- published: 08 Mar 2008
- views: 369673
- author: Charlie Smith
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Edinburgh
Edinburgh (
i/ˈɛdɪnbʌrə/ ED-in-burr-ə; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland and the seat of the Scottish Parliament. It is the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30 square miles (78 km2) rural area. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea.
The city was one of the historical major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, helping to earn it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of the unique character of the Medieval Old Town and the planned Georgian New Town. It covers both the Old and New Towns together with the Dean Village and the Calton Hill areas. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city. In May 2010, it had a total of 40 conservation areas covering 23% of the building stock and 23% of the population, the highest such ratios of any major city in the UK. In the 2011 mid-year population estimates, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 495,360.
wn.com/Edinburgh -
Fife
Coordinates: 56°15′00″N 3°12′00″W / 56.25°N 3.2°W / 56.25; -3.2
Fife ([ˈfəif]; Scottish Gaelic: Fìobha) is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. It was once one of the major Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib, and is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland.
It is a lieutenancy area, and was a county of Scotland until 1975. It was very occasionally known by the anglicisation Fifeshire in old documents and maps compiled by English cartographers and authors. A person from Fife is known as a Fifer.
Fife was a local government region divided into three districts: Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and North-East Fife. Since 1996 the functions of the district councils have been exercised by the unitary Fife Council.
Fife is Scotland's third largest local authority area by population. It has a resident population of just under 360,000, almost a third of whom live in the three principal towns of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes. Kirkcaldy is Fife's largest town by population (48,108 in 2006), followed by Dunfermline (45,462 in 2006) and then Glenrothes (38,927 in 2006).
wn.com/Fife -
John Hill Burton
John Hill Burton FRSE (22 August 1809 – 10 August 1881) was a Scottish advocate, historian and economist. The author of "Life and Correspondence of David Hume", he was secretary of the Scottish Prison Board (1854-77), and Historiographer Royal (1867-1881).
Burton was born in Aberdeen, the son of W K Burton by his spouse Eliza Paton. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and Marischal College. After graduating, he moved to Edinburgh and studied for the Bar, being admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1831. However, he had little practice, and in 1854 was appointed Secretary to the Prison Board of Scotland, and in 1877 a Commissioner of Prisons.
He became at an early period of his life a contributor to Blackwood's Magazine and other periodicals, and in 1846 published a life of David Hume, which attracted considerable attention, and was followed by Lives of Lord Lovat and Lord President Forbes. He began his career as a historian by the publication in 1853 of History of Scotland from the Revolution to the Extinction of the last Jacobite Insurrection, to which he added (1867-70) History of Scotland from Agricola's Invasion to the Revolution, in 7 vols., thus completing a continuous narrative. Subsequently he published a History of the Reign of Queen Anne (1880). Other works of a lighter kind were The Book-Hunter (1862), and The Scot Abroad (1864). Burton's historical works display much research and a spirit of candour and honesty, and have picturesque and spirited passages, but the style is unequal, and frequently lacks dignity. Nevertheless, he was one of the first historians to introduce the principles of historical research into the study and writing of the history of Scotland.
wn.com/John_Hill_Burton -
Scotland
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba ([ˈalˠ̪apə]
listen (help·info))) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.
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West Lothian
West Lothian (Scots: Wast Lowden, Scottish Gaelic: Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire.
The council area was created in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with the boundaries of the West Lothian district of the Lothian region.
The county of West Lothian was called Linlithgowshire or the County of Linlithgow until 1921.
Before it was abolished in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the county contained six burghs. Two are now outside the West Lothian unitary council area:
On abolition in 1975 the county, with the exception of the Bo'ness area, was included in the Lothian Region. Bo'ness became part of the Central Region. Lothian Region was divided into four districts, one of which was named West Lothian and approximated to the former county.
West Lothian District was created in 1975, comprising the county of West Lothian; less the burghs of Bo'ness and South Queensferry and the Kirkliston area; it also included the East Calder and West Calder districts of the former county of Midlothian. The council's headquarters were originally in Bathgate, later moving to the new town of Livingston. The unitary authority created in 1996 used the same boundaries.
wn.com/West_Lothian
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Alastair Dunnett
Sir Alastair MacTavish Dunnett (26 December 1908 – 2 September 1998) was a Scottish journalist and newspaper editor. He edited The Daily Record newspaper for nine years and The Scotsman newspaper from 1956 to 1972. In 1975 he became chairman of Thomson Scottish Petroleum and was much involved in the establishment of the oil terminal at Flotta in Orkney. From the 1950s to the 1980s he was involved in many Scottish cultural activities including being governor of the Pitlochry Festival Theatre (1958–1984). He was awarded an honorary degree of LLD by the University of Strathclyde in 1978 and was knighted on 4 July 1995.
He published a book of short stories (Heard tell, 1947), a description of a kayaking voyage round the coast of Scotland (Quest by canoe, 1950, republished in 1969 as It's too late in the year and in 1996 as The canoe boys), several books on Scottish topics and an autobiography (Among friends, 1984).
Dunnett married Dorothy Halliday on 17 September 1946; as Dorothy Dunnett she was a celebrated artist and historical novelist, author of the Lymond Chronicles and The House of Niccolo. They had two sons, Ninian and Mungo.
wn.com/Alastair_Dunnett -
Charles Maclaren
Charles Maclaren FRSE FGS (7 October 1782–10 September 1866) was a Scottish journalist and geologist. He co-founded The Scotsman newspaper, and edited the 6th Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica.
Maclaren was born in Ormiston, Haddingtonshire, the son of a farmer and cattle-dealer. He was almost entirely self-educated, and when a young man became a mercantile clerk in Edinburgh.
In 1817, with John Ritchie, John Ramsay McCulloch and William Ritchie, he established The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh and at first acted as its editor. Offered a post as clerk in the custom house, he resigned his editorial position, resuming it in 1820, and resigning it again in 1845. In 1820, Maclaren was appointed editor of the sixth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. From 1864-1866 he was president of the Edinburgh Geological Society, in which city he died in 1866. He was interred at the Grange Cemetery.
Maclaren's Selected Works (1869) were edited by Robert Cox and James Nicol.
His second wife, Jane Veitch Hume née Somner (married 1842; died 1871), was the widow of David Hume the younger.
wn.com/Charles_Maclaren -
Eric MacKay
wn.com/Eric_MacKay -
Iain Martin
Iain James Martin (born 2 October 1971) is a Scottish journalist and blogger. He has worked as a reporter for the Sunday Times Scotland (1993–97), as political editor of the Scotland on Sunday (1997–2000), political editor of The Scotsman (2000–01), deputy editor of the Scotland on Sunday (2001), editor of The Scotsman (2001–04), editor of Scotland on Sunday (2004–06), deputy editor of the Sunday Telegraph (2006), and group executive editor of politics, head of comment and community for the Telegraph Media Group (2008–09).
From 2009 to 2011 he was Deputy Editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe, for which he wrote a blog on politics. He moved to the Daily Mail newspaper in 2011 to write a weekly political column.
wn.com/Iain_Martin -
John Hill Burton
John Hill Burton FRSE (22 August 1809 – 10 August 1881) was a Scottish advocate, historian and economist. The author of "Life and Correspondence of David Hume", he was secretary of the Scottish Prison Board (1854-77), and Historiographer Royal (1867-1881).
Burton was born in Aberdeen, the son of W K Burton by his spouse Eliza Paton. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and Marischal College. After graduating, he moved to Edinburgh and studied for the Bar, being admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1831. However, he had little practice, and in 1854 was appointed Secretary to the Prison Board of Scotland, and in 1877 a Commissioner of Prisons.
He became at an early period of his life a contributor to Blackwood's Magazine and other periodicals, and in 1846 published a life of David Hume, which attracted considerable attention, and was followed by Lives of Lord Lovat and Lord President Forbes. He began his career as a historian by the publication in 1853 of History of Scotland from the Revolution to the Extinction of the last Jacobite Insurrection, to which he added (1867-70) History of Scotland from Agricola's Invasion to the Revolution, in 7 vols., thus completing a continuous narrative. Subsequently he published a History of the Reign of Queen Anne (1880). Other works of a lighter kind were The Book-Hunter (1862), and The Scot Abroad (1864). Burton's historical works display much research and a spirit of candour and honesty, and have picturesque and spirited passages, but the style is unequal, and frequently lacks dignity. Nevertheless, he was one of the first historians to introduce the principles of historical research into the study and writing of the history of Scotland.
wn.com/John_Hill_Burton -
Magnus Linklater
Magnus Linklater (born 21 February 1942) is a Scottish journalist and former newspaper editor.
Linklater was born in Orkney, and is the son of Scottish writer Eric Linklater. He was brought up in Easter Ross, attending the local school at Nigg before moving to high school in Dunbar, East Lothian, and then on to Eton College. He continued his studies with courses at Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg in Germany and the Sorbonne in Paris, before he studied a degree at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He is of part Swedish descent, through his father Eric .
Linklater's journalistic career began in 1964, as a reporter with the Daily Express. This was followed by a position at the Evening Standard, before he moved to The Sunday Times in 1969, where he had a central role in the Hitler diaries scandal. He remained at The Sunday Times until 1983. This was followed by three years at The Observer, before he was recruited to launch and edit the London Daily News, a short-lived newspaper owned by Robert Maxwell. Linklater returned to Scotland at the start of 1988 to become editor of The Scotsman, running the newspaper until 1994, when he left to become a freelance writer.
wn.com/Magnus_Linklater -
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register (it became The Times on 1 January 1788). The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News International, itself wholly owned by the News Corporation group headed by Rupert Murdoch. The Times and The Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1967.
The Times is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, including The Times of India (1838), The Straits Times (1845), The New York Times (1851), The Irish Times (1859), the Los Angeles Times (1881), The Seattle Times (1891), The Daily Times (Malawi) (1900), The Canberra Times (1926), and The Times (Malta) (1935). For distinguishing purposes it is therefore sometimes referred to, particularly in North America, as the "London Times" or "The Times of London".
wn.com/The_Times
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The Scotsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:22
- Updated: 02 Dec 2012
Another Song From The Artist Dr.Demento
http://wn.com/The_Scotsman
Another Song From The Artist Dr.Demento
Bryan Bowers - The Scotsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:27
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
Byan Bowers - The Scotsman • Written by: Mike Cross in 1979 • Recorded: September 14-16, 1979 • Recording location: live on stage at the National Flat-Picking Championship of The Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, KS) • Released: 1980 • Available on: •1980 LP Home, Home On The Road (Flying Fish FF-091) • 1985 LP Dr. Demento Presents The Greatest Novelty Records Of All Time Volume V: The 1980s (Rhino RNLP 824, plus RNBC 490 box set) • 1991 CD set Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection (Rhino R2 70743, May 21, 1991) • 2001 CD The Very Best Of Dr. Demento (Rhino R2 76704, February 6, 2001) • Web sites: • www.bryanbowers.com • dmdb.org
http://wn.com/Bryan_Bowers_The_Scotsman
Byan Bowers - The Scotsman • Written by: Mike Cross in 1979 • Recorded: September 14-16, 1979 • Recording location: live on stage at the National Flat-Picking Championship of The Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, KS) • Released: 1980 • Available on: •1980 LP Home, Home On The Road (Flying Fish FF-091) • 1985 LP Dr. Demento Presents The Greatest Novelty Records Of All Time Volume V: The 1980s (Rhino RNLP 824, plus RNBC 490 box set) • 1991 CD set Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection (Rhino R2 70743, May 21, 1991) • 2001 CD The Very Best Of Dr. Demento (Rhino R2 76704, February 6, 2001) • Web sites: • www.bryanbowers.com • dmdb.org
- published: 26 Oct 2009
- views: 128645
- author: Parmenides320
Under the Scotsman's Kilt ( World of Warcraft )
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:38
- Updated: 02 Dec 2012
A world of Warcraft film to the tune of "Under the Scotsman's Kilt".
http://wn.com/Under_the_Scotsman's_Kilt_World_of_Warcraft_
A world of Warcraft film to the tune of "Under the Scotsman's Kilt".
- published: 02 Mar 2006
- views: 1028235
- author: Lynara
USU Scotsman! (Utah State University Fight Song)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:42
- Updated: 08 Oct 2012
This is the Utah State University song, The Scotsman! This was taken at the last home men's basketball game at the Spectrum against the Fresno State Bulldogs. (03/03/08) Lyrics: Show me a Scotsman who doesn't love the thistle. Show me an Englishman who doesn't love the rose. Show me the true blooded Aggie from Utah, Who doesn't love the spot (Clap, Clap) Where the sagebrush grows. (repeat)
http://wn.com/USU_Scotsman!_Utah_State_University_Fight_Song
This is the Utah State University song, The Scotsman! This was taken at the last home men's basketball game at the Spectrum against the Fresno State Bulldogs. (03/03/08) Lyrics: Show me a Scotsman who doesn't love the thistle. Show me an Englishman who doesn't love the rose. Show me the true blooded Aggie from Utah, Who doesn't love the spot (Clap, Clap) Where the sagebrush grows. (repeat)
- published: 06 Mar 2008
- views: 31092
- author: MidnightYell2003
Robin Williams - The Scotsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:19
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
Robin Williams talks about the Scotsman.
http://wn.com/Robin_Williams_The_Scotsman
Robin Williams talks about the Scotsman.
- published: 19 Nov 2007
- views: 1089543
- author: whstr
Under the Scotsman's Kilt
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:27
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
A Great song about a Scotsman who's had a little too much to drink. I'm not sure who sings this, either Bryan Bowers or Jim Stafford. If you know, leave a comment. The Scot in the picture is none other than Sir Sean Connery.
http://wn.com/Under_the_Scotsman's_Kilt
A Great song about a Scotsman who's had a little too much to drink. I'm not sure who sings this, either Bryan Bowers or Jim Stafford. If you know, leave a comment. The Scot in the picture is none other than Sir Sean Connery.
- published: 23 Jul 2009
- views: 66175
- author: bulldog1447
IRISH ROVERS - THE DRUNK SCOTTSMAN !!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:27
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
IRISH ROVERS - THE DRUNK SCOTTSMAN -
http://wn.com/IRISH_ROVERS_THE_DRUNK_SCOTTSMAN_!!
IRISH ROVERS - THE DRUNK SCOTTSMAN -
- published: 25 Jul 2007
- views: 907085
- author: SteveK9797
Monty Python - A Scotsman On A Horse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:34
- Updated: 23 Nov 2012
from Monty Python's Flying Circus Season 1 - Episode 06 The BBC Entry To The Zinc Stoat Of Budapest Recorded 05-11-69, Aired 23-11-69 I'm slowly uploading the entire Flying Circus series... Got any requests?
http://wn.com/Monty_Python_A_Scotsman_On_A_Horse
from Monty Python's Flying Circus Season 1 - Episode 06 The BBC Entry To The Zinc Stoat Of Budapest Recorded 05-11-69, Aired 23-11-69 I'm slowly uploading the entire Flying Circus series... Got any requests?
