and 17th centuries, and traditional music from around the world. Presentation is informal and humorous, and in the spirit of medieval and renaissance Carnival...
and appears on their 2007 CD Ringing the changes (Park Records PRKCD98).
In January 2008, the Teatro São Luiz, in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal, premiered Evil Machines – a musical play, written by Jones (based on his book) and with original music by Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
composer Luis Tinoco. Jones was invited by the Teatro São Luiz to write and direct the play, after a very successful run of Contos Fantásticos, a short play based on Jones' Fantastic Stories
Fantastic Stories
Fantastic Stories is a collection of six short stories written by Soviet author Andrei Sinyavsky under the pseudonym Abram Tertz between 1955 and 1961. The stories are titled: At the Circus, The Graphomaniacs, The Tenants, You and I, The Icicle and Phkents...
, also with music by Luis Tinoco.
As performer
Apart from a cameo in Terry GilliamTerry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
's Jabberwocky
Jabberwocky (film)
Jabberwocky is a 1977 British fantasy black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It stars Michael Palin as a young cooper who is forced through clumsy, often slapstick misfortunes to hunt a terrible dragon after the death of his father...
and a memorable minor role as a drunken vicar in BBC sitcom The Young Ones
The Young Ones (TV series)
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
, Jones has rarely appeared in work outside of his own projects. Since January 2009, however, he has provided narration for The Legend of Dick and Dom
The Legend of Dick and Dom
The Legend of Dick and Dom is a sitcom that stars Dick and Dom as two budding young princes who are on a quest to find the antidote to a terrible plague that consumed Fyredor because Dick dropped the cure. The all star cast also includes Mannitol , a wizard who is really bad at doing magic, and...
, a CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
fantasy series set in the Middle Ages.
Personal life
Jones married Alison Telfer in 1970, and they have two children together, Sally (born in 1974) who worked alongside receptionist Lee Jackson at the Royal Academy of Art, and Bill (born in 1976). The marriage broke down after he admitted to falling in love with 26-year-old student Anna Söderström.On 21 October 2006, it was reported in The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
that Jones had been diagnosed with bowel cancer. Another article dated three days later, also by The Mirror, indicated that the exploratory surgery performed on Jones had good results. It was reported in the British media on 27 April 2009 that Jones was due to become a father for the third time in the autumn of 2009, by way of Söderström. But he remained married to Telfer.
Jones's daughter Siri was born in early September 2009.
Fiction
- Douglas Adams's Starship TitanicStarship TitanicStarship Titanic is a computer adventure game designed by Douglas Adams and made by The Digital Village. It was released in 1998. It takes place on a starship of the same name which has undergone "Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure" and crash landed on Earth on its maiden voyage .The player...
(1997), ISBN 0-330-35446-9 – a novel based on the computer game of the same name by Douglas AdamsDouglas AdamsDouglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
. (Jones claims to have written the entire book while in the nude.) - Evil MachinesEvil MachinesEvil Machines is a 2011 book of fantasy stories written by Monty Python's Terry Jones. The book has a cover design and illustrations by Ryan Gillard and Keira Kinsella....
(2011), ISBN 978-1-908717-01-6
Illustrated by Michael Foreman
Michael Foreman (author / illustrator)
Michael Foreman is an award-winning British author and illustrator, mainly for children. He lives in London. He is one of the best-known and most prolific writer-illustrators of children's books. He was born and grew up in the seaside village of Pakefield, near Lowestoft, Suffolk, where his mother...
- Fairy TalesFairy Tales (Terry Jones book)Fairy Tales is a 1981 book of children's stories written by Monty Python's Terry Jones and illustrated by Michael Foreman with both ink drawings and watercolor paintings....
(1981), ISBN 0-907516-03-3 - The Saga of Erik the Viking (1983), ISBN 0-907516-23-8 – Children's Book Award 1984
- Nicobobinus (1985), ISBN 1-85145-000-9
- The Curse of the Vampire's Socks and Other Doggerel (1988), ISBN 1-85145-233-8 – poetry
- Fantastic Stories (1992), ISBN 1-85145-957-X
- The Beast with a Thousand Teeth (1993), ISBN 1-85793-070-3
- A Fish of the World (1993), ISBN 1-85793-075-4
- The Sea TigerThe Sea TigerThe Sea Tiger is a 1927 silent film drama produced and distributed by Carey Wilson and First National Pictures and directed by John Francis Dillon. The film stars Milton Sills and Mary Astor. It is now a lost film...
(1994), ISBN 1-85793-085-1 - The Fly-by-Night (1994), ISBN 1-85793-090-8
- The Knight and the Squire (1997), ISBN 1-86205-044-9
- The Lady and the Squire (2000), ISBN 1-86205-417-7 – nominated for a Whitbread Award2001 Whitbread Awards2001 was the first year that a book in the children's category was chosen as book of the year.-Children's Book:Winner:*Philip Pullman, The Amber SpyglassShortlist:*Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl*Eva Ibbotson, Journey to the River Sea...
- Bedtime Stories (2002), ISBN 1-86205-276-X – with Nanette NewmanNanette Newman-Early life:Newman was born in Northampton, England. She was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.-Career:...
Illustrated by Brian Froud
- Goblins of the Labyrinth (1986), ISBN 1-85145-058-0
- The Goblin Companion: A Field Guide to Goblins (1996), ISBN 1-85793-795-3 – an abridged re-release, in a smaller format, with the colour plates missing
- Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book (1994), ISBN 1-85793-336-2
- Strange Stains and Mysterious Smells: Quentin Cottington's Journal of Faery Research (1996), ISBN 0-684-83206-2
- Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Journal (1998), ISBN 1-86205-024-4
- Lady Cottington's Fairy Album (2002), ISBN 1-86205-559-9
Illustrated by Martin Honeysett & Lolly Honeysett
- Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and GirlsBert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and GirlsBert Fegg's Nasty Book For Boys And Girls is a humorous book first published by Methuen in 1974 which purports to have been written by a psychopathic character, Dr. Fegg. In fact, the book is the work of Terry Jones and Michael Palin, who adapted a range of material from scripts written for the...
with Michael Palin (1974) ISBN 0-413-32740-X
Non-fiction
- Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary (1980), ISBN 0-297-77566-9; rev. ed. (1994), ISBN 0-413-69140-3
- Who Murdered Chaucer?: A Medieval Mystery (2003), ISBN 0-413-75910-5 – with Robert Yeager, Terry Dolan, Alan Fletcher and Juliette Dor
- Terry Jones's War on the War on TerrorWar on TerrorThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
(2005), ISBN 1-56025-653-2
With Alan Ereira
- Crusades (1994), ISBN 0-563-37007-6
- Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (2004), ISBN 0-563-48793-3
- Terry Jones' Barbarians (2006), ISBN 0-563-49318-6
Screenplays
- And Now for Something Completely DifferentAnd Now For Something Completely DifferentAnd Now for Something Completely Different is a film spin-off from the television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus featuring favorite sketches from the first two seasons. The title was used as a catchphrase in the television show....
(1972) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin - SecretsSecrets (play)Secrets is a one-hour 1973 BBC Television play by Michael Palin and Terry Jones, starring Warren Mitchell as the owner of a chocolate factory...
(1973) – for TV, with Michael Palin - Monty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
(1975) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin - Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
(1979) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin - Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin
- LabyrinthLabyrinth (film)Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
(1986) - Erik the VikingErik the VikingErik the Viking is a 1989 feature film written and directed by Terry Jones. The film was inspired by Jones's children's book The Saga of Erik the Viking , but the plot is completely different. Jones also appears in the film as King Arnulf....
(1989) – includes a notice in the credits specifically disclaiming any link with Jones's earlier novel ("although he hopes it will help the sales") - The Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the Willows (1996 film)The Wind in the Willows, released on video in the U.S. as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, is a 1996 adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic novel The Wind in the Willows , although it differs substantially from the novel...
(1996)
Documentary series
- CrusadesCrusades (BBC TV series)Crusades was a 1995 historical documentary series presented by former Monty Python member Terry Jones. It looked at the crusades and included elements of black comedy.-1...
(1995) - Ancient InventionsAncient InventionsAncient Inventions was a BBC historical documentary series released in 1998. It was presented by ex-Monty Python member Terry Jones and looked at great inventions of the ancient world. The series is split into 3 episodes, namely City Life, Sex and Love, and War and Conflicts, all around 50 min...
– directed by Phil GrabskyPhil GrabskyPhil Grabsky is a British documentary film-maker based in Brighton, East Sussex. His company Seventh Art Productions has produced documentaries for television and cinema....
& Daniel Percival (1998) - The Surprising History of Egypt (USA, 2002) a.k.a. The Hidden History of Egypt (UK, 2003) – directed by Phil GrabskyPhil GrabskyPhil Grabsky is a British documentary film-maker based in Brighton, East Sussex. His company Seventh Art Productions has produced documentaries for television and cinema....