- published: 06 Feb 2007
- views: 109706
- author: Chadner
drunk scotsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:19
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
my pics to go along with the song drunk scotsman by irish rovers
http://wn.com/drunk_scotsman
my pics to go along with the song drunk scotsman by irish rovers
- published: 06 Dec 2007
- views: 727175
- author: strobez794
The Scotsman - Lyrics
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:22
- Updated: 01 Dec 2012
The Scotsman By Bryan Bowers and written by Mike Cross First upload! thought i'd do a trial run before a project i start to get used to uploading and moviemaker. So here you go The Scotsman With lyrics! Thanks to istahota1 for corrections!
http://wn.com/The_Scotsman_Lyrics
The Scotsman By Bryan Bowers and written by Mike Cross First upload! thought i'd do a trial run before a project i start to get used to uploading and moviemaker. So here you go The Scotsman With lyrics! Thanks to istahota1 for corrections!
- published: 24 Apr 2010
- views: 32543
- author: trich141
The Scotsman's 20-second Long Insult
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:24
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
So eloquent.
http://wn.com/The_Scotsman's_20-second_Long_Insult
So eloquent.
- published: 25 Feb 2011
- views: 237072
- author: narkolator
Show Me a Scotsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:01
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
Students, faculty, and staff at Utah State University perform "The Scotsman".
http://wn.com/Show_Me_a_Scotsman
Students, faculty, and staff at Utah State University perform "The Scotsman".
- published: 31 Aug 2010
- views: 26112
- author: UtahStateUniversity
Detours: Josie Long at Fruitmarket / The Scotsman Steps
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:03
- Updated: 20 Oct 2012
On 16 August, Josie performed her second Detour against the backdrop of Ingrid Calame's intricate tracings at The Fruitmarket Gallery. Here she is responding in her own inimitable way to Ingrid's work. Josie is here seen taking a stroll up Martin Creed's 'Work no 1059' on the Scotsman Steps, a piece commissioned by The Fruitmarket Gallery as part of his 2010 solo exhibition, Down Over Up. In August 2011, the Edinburgh Art Festival commissioned Trigger to make Detours, a series of live interventions in some of the city's most stimulating visual art spaces. This is one of eight films made by Daniel Warren in response to the events. You can find out more here: bit.ly/Detours This video is also available to download here: bit.ly www.josielong.com www.bit.ly/guardianIngridCalame www.fruitmarket.co.uk www.martincreed.com www.fruitmarket.co.uk/exhibitions/scotsman-steps www.danielwarren.tv www.edinburghartfestival.com www.triggerstuff.co.uk The Scotsman Steps were supported through the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund for Edinburgh Art Festival, Bloomberg, The Hope Scott Trust and the following generous individuals: Elizabeth Cowling Sophie Crichton Stuart Alistair and Susan Duff Werner Keschner and Catherine Muirden George and Jacqui Morris Barry Rosen, in memory of Bruce Lentini and Dorothy Rosen Jaap Van Liere Robert and Nicky Wilson Iwan and Manuela Wirth The Zachs Adam Family Fund And The Fruitmarket Gallery Board of Directors
http://wn.com/Detours_Josie_Long_at_Fruitmarket_The_Scotsman_Steps
On 16 August, Josie performed her second Detour against the backdrop of Ingrid Calame's intricate tracings at The Fruitmarket Gallery. Here she is responding in her own inimitable way to Ingrid's work. Josie is here seen taking a stroll up Martin Creed's 'Work no 1059' on the Scotsman Steps, a piece commissioned by The Fruitmarket Gallery as part of his 2010 solo exhibition, Down Over Up. In August 2011, the Edinburgh Art Festival commissioned Trigger to make Detours, a series of live interventions in some of the city's most stimulating visual art spaces. This is one of eight films made by Daniel Warren in response to the events. You can find out more here: bit.ly/Detours This video is also available to download here: bit.ly www.josielong.com www.bit.ly/guardianIngridCalame www.fruitmarket.co.uk www.martincreed.com www.fruitmarket.co.uk/exhibitions/scotsman-steps www.danielwarren.tv www.edinburghartfestival.com www.triggerstuff.co.uk The Scotsman Steps were supported through the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund for Edinburgh Art Festival, Bloomberg, The Hope Scott Trust and the following generous individuals: Elizabeth Cowling Sophie Crichton Stuart Alistair and Susan Duff Werner Keschner and Catherine Muirden George and Jacqui Morris Barry Rosen, in memory of Bruce Lentini and Dorothy Rosen Jaap Van Liere Robert and Nicky Wilson Iwan and Manuela Wirth The Zachs Adam Family Fund And The Fruitmarket Gallery Board of Directors
- published: 16 Aug 2011
- views: 3215
- author: EdinburghArtFestival
Michael Mcintyre- The Scotsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:49
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
Michael McIntyre at his comedy roadshow in Edinburgh, describes how the scotsman came about through opposing the englishman, absolutely hillarious!
http://wn.com/Michael_Mcintyre_The_Scotsman
Michael McIntyre at his comedy roadshow in Edinburgh, describes how the scotsman came about through opposing the englishman, absolutely hillarious!
- published: 05 Jan 2011
- views: 119101
- author: Doberlybobs
AMV Comedy: L The Scotsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:50
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
Scotsman and golf bit by Robin Williams
http://wn.com/AMV_Comedy_L_The_Scotsman
Scotsman and golf bit by Robin Williams
- published: 02 Sep 2007
- views: 50770
- author: AestheticGenocide
The Drunken Scottsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:21
- Updated: 02 Dec 2012
The Drunken Scotsman By: The Irish Rovers (Irish Rovers RULE!)
http://wn.com/The_Drunken_Scottsman
The Drunken Scotsman By: The Irish Rovers (Irish Rovers RULE!)
- published: 09 Jan 2010
- views: 42656
- author: xIceSergeantx
Scotsman Ale Commercial
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:50
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
An ad for the Scotsman Ale Brewery. Grab a Scotsman by the bottle!
http://wn.com/Scotsman_Ale_Commercial
An ad for the Scotsman Ale Brewery. Grab a Scotsman by the bottle!
- published: 01 Sep 2012
- views: 75968
- author: TheQuidler
Football Celebration - spot the Scotsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:55
- Updated: 02 Nov 2012
Football Acrobatics. On the pitch celebrations... see if you can spot the Scotsman among them. Clip is the property of SoccerAM.
http://wn.com/Football_Celebration_spot_the_Scotsman
Football Acrobatics. On the pitch celebrations... see if you can spot the Scotsman among them. Clip is the property of SoccerAM.
- published: 24 Sep 2007
- views: 18706
- author: brucegray666
The Tao of Kung Fu #28 - "I strive for no thing."
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:12
- Updated: 01 Dec 2012
This scene from "Kung Fu" is from the double final episode of the 1974 season. Called "The Cenotaph", this wacky story would not appear out of place amongst the writings of the ancient Taoist sage Chaung Tzu. In this scene we see Caine (David Carradine) attempting to explain Tao to the very eccentric Mr McBurney (Stefan Gierasch). Comprehending Tao, even to the most intuitive of us, is an extremely difficult task. These difficulties arise because we are trying to comprehend total cosmic unity, from our position in the illusion of separateness. We are fortunate that in this clip Caine gives us a major insight into Tao, when he said "I strive for no thing". You may believe this means nothing, but this would be a mistake. He said "no thing" meaning that he is striving for something that is non-material, beyond words and all descriptions. This "no thing" that Caine is striving for is also referred to as emptiness in the Taoist philosophy. You may recall in "The Tao of Kung Fu #20", Master Po explains the hidden value of emptiness. In my commentary I explained how science has found that at the deepest subatomic level material things are comprised of flashes of energy in vast emptiness. Theoretical physicists now believe these flashes of energy are vibrations on a membrane that encompasses the entire Universe. Everything in the cosmos is believed to be a vibration on this membrane. This model of the cosmos was developed from superstring theory and is commonly referred to as M ...
http://wn.com/The_Tao_of_Kung_Fu_28_I_strive_for_no_thing
This scene from "Kung Fu" is from the double final episode of the 1974 season. Called "The Cenotaph", this wacky story would not appear out of place amongst the writings of the ancient Taoist sage Chaung Tzu. In this scene we see Caine (David Carradine) attempting to explain Tao to the very eccentric Mr McBurney (Stefan Gierasch). Comprehending Tao, even to the most intuitive of us, is an extremely difficult task. These difficulties arise because we are trying to comprehend total cosmic unity, from our position in the illusion of separateness. We are fortunate that in this clip Caine gives us a major insight into Tao, when he said "I strive for no thing". You may believe this means nothing, but this would be a mistake. He said "no thing" meaning that he is striving for something that is non-material, beyond words and all descriptions. This "no thing" that Caine is striving for is also referred to as emptiness in the Taoist philosophy. You may recall in "The Tao of Kung Fu #20", Master Po explains the hidden value of emptiness. In my commentary I explained how science has found that at the deepest subatomic level material things are comprised of flashes of energy in vast emptiness. Theoretical physicists now believe these flashes of energy are vibrations on a membrane that encompasses the entire Universe. Everything in the cosmos is believed to be a vibration on this membrane. This model of the cosmos was developed from superstring theory and is commonly referred to as M ...
- published: 04 Nov 2008
- views: 33096
- author: yinyangnature
The War Z (Alpha) Gameplay - Adventures With The Scotsman Pt. 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 19:43
- Updated: 01 Dec 2012
200 likes for War Z! Want to join me in-game? Read below! This is 'The War Z', a up and coming F2P (after purchase) zombie MMO based on the Arma 2 modification, Day Z. I'm playing with Linkin as we first encounter fellow survivors and things escalate rather quickly. My Steam group for zombie games: steamcommunity.com ★Want to chat with me? You can do so here!★ ►Facebook: www.facebook.com ►Twitter: twitter.com ►Steam: steamcommunity.com ★Do you enjoy Skyrim or other RPG games? Check this out!★ www.youtube.com ★Want to see more of my videos? Have some playlists. ►Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion - TEC Rebels tinyurl.com ►Third Age: Total War (High Elves) tinyurl.com ►Call of Warhammer [Rage of the Dark gods] - Khorne tinyurl.com ►Rome: Total War - Roma Surrectum 2 (Rome) tinyurl.com ★You can also subscribe to my shows!★ ►XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Classic) www.youtube.com -Ignore These-
http://wn.com/The_War_Z_Alpha_Gameplay_Adventures_With_The_Scotsman_Pt_1
200 likes for War Z! Want to join me in-game? Read below! This is 'The War Z', a up and coming F2P (after purchase) zombie MMO based on the Arma 2 modification, Day Z. I'm playing with Linkin as we first encounter fellow survivors and things escalate rather quickly. My Steam group for zombie games: steamcommunity.com ★Want to chat with me? You can do so here!★ ►Facebook: www.facebook.com ►Twitter: twitter.com ►Steam: steamcommunity.com ★Do you enjoy Skyrim or other RPG games? Check this out!★ www.youtube.com ★Want to see more of my videos? Have some playlists. ►Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion - TEC Rebels tinyurl.com ►Third Age: Total War (High Elves) tinyurl.com ►Call of Warhammer [Rage of the Dark gods] - Khorne tinyurl.com ►Rome: Total War - Roma Surrectum 2 (Rome) tinyurl.com ★You can also subscribe to my shows!★ ►XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Classic) www.youtube.com -Ignore These-
- published: 11 Nov 2012
- views: 3895
- author: Surrealbeliefs
~Under Scotsmans Kilt~
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:37
- Updated: 02 Dec 2012
Hey guys, This is the poem/song :) Enjoy
http://wn.com/~Under_Scotsmans_Kilt~
Hey guys, This is the poem/song :) Enjoy
- published: 19 Mar 2009
- views: 98130
- author: Shadoweyes07
Joyce McMillan - Theatre critic and columnist for The Scotsman
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 26:07
- Updated: 13 Jul 2012
Richard Holloway interviews Joyce McMillan, one of Scotlands most admired writers and social and political commentators. Since 1998, she has worked as chief theatre critic for The Scotsman newspaper and also writes a regular column.
http://wn.com/Joyce_McMillan_Theatre_critic_and_columnist_for_The_Scotsman
Richard Holloway interviews Joyce McMillan, one of Scotlands most admired writers and social and political commentators. Since 1998, she has worked as chief theatre critic for The Scotsman newspaper and also writes a regular column.
- published: 12 Aug 2010
- views: 95
- author: STVPeople
The drunk Scotsman (lyrics)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:27
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
.
http://wn.com/The_drunk_Scotsman_lyrics
.
- published: 01 Jan 2010
- views: 2521171
- author: annndrijana
photo: AP / Bassem Tellawi
04 Dec 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) â President Barack Obama warned Syria on Monday that the use of chemical weapons would be "totally unacceptable" and that the country's leaders would be held accountable. Obama said that if Syrian President Bashar Assad made the "tragic mistake" of deploying chemical weapons, there would be ... Search the Guardian bookshop ....(size: 6.7Kb)
photo: UN / Shareef Sarhan
02 Dec 2012
Israel suffered a humiliating defeat at The UN recently. The nations of the world stood up and said NO to the Jewish state - NO to Israeli occupation, NO to Israeli human rights abuse, NO to Jewish racism ... On the contrary, it is actually a reaction to Israeli weakness. In the last few months we have seen the complete and final eradication of the famed Israeli power of deterrence ... He is known as the "hardest-gigging man in British jazz."...(size: 2.6Kb)
photo: USAF / Senior Airman Patrice Clarke
02 Dec 2012
Afghan intelligence officials told the BBC seven suicide attackers targeted the base in Jalalabad, and witnesses said that gunfire was heard. All the attackers and one Afghan guard were killed in the attack claimed by the Taliban, the officials said ... The force of the explosions is reported to have blown out windows a kilometre away....(size: 1.7Kb)
photo: AP / Anja Niedringhaus
03 Dec 2012
UN leader Ban Ki-moon warned Sunday that if Israel implemented its latest plan for new settlements it would deal an “almost fatal blow” to any prospects for peace with the Palestinians. Israel’s announcement about the 3,000 Jewish settler homes, whose planned location was not revealed, came in the wake of a historic vote by the United Nations General Assembly to upgrade Palestine’s diplomatic status....(size: 4.2Kb)
photo: AP / Patrick Semansky
02 Dec 2012
Much like the United States, the Vikings were a paradoxical and duplicitous civilization. Not only were they highly skilled shipbuilders and tremendous explorers, not to mention their expertise in the fishing, farming and trading industries, but they helped establish and contribute to the nation-states of France, England, Ireland, Germany, Russia, and Iceland ... Some devised new and horrendous torture techniques, like the Bloody Eagle....(size: 5.5Kb)
Business Journal
08 Nov 2012
Though its fiscal 2012 was a letdown for the Marysville-based maker and marketer of garden and lawn-care products as consumer spending dipped, the company has a bright spot in Scotty the Scotsman, the spokesman it launched in television, radio and print advertisements this year ... The red-bearded Scotsman with a love for lawns encourages neighbors in his pleasant brogue to âFeed your lawn ... Sign up for the DailyUpdate....(size: 12.9Kb)
The Guardian
09 Oct 2012
Grumpy the Scotsman for iPhone, iPad and an Interactive 3D Character App on Facebook, Introduces ...
San Francisco Chronicle12 Jul 2012
iOS and Facebook users looking to have some fun with an interactive Scotsman of their own can find all they desire with SiXiTS Grumpy The Scotsman, the charming, but rude, animated and interactive new 3D virtual character app, featuring Grumpy for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and Facebook ... “Grumpy the Scotsman is the latest in our fun and highly ......(size: 3.2Kb)
The Examiner
17 Jun 2012
The continued tensions in Tibet with a horrifying wave of self-immolations by protesting Tibetans has gained the attention of the international community ... On June 16, 2012 The Scotsman published a commentary addressing the tragedy in Tibet ... The shocking self-immolations are seen are a harsh rebuke to the Chinese government’s claims that the lives of many people in Tibet have been improving ... Tibet Suggested by the author....(size: 6.9Kb)
The Daily Mail
22 Apr 2012
Troubled regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press is set to announce it has refinanced the debt-laden business when it unveils its annual results on Wednesday. It is expected that the publisher of The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post will have completed negotiations with a group of about 20 banks over its £350 million debt, securing its lending arrangements until 2015 ... Johnston Press owns Edinburgh-based title The Scotsman....(size: 5.2Kb)
The Guardian
24 Jan 2012
What's new on the app stores on Tuesday 24 January 2012 My Army brings your Facebook friends onto the battlefield ... iPhoneThe Scotsman. The Scotsman is the latest newspaper to launch an iPad edition, offering a mix of daily digitised editions and news updates throughout the day. The app is free for the first month, and then reverts to a £7.99 monthly subscription ... So here's the link for that ... My Army, The Scotsman, RapidShare, Breakout....(size: 3.9Kb)
The Guardian
15 Nov 2011
Kenneth Roy has greeted the new chief executive of Johnston Press, Ashley Highfield, with a reminder about the parlous state of his company's Edinburgh-based flagship, The Scotsman. Calling Highfield the man with the golden hiya (due to his handsome welcoming "gift" of shares worth £500,000), Roy then points to The Scotsman's print circulation decline....(size: 2.4Kb)
Newsvine
19 Apr 2011
Syracuse
22 Mar 2011
By The Post-Standard ... Tom was born in N ... Tom attended Bridgton Academy in Maine and after serving in the U.S ... In 1954, he borrowed $1,000 on a GI loan, bought a mimeograph machine and started the Scotsman Press, Inc.--better know as The Pennysaver ... » See all of today's obituaries from The Post-Standard ... ....(size: 5.2Kb)
BBC News
10 Dec 2010
Sales of The Scotsman newspaper have slipped to their lowest level in modern times, according to the latest figures. The Scotsman's sales figure in November was 42,829 - slightly worse than the previous low in July, which is always a bad month for newspaper sales ... As recently as January 2007, The Herald sold 72,000 copies while The Scotsman sold more than 60,000....(size: 2.5Kb)
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact |
| Owner | Johnston Press |
| Editor | John McLellan[1] |
| Founded | 1817 |
| Political alignment | Unionist |
| Headquarters | 108 Holyrood Rd, Edinburgh |
| Circulation | 38,423[2] |
| ISSN | 0307-5850 |
| OCLC number | 614655655 |
| Official website | www.scotsman.com |
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423,[2] down from about 100,000 in the 1980s.[3]
Since 16 August 2004 it has been printed in compact format. Its sister Sunday publication, which remains broadsheet, is titled Scotland on Sunday. The Scotsman Publications Ltd also issues the Edinburgh Evening News and the Herald & Post series of free newspapers in Edinburgh, Fife, and West Lothian.
Contents |
History[link]
The Scotsman was launched[4] in 1817 as a liberal weekly newspaper by lawyer William Ritchie and customs official Charles Maclaren in response to the "unblushing subservience" of competing newspapers to the Edinburgh establishment. The paper was pledged to "impartiality, firmness and independence". After the abolition of newspaper stamp tax in Scotland in 1850, The Scotsman was relaunched as a daily newspaper priced at 1d and a circulation of 6,000 copies.
In 1953 the newspaper was bought by Canadian millionaire Roy Thomson who was in the process of building a large media group. The paper was bought in 1995 by David and Frederick Barclay for £85 million. They moved the newspaper from its Edinburgh office on North Bridge, which is now an upmarket hotel, to modern offices on Holyrood Road designed by Edinburgh architects CDA, near the subsequent location of the Scottish Parliament Building.
In December 2005, The Scotsman was acquired, in a £160 million deal, by its present owners Johnston Press a company founded in Scotland and now one of the top three largest local newspaper publishers in the UK.
John McLellan has been the editor since February 2009. He is vice-chair of the Scottish Daily Newspapers Editors Committee and a trustee of Radio Forth Cash For Kids appeal. He was previously editor of The Journal in Newcastle (until 2003), Scotland On Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News for Scotsman Publications.
Editors[link]
- 1817: William Ritchie
- 1817: Charles Maclaren
- 1818: John Ramsay McCulloch
- 1843: John Hill Burton (acting)
- 1846: Alexander Russel
- 1876: Robert Wallace
- 1880: Charles Alfred Cooper
- 1905: John Pettigrew Croal
- 1924: George A. Waters
- 1944: James Murray Watson
- 1955: John Buchanan (acting)
- 1956: Alastair Dunnett
- 1972: Eric MacKay
- 1985: Chris Baur
- 1988: Magnus Linklater
- 1994: Andrew Jaspan
- 1995: James Seaton
- 1997: Martin Clarke
- 1998: Alan Ruddock
- 2000: Tim Luckhurst
- 2000: Rebecca Hardy
- 2001: Iain Martin
- 2004: John McGurk
- 2006: Mike Gilson
- 2009: John McLellan
Source: The Scotsman Digital Archive
Scotsman.com[link]
Since 1998, the Scotsman has had an internet portal that features the latest news, sports, business, property, motors and sport in different sections of the site. It has had live webcams and panoramas around Scotland. It also has sections for other Scotsman Publications including Scotland on Sunday and the Evening News.
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Severin Carrell (20 February 2009). "John McLellan named Scotsman editor". Media (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/20/john-mclellan-scotsman-editor. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Double-digit Sales Boost for Sunday Tabloids Following Rival's Closure". Allmediascotland (Scotland). http://www.allmediascotland.com/press_news/31087/double-digit-sales-boost-for-sunday-tabloids-following-rival--s-closure.
- ^ McKie, Robin (11 September 2002). "Arnold Kemp". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2002/sep/11/guardianobituaries.robinmckie. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
- ^ "The Scotsman Archive – 25 January 1817 (page 1 of 8) – The Scotsman launched". The Scotsman. UK. http://archive.scotsman.com/edition.cfm?id=TSC/1817/01/25. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
External links[link]
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Related pages:
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scotsman
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
Bryan Bowers (born August 18, 1940, Yorktown, Virginia) is an American autoharp player who is frequently credited with introducing the instrument to new generations of musicians.[1]
Contents |
Career[link]
Bowers became very popular with the audience of the comedy radio program The Dr. Demento Show with his 1980 recording of Mike Cross' song "The Scotsman". In 1993, Bowers was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame whose membership includes Mother Maybelle Carter, Kilby Snow, and Sara Carter.[2]
In two consecutive years, 2006 and 2007, he released new recordings: Bristlecone Pine and September in Alaska. "Although such guests as Tim O'Brien, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, and Enright and O'Bryant play and sing on a number of cuts, this is a Bryan Bowers disc all the way, with his exquisite autoharp flavoring many of the tunes," wrote a November 2006 Bluegrass Unlimited reviewer of Bristlecone Pine. "Bowers selects thematically diverse and lyrically strong material. There are powerful love songs ("When You And I Were True" and "Magnolia") and non-cloying meditations on life and death ("Bristlecone Pine," "Friends For Life," and "When I Go"), as well as haunting instrumentals. He nicely avoids the hackneyed stuff of so many folk/bluegrass/country performers."[3] He maintains an active performance and teaching schedule.
Awards[link]
- Contemporary Inductee, Autoharp Hall of Fame, 1993.
- Lifetime Achievement Award, California Autoharp Gathering, 2006.[4]
- Induction into Frets Magazine's First Gallery of the Greats[5]
Select Discography[link]
- The View from Home, Flying Fish, 1977
- Home, Home on the Road, Flying Fish, 1980
- By Heart, Flying Fish, 1982
- For You, Flying Fish, 1990
- Friend for Life, Flying Fish, 2002
- Bristlecone Pine, Seattle Sounds, 2006
- September in Alaska, Seattle Sounds, 2007
References[link]
External links[link]
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bowers, Bryan |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | August 18, 1940 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Bryan_Bowers
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Bowers
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
For other people named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Robbie Williams.
 |
This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (January 2012) |
| Robin Williams | |
|---|---|
_crop.jpg) Williams at "Stand Up for Heroes" in 2007 |
|
| Birth name | Robin McLaurin Williams |
| Born | (1951-07-21) July 21, 1951 (age 60) Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Medium | Stand-up, film, television |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Genres | Character comedy, physical comedy, improvisational comedy, satire/political satire, observational comedy, blue comedy |
| Influences | Peter Sellers, Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, George Carlin, Chuck Jones |
| Influenced | Conan O'Brien, Frank Caliendo,[1] Dat Phan, Jo Koy |
| Spouse | Valerie Velardi (1978–1988; 1 child) Marsha Garces Williams (1989–2008; 2 children) Susan Schneider (2011–present) |
| Website | RobinWilliams.com |
| Academy Awards | |
| Best Supporting Actor 1997 Good Will Hunting – Sean Maguire |
|
| Emmy Awards | |
|
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program 1988 ABC Presents A Royal Gala |
|
| Golden Globe Awards | |
|
Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy 2005 |
|
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | |
|
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 1997 Good Will Hunting – Sean Maguire |
|
| American Comedy Awards | |
| Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) 1994 Mrs. Doubtfire – Daniel Hillard ("Euphegenia Doubtfire") |
|
Robin McLaurin Williams[2][3] (born July 21, 1951[4]) is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork & Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. He has also won two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards.[5][6]
Contents |
Early life[link]
Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Laura McLaurin (née Smith, 1922–2001), was a former model from New Orleans, Louisiana.[7] His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906 – October 18, 1987), was a senior executive at Ford Motor Company in charge of the Midwest region. His maternal great-great-grandfather was senator and Mississippi governor Anselm J. McLaurin.[8] Williams is of English, Welsh, Irish, and French ancestry.[9] He was raised in the Episcopal Church (his mother practiced Christian Science).[10][11] He grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School,[12] and later moved to Woodacre, Marin County, California, where he attended the public Redwood High School. Williams studied at Claremont McKenna College (then called Claremont Men's College) for four years.[13] He has two half-brothers: Todd (who died August 14, 2007) and McLaurin.[14]
Williams has described himself as a quiet child whose first imitation was of his grandmother to his mother. He did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his high-school drama department.[15]
In 1973, Williams was one of only 20 students accepted into the freshman class at the Juilliard School, and one of only two students to be accepted by John Houseman into the Advanced Program at the school that year, the other being Christopher Reeve.[16] In his dialects class, Williams had no trouble mastering all dialects quickly. Williams left Juilliard in 1976.
Television career[link]
After appearing in the cast of the short-lived The Richard Pryor Show on NBC, Williams was cast by Garry Marshall as the alien Mork in the hit TV series Happy Days.[17] As Mork, Williams improvised much of his dialogue and physical comedy, speaking in a high, nasal voice. Mork's appearance was so popular with viewers that it led to a spin-off hit television sitcom, Mork & Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982; the show was written to accommodate Williams' improvisations. Although he played the same character as in his appearance in Happy Days, the show was set in the present day, in Boulder, Colorado, instead of the late '50s in Milwaukee. Mork was an extremely popular character, featured on posters, coloring books, lunchboxes, and other merchandise.
Starting in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Williams began to reach a wider audience with his standup comedy, including three HBO comedy specials, Off The Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1982), and Robin Williams: Live at the Met (1986). Also in 1986, Williams reached an ever wider audience to exhibit his style at the 58th Academy Awards show.[citation needed]
His stand-up work has been a consistent thread through his career, as is seen by the success of his one-man show (and subsequent DVD) Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (2002). He was voted 13th on Comedy Central's list "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" in 2004.[18]
After some encouragement from his friend Whoopi Goldberg, he was set to make a guest appearance in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "A Matter of Time", but he had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict;[19] Matt Frewer took his place as a time-traveling con man, Professor Berlingoff Rasmussen. Williams, along with Billy Crystal, appeared in a cameo together at the beginning of an episode of the third season of Friends. Both Williams and Crystal's parts weren't originally in the script. They were apparently in the building where the show was shooting and were asked to improvise their lines.[20]
Williams appeared on an episode of the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Season 3, Episode 9: November 16, 2000). During a game of "Scenes from a Hat", the scene "What Robin Williams is thinking right now" was drawn, and Williams stated "I have a career. What the hell am I doing here?"[21] On December 4, 2010, he appeared with Robert De Niro on SNL in the sketch What Up with That.
Movie roles[link]
Most of Williams' acting career has been in film, although he has given some performances on stage as well (notably as Estragon in a production of Waiting for Godot with Steve Martin). His performance in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) resulted in Williams being nominated for an Academy Award.[17] Many of his roles have been comedies tinged with pathos.
His role as the Genie in the animated film Aladdin (1992) was instrumental in establishing the importance of star power in voice actor casting. Williams also used his voice talents in Fern Gully, as the holographic Dr. Know in the 2001 film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, in the 2005 animated film Robots, the 2006 Academy Award-winning Happy Feet, and an uncredited vocal performance in the film Everyone's Hero. Furthermore, he was the voice of The Timekeeper, a former attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort about a time-traveling robot who encounters Jules Verne and brings him to the future.