- The Surprising History of Rome (USA, 2002) a.k.a. The Hidden History of Rome (UK, 2003) – directed by Phil GrabskyPhil GrabskyPhil Grabsky is a British documentary film-maker based in Brighton, East Sussex. His company Seventh Art Productions has produced documentaries for television and cinema....
- The Surprising History of Sex and Love (2002) – directed by Alan Ereira & Phil GrabskyPhil GrabskyPhil Grabsky is a British documentary film-maker based in Brighton, East Sussex. His company Seventh Art Productions has produced documentaries for television and cinema....
- Terry Jones' Medieval LivesTerry Jones' Medieval LivesTerry Jones' Medieval Lives is a 2004 Emmy award nominated television documentary series produced for the BBC. Written and hosted by Terry Jones, each half-hour episode examines a particular Medieval personality, with the intent of separating myth from reality.The episode The Peasant was nominated...
(2004) - The Story of 1The Story of 1The Story of 1 is a BBC documentary about the history of numbers, and in particular, the number 1. It was presented by ex-Monty Python member Terry Jones. It was released in 2005.-Plot:...
(2005) - Terry Jones' BarbariansTerry Jones' BarbariansTerry Jones' Barbarians is a 4-part TV documentary series first broadcast on BBC 2 in 2006. It was written and presented by Terry Jones, and it challenges the received Roman and Roman Catholic notion of the barbarian....
(2006) - Terry Jones' Great Map Mystery (2008)
Political articles
Jones has published a number of articles on political and social commentary, principally in newspapers The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, and The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
. Many of these articles criticized the war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, belittling it as "declaring war on an abstract noun" and comparing it to attempting to "annihilate mockery".
Collaborations
| Monty Python and the Holy Grail Monty Python and the Holy Grail Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones... |
Monty Python's Life of Brian Monty Python's Life of Brian Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team... |
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life |
Erik the Viking Erik the Viking Erik the Viking is a 1989 feature film written and directed by Terry Jones. The film was inspired by Jones's children's book The Saga of Erik the Viking , but the plot is completely different. Jones also appears in the film as King Arnulf.... |
The Wind in the Willows The Wind in the Willows (1996 film) The Wind in the Willows, released on video in the U.S. as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, is a 1996 adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic novel The Wind in the Willows , although it differs substantially from the novel... |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Chapman Graham Chapman Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:... |
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| John Cleese John Cleese John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report... |
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| Carol Cleveland Carol Cleveland Carol Cleveland is a British actress/comedienne, most notable for her appearances as the only significant female performer on Monty Python's Flying Circus.-Early life:... |
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| Terry Gilliam Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys... |
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| Eric Idle Eric Idle Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot.... |
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| Neil Innes Neil Innes Neil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:... |
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| Terry Jones | |||||
| Charles McKeown Charles McKeown Charles McKeown is a British actor and writer, perhaps best known for his collaborations with Terry Gilliam. The two met while shooting Monty Python's Life of Brian, while McKeown was doing bit parts in the film.-Screenwriting career:... |
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| Michael Palin Michael Palin Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries.... |
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| John Young John Young (actor) John Young was a Scottish actor. He is the father of the actor Paul Young.Some of his credits include Doomwatch, Monty Python and the Holy Grail , Life of Brian , Chariots of Fire, Time Bandits and Rab C. Nesbitt.-External links:... |
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Miscellany
- An asteroidAsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
, 9622 Terryjones9622 Terryjones9622 Terryjones is an asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.-Name:Terryjones is named after British comedian Terry Jones. The asteroid is one of many main belt asteroids named after famous personalities...
, is named in his honour. When asked during a webchat if this were the greatest honour he has received, Jones replied, "I didn't realise it was an honour to have a barren lump of rock named after one."
Further reading
External links
- Terry Jones.net – Semi-official fan site
- Totally Terry
- Terry Jones on twitter
- 10 July 2006 webchat transcript at Douglas Adams Continuum
- Terry Jones at the BBC Guide to ComedyBBC Guide to ComedyThe BBC Guide to Comedy was a former subsite of bbc.co.uk which offered "Info on every TV comedy shown in the UK, from 1936 to today..."Written and researched by Mark Lewisohn, the content of the site was first available as a book The Radio Times Guide to Comedy in 1998...
- Terry Jones at the Comedy Zone
- MP3 audio interview with Jones from The Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...
public radio program and podcast - Interview with Terry Jones by Jeff Fleischer in Mother JonesMother Jones (magazine)Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
. He talks about his politics columns. - Text interview with Jones from Wisconsin Public TelevisionWisconsin Public TelevisionWisconsin Public Television is a state network of public television stations operated primarily by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin–Extension...
. Jones talks about Monty Python's legacy and his more current work.