In 1998, he won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his role as a psychologist in Good Will Hunting.[17] Williams has also starred in dramatic films, which earned him two subsequent Academy Award nominations: First for playing an English teacher in Dead Poets Society (1989), and later for playing a troubled homeless man in The Fisher King (1991);[17] that same year, he played an adult Peter Pan in the movie Hook. Other acclaimed dramatic films include Awakenings (1990) and What Dreams May Come (1998). In the 2002 film Insomnia, Williams portrays a writer/killer on the run from a sleep-deprived Los Angeles policeman (played by Al Pacino) in rural Alaska. And also in 2002, in the psychological thriller One Hour Photo, Williams played an emotionally disturbed photo development technician who becomes obsessed with a family for whom he has developed pictures for a long time. In 2006 Williams starred in The Night Listener, a thriller about a radio show host who realizes he has developed a friendship with a child who may or may not exist.
He is known for his improvisational skills and impersonations. His performances frequently involve impromptu humor designed and delivered in rapid-fire succession while on stage. According to the Aladdin DVD commentary, most of his dialogue as the Genie was improvised.
In 2006, he starred in five movies including Man of the Year and was the Surprise Guest at the 2006 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. He appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired on January 30, 2006.
At one point, he was in the running to play the Riddler in Batman Forever until director Tim Burton dropped the project. Earlier, Williams had been a strong contender to play the Joker in Batman. He had expressed interest in assuming the role in The Dark Knight, the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins,[22] although the part of the Joker was played by Heath Ledger, who went on to win, posthumously, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He was portrayed by Chris Diamantopoulos in the made-for-TV biopic Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy (2005), documenting the actor's arrival in Hollywood as a struggling comedian.
Disputes with Disney[link]
In gratitude for his success with the Disney/Touchstone film "Good Morning, Vietnam", Williams voiced the Genie in the Disney animated film Aladdin for SAG scale pay ($75,000), on condition that his name or image not be used for marketing, and his (supporting) character not take more than 25% of space on advertising artwork, since Toys was scheduled for release one month after Aladdin's debut. The studio went back on the deal on both counts, especially in poster art by having the Genie in 25% of the image, but having other major and supporting characters portrayed considerably smaller. Disney's Hyperion book, Aladdin: The Making Of An Animated Film, listed both of Williams' characters, "The Peddler" and "The Genie", ahead of main characters but was forced to refer to him only as "the actor signed to play the Genie".[23]
Williams and Disney had a bitter falling-out, resulting in Dan Castellaneta voicing the Genie role in "The Return of Jafar" and the "Aladdin" animated television series. Castellaneta was also recorded as the original voice for the feature "Aladdin and the King of Thieves". When Jeffrey Katzenberg was fired from Disney and replaced by former 20th Century Fox production head Joe Roth (whose last act for Fox was greenlighting Williams' film "Mrs. Doubtfire"), Roth arranged for a public apology to Williams by Disney. Williams agreed to perform in Hollywood Pictures' "Jack", directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and even agreed to voice the Genie again for the "King of Thieves" sequel (for considerably more than scale), replacing all of Castellaneta's dialogue.[24]
When Williams re-teamed with "Doubtfire" director Chris Columbus for 1999's "Bicentennial Man", Disney asked that the budget be cut by approximately $20 million, and when the film was released on Christmas Day, it flopped at the box office. Williams blamed Disney's marketing and the loss of content the film had suffered due to the budget cuts. As a result, Williams was again on bad terms with Disney, and Castellaneta was once again recruited to replace him as Genie in the "Kingdom Hearts" video game series and the "House of Mouse" TV series. The DVD release for "Aladdin" has no involvement whatsoever from Williams in the bonus materials, although some of his original recording sessions can be seen.
Robin Williams has recently made peace with The Walt Disney Company and in 2009 agreed to be inducted into the Disney Hall of Fame, designated as a Disney Legend.[25]
Stand-up career[link]
Williams has done a number of stand-up comedy tours since the early 1970s. Some of his most notable tours include An Evening With Robin Williams (1982), Robin Williams: At The Met (1986) and Robin Williams LIVE on Broadway (2002). The latter broke many long-held records for a comedy show. In some cases, tickets were sold out within thirty minutes of going on sale.
After a six year break, in August 2008 Williams announced a brand new 26-city tour titled "Weapons of Self Destruction". He was quoted as saying that this was his last chance to make cracks at the expense of the current Bush Administration, but by the time the show was staged only a few minutes covered that subject. The tour started at the end of September 2009, finishing in New York on December 3, and was the subject of an HBO special on December 8, 2009.[26]
Accusations of plagiarism[link]
Williams was accused of stealing material from other comics to the extent that David Brenner claims that he confronted Williams personally and threatened him with bodily harm if he heard Williams utter another one of his jokes.[27]
Theatre career[link]
In theatre, Williams has headed his own one-man show, Robin Williams: Live on Broadway, that played at The Broadway Theatre in July 2002.[28] He made his Broadway acting debut in Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on March 31, 2011.[29][30][31] He previously appeared opposite Steve Martin at Lincoln Center in an Off-Broadway production of Waiting for Godot.[32]
Personal life[link]
Marriages and children[link]
Robin Williams' first marriage was to Valerie Velardi on June 4, 1978. They have one child, Zachary Pym (Zak) (born April 11, 1983). During Williams' first marriage, he was involved in an extramarital relationship with Michelle Tish Carter, a cocktail waitress whom he met in 1984. She sued him in 1986, claiming that he did not tell her he was infected with the herpes simplex virus before he embarked on a sexual relationship with her in the mid-1980s, during which, she said, he transmitted the virus to her. The case was settled out of court. Williams and Velardi divorced in 1988.[33]
On April 30, 1989, he married Marsha Garces, his son's nanny who was already several months pregnant with his child. They have two children, Zelda Rae (born July 31, 1989) and Cody Alan (born November 25, 1991). However, in March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences.[34]
Williams married his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider, on October 23, 2011, in St. Helena, California.[35]
Family and friends[link]
While studying at Juilliard, Williams befriended Christopher Reeve. They had several classes together in which they were the only students, and they remained good friends for the rest of Reeve's life. Williams visited Reeve after the horse riding accident that rendered him a quadriplegic, and cheered him up by pretending to be an eccentric Russian doctor (similar to his role in Nine Months). Williams claimed that he was there to perform a colonoscopy. Reeve stated that he laughed for the first time since the accident and knew that life was going to be okay.[16]
On August 20, 2007, Williams' elder brother, Robert Todd Williams, died of complications from heart surgery performed a month earlier.[36]
Addiction and health problems[link]
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams had an addiction to cocaine; he has stated that he has since quit. Williams was a close friend of and frequent partier alongside John Belushi. He says the death of his friend and the birth of his son prompted him to quit drugs: "Was it a wake-up call? Oh yeah, on a huge level. The grand jury helped too."[17]
On August 9, 2006, Williams checked himself in to a substance-abuse rehabilitation center (located in Newberg, Oregon), later admitting that he was an alcoholic.[37] His publicist delivered the announcement:
After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family.
Williams was hospitalized in March 2009 due to heart problems. He postponed his one-man tour in order to undergo surgery to replace his aortic valve.[38][39] The surgery was successfully completed on March 13, 2009, at the Cleveland Clinic.[40][41]
Other interests[link]
Williams is a member of the Episcopal Church. He has described his denomination in a comedy routine as "Catholic Lite—same rituals, half the guilt."[42]
Williams is an avid enthusiast of games, even naming two of his children after game characters. He named his daughter after Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda action-adventure game series.[43][44][45] They both have even been featured in an ad for the Nintendo 3DS remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.[46] On this note, his son may have been named after Cody from the beat 'em up game Final Fight.[47] He also enjoys pen-and-paper role-playing games and online video games, recently playing Warcraft 3, Day of Defeat, Half-Life,[48] and the first-person shooter Battlefield 2 as a sniper.[49] He was also previously a fan of the Wizardry series of role-playing video games.[50]
On January 6, 2006, he performed live at Consumer Electronics Show during Google's keynote.[51] In the 2006 E3, on the invitation of Will Wright, he demonstrated the creature editor of Spore while simultaneously commenting on the creature's look: "This will actually make a platypus look good."[52] He also complimented the game's versatility, comparing it to Populous and Black & White. Later that year, he was one of several celebrities to participate in the Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day.[53]
A fan of professional road cycling, he was a regular on the US Postal and Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team bus and hotels during the years Lance Armstrong dominated the Tour de France.[54] He owns over 50 bicycles.[55]
He also enjoys rugby union and is a big fan of former All Black, Jonah Lomu.[56]
Williams is a supporter of eco-friendly vehicles. He currently drives a Toyota Prius,[57] and is on the waiting list for an Aptera 2 Series electric vehicle.[58]
Williams has recently announced that he would love to play The Riddler in the next installment to the Batman films by director Christopher Nolan, though Nolan has stated that The Riddler will not be featured in the film.[59]
Charity work[link]
Williams and his former wife, Marsha, founded the Windfall Foundation, a philanthropic organization to raise money for many different charities. Williams devotes much of his energy to charity work, including the Comic Relief fundraising efforts (the program is hosted by himself, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg).[17] In December 1999, he sang in French on the BBC-inspired music video of international celebrities doing a cover of the Rolling Stones' "It's Only Rock & Roll" for the charity Children's Promise.[60]
In response to the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake, Williams donated all proceeds of his "Weapons of Self Destruction" Christchurch performance to helping rebuild the New Zealand city. Half the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross and half to the mayoral building fund with the words "I hope this donation will go some way to helping the extensive rebuilding effort in the city."[61] Williams has performed with the USO for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.[62]
Filmography[link]
Film[link]
Television[link]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | The Richard Pryor Show | Man with bad arm John Brownstein Defense attorney Archeologist Shopper Titanic survivor Voice of gun |
Writer |
| Laugh-In | |||
| Eight is Enough | Episode: "The Return of Auntie V" | ||
| 1978 | Happy Days | Mork | Episode: "My Favorite Orkan" |
| America 2-Night | Jason Shine | Episodes: "Jason Shine" and "Olfactory Distosis Telethon" | |
| 1978–1982 | Mork & Mindy | Mork | 92 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy (won in 1979, nominated in 1980) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Comedy Series |
| 1979 | Happy Days | Episode: "Mork Returns" | |
| Out of the Blue | Episode: "Random's Arrival" | ||
| 1981 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Host/various characters |
| 1982 | The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour | Episode: #1.1 | |
| Faerie Tale Theatre | Frog/Prince Robin | Episode: "Tale of the Frog Prince" | |
| SCTV Network 90 | Various characters | Episode: "Jane Eyrehead" | |
| 1984 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Host/various characters |
| Pryor's Place | Gaby | Episode: "Sax Education" | |
| 1986 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Host/various characters |
| The Max Headroom Show | Episode: "Max Headroom's Giant Christmas Turkey" | ||
| 1988 | Saturday Night Live | Host/various characters | |
| Wogan | |||
| 1991 | Wogan | ||
| A Wish For Wings That Work | The Kiwi | Voice only (credited as Sudy Nim) | |
| 1992 | The Larry Sanders Show | Himself | Episode: "Hank's Contract" |
| 1994 | Homicide: Life on the Streets | Robert Ellison | Episode: "Bop Gun" Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor – Drama Series |
| Live & Kicking | Himself | ||
| The Larry Sanders Show | Episode: "Montana" | ||
| Nyhetsmorgon | Episode: "Filmen 'Mrs. Doubtfire' svensk premiär" | ||
| In the Wild | Episode: "In the Wild: Dolphins with Robin Williams" | ||
| 1995 | Primer Plano | ||
| 1996 | American Masters | Episode: "Take Two: Mike Nichols and Elaine May" | |
| Primer Plano | |||
| HBO First Look | Himself | Episode: "Fathers Day" | |
| 1997 | Friends | Tomas | Uncredited |
| 1998 | Nyhetsmorgon | Himself/Sean Maguire | Episode: "Filmen Good Will Hunting" |
| Hollywood Squares | Himself | Guest appearance | |
| Noel's House Party | Episode: #8.10 | ||
| 1999 | L.A. Doctors | Hugo Kinsley | Episode: "Just Duet" |
| 2000 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Himself | Episode: #3.9 |
| 2002 | Comedy Central Canned Ham | Episode: "Death to Smoochy" | |
| Leute heute | |||
| Supermarket Sweep | |||
| 2003 | Player$ | Episodes: "E3 03, Playa", "Players Halloweenie Televizzie" | |
| Freedoom: A History of Us | Josiah Quincy Ulysses S. Grant Missouri farmer Wilbur Wright Orville Wright |
Episodes: "Wake Up America", "A War to End Slavery", "Liberty for All", and "Safe for Democracy" | |
| Life With Bonnie | Kevin Powalski | Episode: "Psychic" | |
| 2004 | This Hour Has 22 Minutes | Himself | |
| 2005 | Just For Laughs | ||
| 2006 | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition | ||
| Mind of Mencia | Episode: "That's F**king Historical" | ||
| Getaway | Episode: #15.15 | ||
| 2008 | American Idol: The Search for a New Superstar | Ivan "Bob" Poppanoff the "Russian Idol"/Himself | Episodes: "Idol Gives Back" and "Live Results Show: One Contestant Eliminated" |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Merrit Rook | Episode: "Authority" Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor – Drama Series |
|
| 2009 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Himself | Episode: "Truth or Square" |
| 2009 | TV Land Moguls | Episode: "The 80s" | |
| 2010 | Alan Carr Chatty Man | ||
| Pentagon Channel commercial | |||
| 2011 | Curiosity | Episode: "Your Body on Drugs" |
Discography[link]
- Reality...What a Concept (1979)
- Throbbing Python of Love (1983)
- A Night at The Met (1986)
- Pecos Bill (1988)
- Live 2002 (2002)
- Weapons of Self Destruction (2010)
Williams appeared in the music video of Bobby McFerrin's hit 1988 song "Don't Worry, Be Happy".[63] He teamed with McFerrin again to record a cover of The Beatles' "Come Together" for the 1998 George Martin album In My life.
He made a cameo in Cobra Starship's video "You Make Me Feel..." along with his daughter, Zelda Williams.[64]
References[link]
- ^ Pantagraph.com | Free Time | Caliendo hopes 'Frank TV' makes good first impression
- ^ According to the Nevada Marriage Index, 1956-2005; at http://www.ancestry.com/
- ^ The official Michigan social register, 1967, Virginia F. Searcy
- ^ Sources conflict. The print biographies The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography and Robin Williams: A Biography give his birth year as 1952. The Robin Williams Scrapbook also gives a birth year as 1952, as does Encyclopædia Britannica. Williams refers to himself as being "55" in an interview published July 4, 2007. Monk, Katherine (2007-07-04). "Marriage 101 with Robin Williams". StarPhoenix. http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/lifestyle/news/lifestyle/story.html?id=8b777192-8e77-464d-b8da-0cb90be40901&k=1045. He also verifies his date of birth as July 21, 1951 in a fansite interview: Stuurman, Linda. RWF talks with Robin Williams: Proost!, May 25, 2008.
- ^ Thomas, Mike (2002-02-24). "A nose for laughs". Chicago Sun-Times. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F360C3C1592F9AE&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ McMullen, Marion (2002-10-05). "Article: Weekend TV: Star profile. (Features)". Coventry Evening Telegraph. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-92577025.html. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ "If Robin Williams' comedies are inspired by his life no wonder he's been in therapy". Sunday Herald. 1999-03-14. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/access/70123882.html?dids=70123882:70123882&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+14%2C+1999&author=&pub=Sunday+Herald&desc=If+Robin+Williams'+comedies+are+inspired+by+his+life+no+wonder+he's+been+in+therapy&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ Rubenstein, Steve (2001-09-08). "Laurie Williams - comedian's mother - SFGate". Articles.sfgate.com. http://articles.sfgate.com/2001-09-08/news/17615883_1_christian-science-elvis-impersonator-modeling. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
- ^ "People News". monstersandcritics.com. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/news/article_1206619.php/Robin_Williams_talks_about_rehab_and_alcoholism.
- ^ Gristwood, Sarah (1998-06-18). "Bobbin' Robin". Mail & Guardian Online. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061004023437/http://www.chico.mweb.co.za/mg/art/film/9806/980618-robin.html. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ Topel, Fred (2007-07-03). "Robin Williams on License to Wed". CanMag. http://www.canmag.com/nw/8218-license-to-wed-robin-williams. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ "Detroit Country Day: Frequently Asked Questions". Dcds.edu. http://www.dcds.edu/page.cfm?p=843. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ October 1982 Playboy Magazine
- ^ McLellan, Dennis (2007-08-18). "R. Todd Williams, 69; winery founder, comic's brother" (PDF). Los Angeles Times. http://www.toadhollow.com/pdf/memorial/ToddLATimesObit.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- ^ Terry Gross (host) (2006-08-03). "Robin Williams: 'The Night Listener'". Fresh Air from WHYY. National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5602441.
- ^ a b Reeve, Christopher (1998). Still Me. New York: Random House. pp. 167–172. ISBN 978-0-679-45235-5.
- ^ a b c d e f James Lipton (host) (2001-06-10). "Robin Williams". Inside the Actors Studio. episode 710. season 7. Bravo. http://www.bravotv.com/Inside_the_Actors_Studio/guest/Robin_Williams.
- ^ "Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time". Internet Movie Database. http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0429332/. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ "Biography for Robin Williams". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000245/bio. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ "Episode 24 | series: Friends". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583657/combined.
- ^ "Episode 9". Whose Line Is It Anyway?. season 3. 2000-11-16.
- ^ Otto, Jeff (2006-06-26). "Robin Williams, Joker?". IGN. http://au.movies.ign.com/articles/714/714752p1.html. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ "Disney's got a brand-new Baghdad". Entertainment Weekly. 1992-09-04. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,312562,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
- ^ Hill, Jim (April 2000). "Be Careful What You Wish For". Jim Hill Media. http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2000/12/31/312.aspx. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ "2009 Disney Legends Award Recipients to Be Honored During D23 Expo in Anaheim". PR Newswire. 2009-09-01. http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/09-01-2009/0005086237. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ robinwilliams.com
- ^ Richard Zoglin (2008). Comedy at the Edge. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-58234-624-3.
- ^ The Broadway League. "Robin Williams: Live on Broadway". IBDB: The Official Source for Broadway Information.
- ^ "Bengal Tiger to Roar at the Richard Rodgers Theatre March 11 Starring Robin Williams". Broadway.com, November 12, 2010.
- ^ "Culture Monster". "Robin Williams to star in 'Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo' on Broadway". Los Angeles Times. October 21, 2010.
- ^ "Tickets for Broadway's Bengal Tiger, Starring Robin Williams, Now on Sale" playbill.com, November 17, 2010.
- ^ "Review/Theatre; 'Godot': The Timeless Relationship of 2 Interdependent Souls". The New York Times, November 7, 1988. Accessed May 4, 2011.
- ^ Hoffman, Jan (1992-08-09). "THE SEXES; Pillow Talk". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DF153FF93AA3575BC0A964958260. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ Garchik, Leah (2008-03-27). "Robin Williams' wife files for divorce after nearly 19 years". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/26/DD7AVQHPA.DTL&tsp=1.
- ^ Ravitz, Justin (2011-10-24). "Robin Williams Weds!". Us Weekly. http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/robin-williams-weds-20112410.
- ^ Newsdaily.com
- ^ "Robin Williams Comes Clean on 'GMA' – ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2006-10-02. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2515796. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Robin Williams in South Florida hospital". The Miami Herald. 2009-03-04. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/933065.html. Retrieved 2009-03-04. [dead link]
- ^ Jones, Kenneth."Robin Williams' Spring Broadway Bow Postponed Due to Heart Surgery", playbill.com, March 5, 2009
- ^ "Robin Williams's Heart Surgery Called a Success". http://www.peop/le.com/people/article/0,,20267281,00.html.
- ^ "Robin Williams' heart surgery goes 'extremely well'". CNN. 2009-03-23. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/23/robin.williams.health/. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
- ^ Johnson, Caitlin A. (2007-07-03). "A "License" to Laugh". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/03/earlyshow/leisure/boxoffice/main3011495.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Robin Williams named his daughter after Princess Zelda". Destructoid. http://www.destructoid.com/robin-williams-named-his-daughter-after-princess-zelda-156315.phtml. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
- ^ "Robin Williams Zelda Commercial: Actor Lends Voice, Daughter For Newest Game". The New York Times. 2011-06-15. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/15/robin-williams-zelda-video_n_877835.html. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
- ^ "Robin Williams Jokes About Playing Call of Duty Online". 1up.com. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177150. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ John Funk (2011-06-15). "The Escapist : News : New Zelda Ad Stars Robin Williams and his Daughter Zelda". Escapistmagazine.com. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111044-New-Zelda-Ad-Stars-Robin-Williams-and-his-Daughter-Zelda. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
- ^ Glenn M. (November 29, 2009). "Even Robin Williams loves him some Call of Duty". QuickJump Gaming Network. http://www.qj.net/qjnet/wii/even-robin-williams-loves-him-some-call-of-duty.html. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Interview at Pro-HL.com
- ^ "Mork & Me". The Archies. 2005-12-05. http://thearchies.blogspot.com/2005/12/mork-me.html.
- ^ Rusel DeMaria; Johnny L. Wilson (2003). High score! : The illustrated history of electronic games (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 154. ISBN 0-07-223172-6. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HJNvZLvpCEQC&pg=PA154. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "Engadget.com". Engadget.com. http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/06/live-coverage-of-the-google-keynote/. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Robin Williams plays Spore". Google. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1734727723734486891. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Dungeons and Dragons Game Day at London Dungeon". Viewlondon.co.uk. http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/whatson/dungeons-and-dragons-game-day-article-5339.html. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ Murphy, Brian. "Tour de Lance: 100 percent pure". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/murphy/020729.html. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
- ^ "Robin Williams Archive". Bike Forums. 2002-06-17. http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-10161.html. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Robin Williams Tickets". Ticketsnow.com. http://www.ticketsnow.com/Robin-Williams-Tickets.html. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Exclusive: Aptera 2e – Article". RoadandTrack.com. 2009-02-11. http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=10&article_id=7651. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Robin Williams Wants To Be The Riddler in Batman 3". Screencrave.com. 2010-06-29. http://screencrave.com/2010-06-29/robin-williams-wants-to-be-the-riddler-in-batman-3/. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Stones cover enters festive race". BBC NEWS. 1999-12-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/558252.stm.
- ^ "Robin Williams donates proceeds to Canterbury quake". 2010-11-16. http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/robin-williams-donates-proceeds-canterbury-quake-3898905. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
- ^ Bronstein, Phil (2005-02-09). "Good Morning, Iraq". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/02/09/DDG5AB3TBJ38.DTL. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Bobby McFerrin Homepage". Bobbymcferrin.com. http://www.bobbymcferrin.com/dont_worry.php. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Cobra Starship's 'You Make Me Feel ...' On the set of the new clip, Gabe Saporta explains how a magic photo booth tells a universal story.". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666505/cobra-starship-you-make-me-feel-video.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
- "Road Trip with Robin"
- "Robin Williams mimic ends 'fraud'" (BBC News)
- "Robin Williams' impersonator stopped" (AskMen.com)
- "Robin Williams Enters Rehab", August 9, 2006 (Access Hollywood)
- Lovece, Frank, New York Newsday (April 27, 2006)
Bibliography[link]
- Jay David (1999). The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography. New York: Quill. ISBN 978-0-688-15245-1.
- Andy Dougan (1999). Robin Williams: A Biography. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-213-9.
- Stephen J. Spignesi (1997). The Robin Williams Scrapbook. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Pub.. ISBN 978-0-8065-1891-6.
External links[link]
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Robin Williams |
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Robin Williams |
- Robin Williams – official website
- Robin Williams at the Internet Broadway Database
- Robin Williams at the Internet Movie Database
- Robin Williams at the TCM Movie Database
- Robin Williams at Yahoo! Movies
|
||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Williams, Robin |
| Alternative names | Williams, Robin McLaurin |
| Short description | Academy Award-winning American actor and comedian |
| Date of birth | 1951-7-21 |
| Place of birth | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Robin_Williams
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Robin Williams
http://cs.wn.com/Robin Williams
http://id.wn.com/Robin Williams
http://es.wn.com/Robin Williams
http://ru.wn.com/Уильямс, Робин
http://nl.wn.com/Robin Williams
http://pl.wn.com/Robin Williams
http://fr.wn.com/Robin Williams
http://de.wn.com/Robin Williams
http://hi.wn.com/रॉबिन विलियम्स
http://pt.wn.com/Robin Williams
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Williams
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Monty Python | |
|---|---|
|
275px Front row: Terry Jones, John Cleese, Michael Palin |
|
| Medium | Television, film, theatre, audio recordings, books |
| Nationality | British[1] |
| Years active | 1969–1983 |
| Genres | Satire, surreal humour, dark comedy |
| Influences | The Goons, Spike Milligan, Peter Cook |
| Influenced | Douglas Adams, Eddie Izzard, George Carlin, Vic and Bob, Steve Pemberton, Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Matt Groening |
| Notable works and roles | Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) And Now for Something Completely Different (1971) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974) Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982) Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) |
| Members | Graham Chapman John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones Michael Palin |
| Website | PythOnline |
Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons)[2][3] was a British surreal comedy group who created 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. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books and a stage musical as well as launching the members to individual stardom. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles' influence on music.[4][5]
The television series, broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974, was conceived, written and performed by members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach (aided by Gilliam's animation), it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content.[6][7] A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing their work, the Pythons' creative control allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years, while in North America it has coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of Saturday Night Live through to more recent absurdist trends in television comedy. "Pythonesque" has entered the English lexicon as a result.
In a 2005 UK poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, three of the six Pythons members were voted by fellow comedians and comedy insiders to be among the top 50 greatest comedians ever: Cleese at #2, Idle at #21, and Palin at #30.[8]
Contents |
[edit] Before Flying Circus
Palin and Jones met at Oxford University, where they performed together with the Oxford Revue. Cleese and Chapman met at Cambridge. Idle was also at Cambridge, but started a year after Cleese and Chapman. Cleese met Gilliam in New York while on tour with the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus (originally entitled A Clump of Plinths). Chapman, Cleese and Idle were members of the Footlights, which at that time also included the future Goodies (Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden), and Jonathan Lynn (co-writer of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister). During Idle's presidency of the Club, feminist writer Germaine Greer and broadcaster Clive James were members. Recordings of Footlights revues (called "Smokers") at Pembroke College include sketches and performances by Idle and Cleese. They are kept in the archives of the Pembroke Players, along with tapes of Idle's performances in some of the college drama society's theatrical productions.
Python members appeared in and/or wrote the following shows before Monty Python's Flying Circus. The Frost Report is credited as first uniting the British Pythons and providing an environment in which they could develop their particular styles:
- I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (radio) (1964–1973) [Cleese: cast member & writer] – [Idle and Chapman: writers]
- The Frost Report (1966–1967) [Cleese: cast member and writer] – [Idle: writer of Frost's monologues] – [Chapman, Palin and Jones: writers]
- At Last the 1948 Show (1967) [Chapman and Cleese: writers and cast members] – [Idle: writer]
- Twice a Fortnight (1967) [Palin and Jones: cast members and writers]
- Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967–1969) [Idle, Jones, and Palin: cast members & writers] – [Gilliam: animation]
— Bonzo Dog Band: musical interludes] - We Have Ways of Making You Laugh (1968) [Idle: cast member & writer] – [Gilliam: animation]
- How to Irritate People (1968) [Cleese and Chapman: cast members & writers] – [Palin: cast member]
- The Complete and Utter History of Britain (1969) [Palin and Jones: cast members & writers]
- Doctor in the House (1969) [Cleese & Chapman: writers]
Several featured other important British comedy writers or performers of the future, including Marty Feldman, Jonathan Lynn, David Jason and David Frost, as well as members of other future comedy teams, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker (the Two Ronnies), and Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie (the Goodies).
Following the success of Do Not Adjust Your Set, originally intended to be a children's programme, with adults, ITV offered Palin, Jones, Idle and Gilliam their own series together. At the same time Cleese and Chapman were offered a show by the BBC, which had been impressed by their work on The Frost Report and At Last The 1948 Show. Cleese was reluctant to do a two-man show for various reasons, including Chapman's supposedly difficult personality. Cleese had fond memories of working with Palin and invited him to join the team. With the ITV series still in pre-production, Palin agreed and suggested the involvement of his writing partner Jones and colleague Idle—who in turn suggested that Gilliam could provide animations for the projected series. Much has been made of the fact that the Monty Python troupe is the result of Cleese's desire to work with Palin and the chance circumstances that brought the other four members into the fold.[9]
[edit] Monty Python's Flying Circus
Main article: Monty Python's Flying Circus
Development of the series[link]
The Pythons had a definite idea about what they wanted to do with the series. They were admirers of the work of Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore on Beyond the Fringe, and had worked on Frost, which was similar in style. They enjoyed Cook and Moore's sketch show Not Only... But Also. One problem the Pythons perceived with these programmes was that though the body of the sketch would be strong, the writers would often struggle to then find a punchline funny enough to end on, and this would detract from the overall sketch quality. They decided that they would simply not bother to "cap" their sketches in the traditional manner, and early episodes of the Flying Circus series make great play of this abandonment of the punchline (one scene has Cleese turn to Idle, as the sketch descends into chaos, and remark that "This is the silliest sketch I've ever been in"—they all resolve not to carry on and simply walk off the set). However, as they began assembling material for the show, the Pythons watched one of their collective heroes, Spike Milligan, recording his groundbreaking series Q5 (1969). Not only was the programme more irreverent and anarchic than any previous television comedy, Milligan would often "give up" on sketches halfway through and wander off set (often muttering "Did I write this?"). It was clear that their new series would now seem less original, and Jones in particular became determined the Pythons should innovate.
After much debate, Jones remembered an animation Gilliam had created for Do Not Adjust Your Set called Beware of the Elephants, which had intrigued him with its stream-of-consciousness style. Jones felt it would be a good concept to apply to the series: allowing sketches to blend into one another. Palin had been equally fascinated by another of Gilliam's efforts, entitled Christmas Cards, and agreed that it represented "a way of doing things differently". Since Cleese, Chapman and Idle were less concerned with the overall flow of the programme, it was Jones, Palin and Gilliam who became largely responsible for the presentation style of the Flying Circus series, in which disparate sketches are linked to give each episode the appearance of a single stream-of-consciousness (often using a Gilliam animation to move from the closing image of one sketch to the opening scene of another).
Writing started at 9 am and finished at 5 pm. Typically, Cleese and Chapman worked as one pair isolated from the others, as did Jones and Palin, while Idle wrote alone. After a few days, they would join together with Gilliam, critique their scripts, and exchange ideas. Their approach to writing was democratic. If the majority found an idea humorous, it was included in the show. The casting of roles for the sketches was a similarly unselfish process, since each member viewed himself primarily as a 'writer', rather than an actor desperate for screen time. When the themes for sketches were chosen, Gilliam had carte blanche to decide how to bridge them with animations, using a camera, scissors, and airbrush.
While the show was a collaborative process, different factions within Python were responsible for elements of the team's humour. In general, the work of the Oxford-educated members (Jones and Palin) was more visual, and more fanciful conceptually (e.g., the arrival of the Spanish Inquisition in a suburban front room), while the Cambridge graduates' sketches tended to be more verbal and more aggressive (for example, Cleese and Chapman's many "confrontation" sketches, where one character intimidates or hurls abuse, or Idle's characters with bizarre verbal quirks, such as The Man Who Speaks In Anagrams). Cleese confirmed that "most of the sketches with heavy abuse were Graham's and mine, anything that started with a slow pan across countryside and impressive music was Mike and Terry's, and anything that got utterly involved with words and disappeared up any personal orifice was Eric's".[10] Gilliam's animations, meanwhile, ranged from the whimsical to the savage (the cartoon format allowing him to create some astonishingly violent scenes without fear of censorship).
Several names for the show were considered before Monty Python's Flying Circus was settled upon. Some were Owl Stretching Time, Toad Elevating Moment, A Bucket, a Horse and a Spoon, Vaseline Review and Bun, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot. Flying Circus stuck when the BBC explained it had printed that name in its schedules and was not prepared to amend it. Many variations on the name in front of this title then came and went (popular legend holds that the BBC considered Monty Python's Flying Circus to be a ridiculous name, at which point the group threatened to change their name every week until the BBC relented). "Gwen Dibley's Flying Circus" was named after a woman Palin had read about in the newspaper, thinking it would be amusing if she were to discover she had her own TV show. "Baron Von Took's Flying Circus" was considered as an affectionate tribute to Barry Took, the man who had brought them together. Arthur Megapode's Flying Circus was suggested, then discarded.
There are differing, somewhat confusing accounts of the origins of the Python name although the members agree that its only "significance" was that they thought it sounded funny. In the 1998 documentary Live At Aspen during the US Comedy Arts Festival, where the troupe was awarded the AFI Star Award by the American Film Institute, the group implied that "Monty" was selected (Eric Idle's idea) as a gently-mocking tribute to Field Marshal Lord Montgomery, a legendary British general of World War II; requiring a "slippery-sounding" surname, they settled on "Python". On other occasions Idle has claimed that the name "Monty" was that of a popular and rotund fellow who drank in his local pub; people would often walk in and ask the barman, "Has Monty been in yet?", forcing the name to become stuck in his mind. The name Monty Python was later described by the BBC as being "envisaged by the team as the perfect name for a sleazy entertainment agent".[11]
Style of the show[link]
Flying Circus popularised innovative formal techniques, such as the cold open, in which an episode began without the traditional opening titles or announcements.[12] An example of this is the "It's" man: Palin, outfitted in Robinson Crusoe garb, making a tortuous journey across various terrains, before finally approaching the camera to state, "It's...", only to be then cut off by the title sequence and theme music. On several occasions the cold open lasted until mid show, after which the regular opening titles ran. Occasionally the Pythons tricked viewers by rolling the closing credits halfway through the show, usually continuing the joke by fading to the familiar globe logo used for BBC continuity, over which Cleese would parody the clipped tones of a BBC announcer. On one occasion the credits ran directly after the opening titles. Because of their dislike of finishing with punchlines, they experimented with ending the sketches by cutting abruptly to another scene or animation, walking offstage, addressing the camera (breaking the fourth wall), or introducing a totally unrelated event or character. A classic example of this approach was the use of Chapman's "Colonel" character, who walked into several sketches and ordered them to be stopped because things were becoming "far too silly." Another favourite way of ending sketches was to drop a cartoonish "16-ton weight" prop on one of the characters when the sketch seemed to be losing momentum, or a knight in full armour (played by Terry Gilliam) would wander on-set and hit characters over the head with a rubber chicken,[13] before cutting to the next scene. Yet another way of changing scenes was when John Cleese, usually outfitted in a dinner suit, would come in as a radio commentator and make the formal and determined announcement, "And now for something completely different."
The Python theme music is The Liberty Bell, a march by John Philip Sousa, which was chosen, among other reasons, because the recording was in the public domain.[12]
The use of Gilliam's surreal, collage stop motion animations was another innovative intertextual element of the Python style. Many of the images Gilliam used were lifted from famous works of art, and from Victorian illustrations and engravings. The giant foot which crushes the show's title at the end of the opening credits is in fact the foot of Cupid, cut from a reproduction of the Renaissance masterpiece Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time by Bronzino. This foot, and Gilliam's style in general, are visual trademarks of the series.
The Pythons used the British tradition of cross-dressing comedy by donning frocks and makeup and playing female roles themselves while speaking in falsetto. Generally speaking, female roles were played by a woman (usually Carol Cleveland) only when the scene specifically required that the character be sexually attractive (although sometimes they used Idle for this). In some episodes and later in Monty Python's Life of Brian they took the idea one step further by playing women who impersonated men (in the stoning scene).
Many sketches are well-known and widely quoted. "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "Spam", "Nudge Nudge", "The Spanish Inquisition", "Upper Class Twit of the Year", "Cheese Shop" and "The Ministry of Silly Walks" are just a few examples.
Introduction to North America[link]
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) added Monty Python’s Flying Circus to its national September 1970 fall lineup.[14] They aired the 13 episodes of Series 1, which had first run on the BBC the previous fall (October 1969 to January 1970), as well as the first 6 episodes of Series 2 only a few weeks after they first appeared on the BBC (September to November 1970).[14] The CBC dropped the show when it returned to regular programming after the Christmas 1970 break, choosing to not place the remaining 7 episodes of series 2 on the January 1971 CBC schedule.[14] Within a week the CBC received hundreds of calls complaining of the cancellation, and more than 100 people staged a demonstration at the CBC’s Montreal studios.[14]
Time-Life Films had the right to distribute all BBC-TV programs in the United States, however they had decided that British comedy simply would not work in America. Therefore, it was not worth the investment to convert the Python episodes from the European PAL standard to the American NTSC standard.
Sketches from Monty Python’s Flying Circus were introduced to American audiences in August 1972, with the release of the Python movie And Now for Something Completely Different, featuring sketches from series 1 and 2 of the television show. This 1972 release met limited box office success.
In the summer of 1974 Ron Devillier, the program director for non-profit PBS television station KERA in Dallas, Texas, started airing episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Ratings shot through the roof, providing an encouraging sign to the other 100 PBS stations that had signed up to begin airing the show in October 1974—exactly 5 years after their BBC debut. There was also cross-promotion from FM radio stations across the country, whose airing of tracks from the Python LPs had already introduced American audiences to this bizarre brand of comedy. The popularity on PBS resulted in the 1974 re-release of the 1972 "...Completely Different" movie, with much greater box office success.
The ability to show Monty Python’s Flying Circus under the American NTSC standard had been made possible by the commercial actions of American television producer Greg Garrison. Garrison produced the NBC series The Dean Martin Comedy World, which ran during the summer of 1974. The concept was to show clips from comedy shows produced in other countries, including tape of the Python sketches "Bicycle Repairman" and "The Dull Life of a Stockbroker". Payment for use of these two sketches was enough to allow Time-Life Films to convert the entire Python library to NTSC standard, allowing for the sale to the PBS network stations who then brought the entire show to US audiences.
With the popularity of Python throughout the rest of the 1970s and through most of the 1980s, PBS stations looked at other British comedies, leading to UK shows such as Are You Being Served? gaining a US audience, and leading, over time, to many PBS stations having a "British Comedy Night" which airs many popular UK comedies.[15]
[edit] End of Flying Circus
Having considered the possibility at the end of the second series, Cleese left the Flying Circus at the end of the third. He later explained that he felt he no longer had anything fresh to offer the show, and claimed that only two Cleese-and-Chapman-penned sketches in the third series ("Dennis Moore" and the "Cheese Shop") were truly original, and that the others were bits and pieces from previous work cobbled together in slightly different contexts.[9] He was also finding Chapman, who was at that point in the full throes of alcoholism, difficult to work with. According to an interview with Idle, "It was on an Air Canada flight on the way to Toronto, when John (Cleese) turned to all of us and said 'I want out.' Why? I don't know. He gets bored more easily than the rest of us. He's a difficult man, not easy to be friendly with. He's so funny because he never wanted to be liked. That gives him a certain fascinating, arrogant freedom."[16]
The rest of the group carried on for one more "half" series before calling a halt to the programme in 1974. The name Monty Python's Flying Circus appears in the opening animation for series four, but in the end credits the show is listed as simply "Monty Python". Despite his official departure from the group, Cleese supposedly made a (non-speaking) cameo appearance in the fourth series, but never appeared in the credits as a performer. Several episodes credit him as a co-writer since some sketches were recycled from scenes cut from the Holy Grail script. While the first three series contained 13 episodes each, the fourth ended after six.
[edit] Life after the Flying Circus
Filmography[link]
[edit] And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)
Main article: And Now for Something Completely Different
The Pythons' first feature film (directed by Ian MacNaughton, reprising his role from the television series). It was composed of sketches from the first two seasons of the Flying Circus, reshot on a low budget (and often slightly edited) for cinema release. Material selected for the film includes: "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "Upper Class Twit of the Year", "Hell's Grannies", "Self-Defence Class", "How Not To Be Seen" and "Nudge Nudge". Financed by Playboy's UK executive Victor Lownes, it was intended as a way of breaking Monty Python into America, and although it was ultimately unsuccessful in this, the film did good business in the UK (this still being in the era before home video would make it much more accessible to view the material again). The group did not consider the film a success.
[edit] Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)
Main article: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
In 1974, between production on the third and fourth seasons, the group decided to embark on their first "proper" feature film, containing entirely new material. Monty Python and the Holy Grail was based on Arthurian Legend and was directed by Jones and Gilliam. Again, the latter also contributed linking animations (and put together the opening credits). Along with the rest of the Pythons, Jones and Gilliam performed several roles in the film, but it was Chapman who took the lead as King Arthur. Cleese returned to the group for the film, feeling that the group were once again breaking new ground. Holy Grail was filmed on location, in picturesque rural areas of Scotland, with a budget of only £229,000; the money was raised in part with investments from rock groups such as Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin—and UK music industry entrepreneur Tony Stratton-Smith (founder and owner of the Charisma Records label, for which the Pythons recorded their comedy albums).
The backers of the film wanted to cut the famous Black Knight scene (in which the Black Knight loses his limbs in a duel) but it was eventually kept in the movie.[17]
[edit] Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
Main article: Monty Python's Life of Brian
Following the success of Holy Grail, reporters asked for the title of the next Python film, despite the fact that the team had not even begun to consider a third one. Eventually, Idle flippantly replied "Jesus Christ – Lust for Glory", which became the group's stock answer once they realised that it shut reporters up. However, they soon began to seriously consider a film lampooning the New Testament era in the same way Holy Grail had lampooned Arthurian legend. Despite them all sharing a distrust of organised religion, they agreed not to mock Jesus nor his teachings directly. Instead, they decided to write a satire on credulity and hypocrisy among the followers of someone who had been mistaken for the "Messiah," but who had no desire to be followed as such. Chapman was cast in the lead role of Brian.
The focus therefore shifted to a separate individual born at the same time, in a neighbouring stable. When Jesus appears in the film (first, as a baby in the stable, and then later on the Mount, speaking the Beatitudes), he is played straight (by actor Kenneth Colley) and portrayed with respect. The comedy begins when members of the crowd mishear his statements of peace, love and tolerance. ("I think he said, 'Blessed are the cheesemakers.'")
Directing duties were handled solely by Jones, having amicably agreed with Gilliam that Jones' approach to film-making was better suited for Python's general performing style. Holy Grail's production had often been stilted by their differences behind the camera. Gilliam again contributed two animated sequences (one being the opening credits) and took charge of set design. The film was shot on location in Tunisia, the finances being provided this time by former Beatle George Harrison, who together with Denis O'Brien formed the production company Hand-Made Films for the movie. He had a cameo role as the 'owner of the Mount.'
Despite its subject matter attracting controversy, particularly upon its initial release, it has (together with its predecessor) been ranked among the greatest comedy films. A Channel 4 poll in 2005 ranked Holy Grail in sixth place, with Life of Brian at the top.[18]
[edit] Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982)
Main article: Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Filmed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles during preparations for The Meaning of Life, this was a concert film (directed by Terry Hughes) in which the Pythons performed sketches from the television series in front of an audience. The released film also incorporated footage from the German television specials (the inclusion of which gives Ian MacNaughton his first on-screen credit for Python since the end of Flying Circus) and live performances of several songs from the troupe's then-current Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album.
[edit] Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
Main article: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Python's final film returned to something structurally closer to the style of Flying Circus. A series of sketches loosely follows the ages of man from birth to death. Directed again by Jones solo, The Meaning of Life is embellished with some of Python's most bizarre and disturbing moments, as well as various elaborate musical numbers. The film is by far their darkest work, containing a great deal of black humour, garnished by some spectacular violence (including an operation to remove a liver from a living patient without anaesthetic and the morbidly obese Mr. Creosote exploding over several restaurant patrons). At the time of its release, the Pythons confessed their aim was to offend "absolutely everyone."
Besides the opening credits and the fish sequence, Gilliam, by now an established live action director, no longer wanted to produce any linking cartoons, offering instead to direct one sketch—The Crimson Permanent Assurance. Under his helm, though, the segment grew so ambitious and tangential that it was cut from the movie and used as a supporting feature in its own right. (Television screenings also use it as a prologue.) Crucially, this was the last project that all six Pythons would collaborate on, except for the 1989 compilation Parrot Sketch Not Included, where they are all seen sitting in a closet for four seconds. This would be the last time Chapman appeared on-screen with the Pythons.
[edit] Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows
Members of Python contributed their services to charitable endeavours and causes—sometimes as an ensemble, at other times as individuals. The cause that has been the most frequent and consistent beneficiary has been the human rights work of Amnesty International. Between 1976 and 1981, the troupe or its members appeared in four major fund-raisers for Amnesty—known collectively as the Secret Policeman's Ball shows—which were turned into multiple films, TV shows, videos, record albums and books. These benefit shows and their many spin-offs raised considerable sums of money for Amnesty, raised public and media awareness of the human rights cause and influenced many other members of the entertainment community (especially rock musicians) to become involved in political and social issues.[19] Among the many musicians who have publicly attributed their activism—and the organisation of their own benefit events—to the inspiration of the work in this field of Monty Python are U2, Bob Geldof, Pete Townshend and Sting.[19] The shows are credited by Amnesty with helping the organisation develop public awareness in the US where one of the spin-off films was a major success.
Cleese and Jones had an involvement (as performer, writer or director) in all four Amnesty benefit shows, Palin in three, Chapman in two and Gilliam in one. Idle did not participate in the Amnesty shows. Notwithstanding Idle's lack of participation, the other five members (together with "Associate Pythons" Carol Cleveland and Neil Innes) all appeared together in the first Secret Policeman's Ball benefit—the 1976 A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick)—where they performed several Python sketches. In this first show they were collectively billed as Monty Python. (Peter Cook deputised for the errant Idle in one major sketch The Courtroom.) In the next three shows, the participating Python members performed many Python sketches, but were billed under their individual names rather than under the collective Python banner. After a six-year break, Amnesty resumed producing Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows in 1987 (sometimes with, and sometimes without variants of the iconic title) and by 2006 had presented a total of twelve such shows. The shows since 1987 have featured newer generations of British comedic performers, including many who have attributed their participation in the show to their desire to emulate the Python's pioneering work for Amnesty. (Cleese and Palin made a brief cameo appearance in the 1989 Amnesty show; apart from that the Pythons have not appeared in shows after the first four.)
Going solo[link]
Each member has pursued various film, television and stage projects since the break-up of the group, but often continued to work with one another. Many of these collaborations were very successful, most notably A Fish Called Wanda (1988), written by Cleese, in which he starred along with Palin. The pair also appeared in Time Bandits (1981), a film directed by Gilliam, who wrote it together with Palin. Gilliam directed Jabberwocky (1977), and also directed and co-wrote Brazil (1985) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), which featured Palin and Idle respectively. Yellowbeard (1983) was co-written by Chapman and featured Chapman, Cleese and Palin alongside many of their English contemporaries, including Peter Cook, Spike Milligan and Marty Feldman.
Palin and Jones wrote the comedic TV series Ripping Yarns (1976–79), starring Palin. Jones also appeared in the pilot episode and Cleese appeared in a non-speaking part in the episode "Golden Gordon". Jones' film Erik the Viking, also has Cleese playing a small part.
In 1996, Terry Jones wrote and directed an adaption of Kenneth Grahame's novel The Wind in the Willows. It featured four members of Monty Python: Jones as Mr. Toad, Idle as Ratty, Cleese as Mr. Toad's lawyer, and Palin as the Sun. Gilliam was considered for the voice of the river.
In terms of numbers of productions, Cleese has the most prolific solo career, having appeared in 59 theatrical films, 22 TV shows or series (including Cheers, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Q's assistant in the James Bond movies, and Will & Grace), 23 direct-to-video productions, six video games, and a number of commercials.[20] His BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers (written by and starring Cleese together with his then-wife Connie Booth), is considered the greatest solo work by a Python since the sketch show finished. It is the only comedy series to rank higher than the Flying Circus on the BFI TV 100's list, topping the whole poll.
Idle enjoyed critical success with Rutland Weekend Television in the mid-1970s, out of which came the Beatles parody The Rutles (responsible for the cult mockumentary All You Need Is Cash), and as an actor in Nuns on the Run (1990) with Robbie Coltrane. Idle has had success with Python songs: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" went to no. 3 in the UK singles chart in 1991. The song had been revived by Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 1, and was consequently released as a single that year. The theatrical phenomenon of the Python musical Spamalot has made Idle the most financially successful of the troupe post-Python. Written by Idle, it has proved an enormous hit on Broadway, London's West End and also Las Vegas.[21] This was followed by Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), which repurposes The Life of Brian as an oratorio. For the work's 2007 premiere at the Luminato festival in Toronto (which commissioned the work), Idle himself sang the "baritone-ish" part.
Post-Python reunions[link]
Since The Meaning of Life, their last project as a team, the Pythons have often been the subject of reunion rumours.[21] The final reunion of all six members occurred during the Parrot Sketch Not Included – 20 Years of Monty Python special. The death of Chapman in 1989 (on the eve of their 20th anniversary) put an end to the speculation of any further reunions. There have been several occasions since 1989 when the surviving five members have gathered together for appearances—albeit not formal reunions.
In 1996, Jones, Idle, Cleese and Palin were featured in a film adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, which was later renamed Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
In 1998 during the US Comedy Arts Festival, where the troupe was awarded the AFI Star Award by the American Film Institute, the five remaining members along with what was purported to be Chapman's ashes, were reunited on stage for the first time in 18 years.[22] The occasion was in the form of an interview called Monty Python Live At Aspen, (hosted by Robert Klein, with an appearance by Eddie Izzard) in which the team looked back at some of their work and performed a few new sketches.
On 9 October 1999, to commemorate 30 years since the first Flying Circus television broadcast, BBC2 devoted an evening to Python programmes, including a documentary charting the history of the team, interspersed with new sketches by the Monty Python team filmed especially for the event. The program appears, though omitting a few things, on the DVD The Life of Python. Though Idle's involvement in the special is limited, the final sketch marks the only time since 1989 that all surviving members of the troupe appear in one sketch, albeit not in the same room.
In 2002, four of the surviving members, bar Cleese, performed "The Lumberjack Song" and "Sit on My Face" for George Harrison's memorial concert. The reunion also included regular supporting contributors Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland, with a special appearance from Tom Hanks.
In an interview to publicise the DVD release of The Meaning of Life, Cleese said a further reunion was unlikely. "It is absolutely impossible to get even a majority of us together in a room, and I'm not joking," Cleese said. He said that the problem was one of business rather than one of bad feelings.[23] A sketch appears on the same DVD spoofing the impossibility of a full reunion, bringing the members “together” in a deliberately unconvincing fashion with modern bluescreen/greenscreen techniques.
Idle has responded to queries about a Python reunion by adapting a line used by George Harrison in response to queries about a possible Beatles reunion. When asked in November 1989 about such a possibility, Harrison responded: "As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead." Idle's version of this was that he expected to see a proper Python reunion, "just as soon as Graham Chapman comes back from the dead", but added, "we're talking to his agent about terms."[24]
2003's The Pythons Autobiography By The Pythons, compiled from interviews with the surviving members, reveals that a series of disputes in 1998, over a possible sequel to Holy Grail that had been conceived by Idle, may have resulted in the group's permanent fission. Cleese's feeling was that The Meaning of Life had been personally difficult and ultimately mediocre, and did not wish to be involved in another Python project for a variety of reasons (not least amongst them was the absence of Chapman, whose straight man-like central roles in the original Grail and Brian films had been considered to be essential performance anchorage). Apparently Idle was angry with Cleese for refusing to do the film, which most of the remaining Pythons thought reasonably promising (the basic plot would have taken on a self-referential tone, featuring them in their main 'knight' guises from Holy Grail, mulling over the possibilities of reforming their posse). The book also reveals that a secondary option around this point was the possibility of revitalising the Python brand with a new stage tour, perhaps with the promise of new material. This idea had also hit the buffers at Cleese's refusal, this time with the backing of other members.
March 2005 saw a full, if non-performing, reunion of the surviving cast members at the premiere of Idle's musical Spamalot, based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It opened in Chicago and has since played in New York on Broadway, London and numerous other major cities across the world. In 2004, it was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won three: Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for Mike Nichols and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Sara Ramirez, who played the Lady of the Lake, a character specially added for the musical. Cleese played the voice of God, played in the film by Chapman.
Owing in part to the success of Spamalot, PBS announced on 13 July 2005, that it would begin to re-air the entire run of Monty Python's Flying Circus and new one-hour specials focusing on each member of the group, called Monty Python's Personal Best.[25] Each episode was written and produced by the individual being honoured, with the five remaining Pythons collaborating on Chapman's programme, the only one of the editions to take on a serious tone with its new material.
Eric Idle and John Cleese appeared on stage together singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" with the rest of the performers for the climax of Prince Charles 60th Birthday Show.
In 2009, to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a six part documentary entitled Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) was released, featuring interviews with the surviving members of the team as well as archive interviews with Graham Chapman and numerous excerpts from the television series and films.
Also in commemoration of the 40th anniversary Idle, Palin, Jones and Gilliam appeared in a production of Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) at the Royal Albert Hall. The European premiere was held on 23 October 2009.[26] An official 40th anniversary Monty Python reunion event took place in New York City on 15 October 2009 where the Team received a Special Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.[27]
In June 2011, it was announced that Monty Python have begun production on their first film project since the Meaning of Life in 1983. Their next film, A Liar's Autobiography, is an animated 3D movie based on the memoir of the late Python member, Graham Chapman, who died in 1989 at the age of 48. A Liar’s Autobiography was published in 1980 and details Chapman's journey through medical school, alcoholism, acknowledgement of his gay identity and the toils of surreal comedy.
Asked what was true in a deliberately fanciful account by Chapman of his life, Terry Jones joked: "Nothing . . . it’s all a downright, absolute, blackguardly lie."
The film will use Chapman's own voice - from a reading of his autobiography shortly before he died of cancer - and entertainment channel EPIX announced that the film will be released in early 2012 in both 2D and 3D formats. Produced and directed by London-based Bill Jones, Ben Timlett and Jeff Simpson, the new film has 15 animation companies working on chapters that will range from three to 12 minutes in length, each in a different style.
John Cleese has recorded new dialogue which will be matched with Chapman’s voice and Michael Palin will voice Chapman’s mother and father. Terry Gilliam plays various roles. Among the original Python group, only Eric Idle has not become involved, though Timlett said the filmmakers are “working on” him.[28]
Python members[link]
Graham Chapman was originally a medical student, joining the Footlights at Cambridge. He completed his medical training and was legally entitled to practice as a doctor. Chapman is best remembered for the lead roles in Holy Grail, as King Arthur, and Life of Brian, as Brian Cohen. He died of spinal and throat cancer on 4 October 1989. At Chapman's memorial service, Cleese delivered an irreverent eulogy that included all the euphemisms for being dead from the Dead Parrot sketch, which they had written.
John Cleese is the oldest Python. He met his future Python writing partner, Graham Chapman, in Cambridge.
Terry Gilliam, an American, was the only member of the troupe of non-British origin.[29] He started off as an animator and strip cartoonist for Harvey Kurtzman's Help! magazine, one issue of which featured Cleese. Moving from the USA to England, he animated features for Do Not Adjust Your Set and was then asked by its makers to join them on their next project: Monty Python's Flying Circus. He co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail and directed short segments of other Python films (for instance "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", the short film that appears before The Meaning of Life).
When Monty Python was first formed, two writing partnerships were already in place: Cleese and Chapman, Jones and Palin. That left two in their own corners: Gilliam, operating solo due to the nature of his work, and Eric Idle. Regular themes in his contributions were elaborate wordplay and musical numbers. After Flying Circus, he hosted Saturday Night Live four times in the first five seasons. Idle's initially successful solo career faltered in the 1990s with the failures of his 1993 film Splitting Heirs (written, produced by and starring him) and 1998's An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (in which he starred), which was awarded five Razzies, including 'Worst Picture of the Year'. He revived his career by returning to the source of his worldwide fame, adapting Monty Python material for other media. He also wrote the Broadway musical Spamalot, based on the Holy Grail movie. He also wrote Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), an oratorio derived from the Life of Brian.
Terry Jones has been described by other members of the team as the “heart” of the operation. Jones had a lead role in maintaining the group's unity and creative independence. Python biographer George Perry has commented that should you "speak to him on subjects as diverse as fossil fuels, or Rupert Bear, or mercenaries in the Middle Ages or Modern China... in a moment you will find yourself hopelessly out of your depth, floored by his knowledge." Many others agree that Jones is characterised by his irrepressible, good-natured enthusiasm. However, Jones' passion often led to prolonged arguments with other group members—in particular Cleese—with Jones often unwilling to back down. Since his major contributions were largely behind the scenes (direction, writing), and he often deferred to the other members of the group as an actor, Jones' importance to Python was often underrated. However, he does have the legacy of delivering possibly the most famous line in all of Python, as Brian's mother Mandy in Life of Brian, "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!", a line voted the funniest in film history on two occasions.[30][31]
Michael Palin attended Oxford, where he met his Python writing partner Jones. The two also wrote the series Ripping Yarns together. Palin and Jones originally wrote face-to-face, but soon found it was more productive to write apart and then come together to review what the other had written. Therefore, Jones and Palin's sketches tended to be more focused than that of the others, taking one bizarre situation, sticking to it, and building on it. After Flying Circus, he hosted Saturday Night Live four times in the first ten seasons. His comedy output began to decrease in amount following the increasing success of his travel documentaries for the BBC. Palin released a book of diaries from the Python years entitled Michael Palin Diaries 1969–1979, published in 2007.
Associate Pythons[link]
Several people have been accorded unofficial "Associate Python" status over the years. Occasionally such people have been referred to as the 7th Python, in a style reminiscent of George Martin (or other associates of The Beatles) being dubbed "the Fifth Beatle." The two collaborators with the most meaningful and plentiful contributions have been Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland. Both were present and presented as Associate Pythons at the official Monty Python 25th anniversary celebrations held in Los Angeles in July 1994.
File:CarolCleveland.jpg
Carol Cleveland as the stereotypical "blonde bombshell" in the Marriage Guidance Counsellor sketch.
Neil Innes is the only non-Python besides Douglas Adams to be credited with writing material for the Flying Circus. He appeared in sketches and the Python films, as well as performing some of his songs in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl. He was also a regular stand-in for absent team members on the rare occasions when they re-created sketches. For example, he took the place of Cleese at the Concert for George. Gilliam once noted that if anyone qualified for the title of the "Seventh Python," it would certainly be Innes. He was one of the creative talents in the off-beat Bonzo Dog Band. He would later portray Ron Nasty of the Rutles and write all of the Rutles' compositions for All You Need is Cash (1978). By 2005, a falling out had occurred between Idle and Innes over additional Rutles projects, the results being Innes' critically acclaimed Rutles "reunion" album The Rutles: Archaeology and Idle's straight-to-DVD The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch, each undertaken without the other's participation. According to an interview with Idle in the Chicago Tribune in May 2005, his attitude is that he and Innes go back "too far. And no further." Innes has remained silent on the dispute.
Carol Cleveland was the most important female performer in the Monty Python ensemble, commonly referred to as the "Python Girl." Originally hired by producer/director John Howard Davies for just the first five episodes of the Flying Circus, she went on to appear in approximately two-thirds of the episodes as well as in all of the Python films, and in most of their stage shows as well. Her common portrayal as the stereotypical "blonde bimbo" eventually earned her the sobriquet "Carol Cleavage" from the other Pythons, but she felt that the variety of her roles should not be described in such a pejorative way.
Other contributors[link]
Cleese's first wife Connie Booth appeared in, amongst others "The Lumberjack Song" and as the "witch" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Cleese and Booth later co-wrote and co-starred in Fawlty Towers.
Douglas Adams was "discovered" by Chapman when a version of the Footlights Revue (a 1974 BBC2 television show featuring some of Adams' early work) was performed live in London's West End. In Cleese's absence from the final TV series, the two formed a brief writing partnership, with Adams earning a writing credit in one episode for a sketch called "Patient Abuse". In the sketch, a man who had been stabbed by a nurse arrives at his doctor's office bleeding profusely from the stomach, when the doctor makes him fill out numerous senseless forms before he can administer treatment. He also had two cameo appearances in this season. Firstly, in the episode The Light Entertainment War, Adams shows up in a surgeon's mask (as Dr. Emile Koning, according to the on-screen captions), pulling on gloves, while Palin narrates a sketch that introduces one person after another, and never actually gets started. Secondly, at the beginning of Mr. Neutron, Adams is dressed in a "pepperpot" outfit and loads a missile onto a cart being driven by Terry Jones, who is calling out for scrap metal ("Any old iron..."). Adams and Chapman also subsequently attempted a few non-Python projects, including Out of the Trees. He also contributed to a sketch on the soundtrack album for Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard, a devoted fan of the group, has occasionally stood in for absent members. When the BBC held a "Python Night" in 1999 to celebrate 30 years of the first broadcast of Flying Circus, the Pythons recorded some new material with Izzard standing in for Idle, who had declined to partake in person (he taped a solo contribution from the US). Izzard hosted a history of the group entitled The Life of Python (1999) that was part of the Python Night and appeared with them at a festival/tribute in Aspen, Colorado, in 1998 (released on DVD as Live at Aspen).
Cultural influence[link]
By the time of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Monty Python in 1994, the point was already being made that "the five surviving members had with the passing years begun to occupy an institutional position in the edifice of British social culture that they had once had so much fun trying to demolish".[32] A similar point is made in a 2006 book on the relationship between Monty and philosophy: "It is remarkable, after all, not only that the utterly bizarre Monty Python's Flying Circus was sponsored by the BBC in the first place, but that Monty Python itself grew into an institution of enormous cultural influence"[33] Matt Groening, creator and co-developer of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, names Monty Python as an influence and pays tribute through a couch gag used in seasons five and six.[34]
Space[link]
In 2010 the commercial space company SpaceX, launched a wheel of cheese into low earth orbit and returned it safely to the earth. Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, claimed this was done as a tribute to Monty Python.
World records[link]
On St George's Day, 23 April 2007, the cast and creators of Spamalot gathered in Trafalgar Square under the tutelage of the two Terrys (Jones and Gilliam) to set a new record for the world's largest coconut orchestra. They led 5,567 people "clip-clopping" in time to the Python classic "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" for the Guinness World Records attempt.[35]
'Pythonesque'[link]
Amongst the more visible cultural influences of Monty Python is the inclusion of terms either directly from, or derived from, Monty Python, into the lexicon of the English language. The most obvious of these is the term 'pythonesque', which has become a byword in surreal humour, and is included in standard dictionaries.[36] Terry Jones commented on his disappointment at the existence of such a term, claiming the initial aim of Monty Python was to create something new and impossible to categorize and that "the fact that Pythonesque is now a word in the Oxford English Dictionary shows the extent to which we failed".[37]
The term has been applied to animations similar to those constructed by Gilliam (e.g. the cut-out style of South Park, whose creators have often acknowledged a debt to Python, including contributing material to the aforementioned 30th anniversary theme night).[38]
Good Eats creator Alton Brown cited Python as one of the influences that shaped how he created the series, as well as how he authors the script for each episode.[39] Recent episodes even include Gilliam-style animations to illustrate key points.
Things named after Monty Python[link]
Beyond a dictionary definition, Python terms have entered the lexicon in other ways.
- The Python programming language by Guido van Rossum is named after the troupe, and Monty Python references are often found in sample code created for that language. Additionally, a 2001 April Fool's Day joke by van Rossum and Larry Wall involving the merger of Python with Perl was dubbed "Parrot" after the Dead Parrot Sketch. The name "Parrot" was later used for a project to develop a virtual machine for running bytecode for interpreted languages such as Perl and Python. Also, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory wrote some spacecraft navigation software in Python, which they dubbed "Monty". There is also a python refactoring tool called bicyclerepair ( [1] ), named after Bicycle Repair Man sketch.
- In 1985, a fossil of a previously unknown species of gigantic prehistoric snake from the Miocene was discovered in Riversleigh, Queensland, Australia. The Australian palaeontologist who discovered the fossil snake was a Monty Python fan, and he gave the snake the taxonomic name of Montypythonoides riversleighensis in honour of the Monty Python team.[40] (Transliterated from Greek Μοντυπυθωνοειδής back to English, Montypythonoides means "like Monty Python".)
- In 2006, Ben & Jerry's, known for their "celebrity flavours", introduced to the lineup "Vermonty Python", a coffee liqueur ice cream with a chocolate cookie crumb swirl and fudge cows. The name "Minty Python" had been suggested before in 1996 in a contest to select the quintessential British ice cream flavor.[41][42]
- In 1999, Black Sheep Brewery released an ale named "Monty Python's Holy
Grail Ale."[43] - The band Toad the Wet Sprocket drew its name from the Eric Idle monologue "Rock Notes" on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album from 1980.
- The band Boxhamsters, which is the German translation of Brook-Hamster, the winner of the Upper Class Twit of the Year.[44]
- A philosophy lecture series entitled Themes in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy as Reflected in the Work of Monty Python.[45][46]
- The term "spam" in reference to bulk, unsolicited email is derived from the programme's 1970 "Spam" sketch.[47]
- In the book The Reptile Room by "Lemony Snicket", the character Uncle Monty was named after Monty Python, in a joke referring to his obsession with snakes.
- Seven asteroids are named after Monty Python: 9617 Grahamchapman, 9618 Johncleese, 9619 Terrygilliam, 9620 Ericidle, 9621 Michaelpalin, 9622 Terryjones, and 13681 Monty Python .
- The endangered Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei) is named after John Cleese.
- Dead Parrot Society is the title of a comedy CD released in 1993 featuring sketches from Monty Python's Flying Circus as well as Graham Chapman, Peter Cook, John Cleese, Dudley Moore, and The Portsmouth Sinfonia The title is also a play on the 1989 film Dead Poets Society.
Media[link]
Main article: Monty Python mediagraphy
Television[link]
- Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–74)
- The show that started the Python phenomenon. See also List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes
- Two 45-minute specials made by WDR for West German television. The first was recorded in German, while the second was in English with German dubbing.
- Monty Python's Personal Best (2006)
- Six one-hour specials, each episode presenting the best of one member's work.
Films[link]
There were five Monty Python productions released as theatrical films:
- A collection of sketches from the first and second TV series of Monty Python's Flying Circus purposely re-enacted and shot for film.
- King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering humorous obstacles along the way. Some of these turned into standalone sketches.
- Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
- Brian is born on the first Christmas, in the stable next to Jesus'. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
- A videotape recording directed by Ian MacNaughton of a live performance of sketches. Originally intended for a TV/video special. Transferred to 35mm and given a limited theatrical release in the US.
- An examination of the meaning of life in a series of sketches from conception to death and beyond.
- This film features interviews with all the surviving Python members, along with archive representation for the late Graham Chapman.
- This is an animated film which is based on the memoir of the late Monty Python member, Graham Chapman.
Albums[link]
- Monty Python's Flying Circus (1970)
- Another Monty Python Record (1971)
- Monty Python's Previous Record (1972)
- The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief (1973)
- Monty Python Live at Drury Lane (1974)
- The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
- Monty Python Live at City Center (1976)
- The Monty Python Instant Record Collection (1977)
- Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
- Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (1980)
- Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
- The Final Rip Off (1988)
- Monty Python Sings (1989)
- The Monty Python Instant Record Collection, Volume 2 (1991)
- The Ultimate Monty Python Rip Off (1994)
- The Instant Monty Python CD Collection (1994)
- Spamalot (Broadway version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Tim Curry as King Arthur) (2005)
- The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album (unreleased)
Theatre[link]
- Monty Python's Flying Circus – Between 1974 and 1980 (Live at the Hollywood Bowl was released in 1982, but was performed in 1980) the Pythons made three sketch-based stage shows, comprising mainly material from the original television series.
- Monty Python's Spamalot – Written by Idle directed by Mike Nichols, with music and lyrics by John Du Prez and Idle, and starring Hank Azaria, Tim Curry, and David Hyde Pierce, Spamalot is a musical adaptation of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It ran in Chicago from 21 December 2004 to 23 January 2005, and began performances on Broadway on 17 March 2005. It won three Tonys.
- Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) – The Toronto Symphony Orchestra commissioned Idle and John Du Prez to write the music and lyrics of an oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian. Entitled Not the Messiah, it had its world premiere as part of Luminato, a "festival of arts and creativity" taking place 1–10 June 2007 in Toronto. Not the Messiah was conducted by Peter Oundjian, Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, who is Idle’s cousin. It was performed by a narrator, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with guest soloists and choir. According to Idle, "It will be funnier than Handel, though not as good".
Books[link]
- Monty Python's Big Red Book (1971) ISBN 0-413-29520-6.
- The Brand New Monty Python Bok (1973) ISBN 0-7493-1170-3.
- Monty Python and The Holy Grail (book) – Mønti Pythøn ik den Hølie Gräilen (Bøk) (1977) ISBN 0-413-38520-5.
- MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK/ The Life of Brian (1979) ISBN 0-413-46550-0.
- Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words Volume 1 (1989) ISBN 0-413-62540-0.
- Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words Volume 2 (1989) ISBN 0-413-62550-8.
- The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus Volumes 1 & 2
- The Fairly Incomplete & Rather Badly Illustrated Monty Python Song Book (1994) ISBN 0-413-69000-8
- Michael Palin Diaries 1969–1979
- The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons
- The Life of Brian/Jesus (2011) ISBN 978-1-84876-628-0.
Games[link]
- Monty Python's Flying Circus (1990) a computer game released by Virgin Games for 8-bit systems such as the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum[48]
- Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time (1994) released by 7th Level for PC / DOS
- Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail (1996), official game released by 7th Level. It used footage and imagery from the film, as well as audio clips (some new) and featured an animated version of a scene never filmed entitled "King Brian The Wild".
- Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1997), also released by 7th Level. According to the jewel case description, it's based on the film by the same name, but it's really something completely similar yet entirely different.
- Python-opoly (2007), a Monty Python-themed property game released by Toy Vault Inc.[49]
- Monty Python Fluxx (2008), a card game released by Looney Labs[50]
- Blazing Dragons
See also[link]
- Beyond the Fringe
- List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes
- List of recurring characters in Monty Python's Flying Circus
- Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time
- Python (Monty) Pictures
- Spamalot
- The Goodies
- The Goon Show
References[link]
- ^ Gilliam was born American and obtained British citizenship in 1968. In protest at George W. Bush, he renounced his American citizenship in January 2006 and is now only a British citizen. (in German) Kopflos am Potsdamer Platz, DE: Tagesspiegel, 10 February 2006, http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/;art772,2004101, retrieved 15 September 2007
- ^ Wilmut (1980), p. 250.
- ^ The Pythons by 'The Pythons', ISBN 0-7528-5293-0.
- ^ Todd Leopold (11 December 2003). "How Monty Python changed the world". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/10/monty.python/index.html. Retrieved 30 March 2007. "Python has been called "the Beatles of comedy,""
- ^ Mark Lewisohn. "Monty Python's Flying Circus". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/m/montypythonsflyi_1299002137.shtml. Retrieved 31 March 2007. "In essence, the Monty Python team are the comedy equivalent of the Beatles."
- ^ 'Holy' Monty Python History Lesson. Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 24 April 2012
- ^ 'Monty Python' Reunion Planned for New Movie. Christian Post. Retrieved 24 April 2012
- ^ "Cook voted 'comedians' comedian'". BBC News. 2 January 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4141019.stm. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ a b The Pythons Autobiography By The Pythons—Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, John Chapman, David Sherlock, Bob McCabe—Thomas Dunne Books; Orion, 2003
- ^ Wilmut (1980), p.211
- ^ "BBC – Comedy – Monty Python". http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/montypython/index.shtml.
- ^ a b Museum of Broadcast Communications. "Monty Python's Flying Circus". http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/montypython/montypython.htm.
- ^ Monty Python's Flying Circus Just The Words Volume 1, p33. Methuen, 1990
- ^ a b c d Jamie Bradburn, with reference to Toronto Star article of 1971-02-02 (2011-09-20). "Vintage Toronto Ads: Jack of Hearts’ Flying Circus". St. Joseph Media. http://torontoist.com/2011/09/vintage-toronto-ads-jack-of-hearts-flying-circus/. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
- ^ David Stewart; David C. Stewart (May 1999). The PBS companion: a history of public television. TV Books. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-57500-050-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=U3S4AAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Richard Ouzounian, "Python still has legs", Toronto Star, 16 July 2006
- ^ Interview with John Cleese on Q-The Podcast with host John Ghomeshi, on 16 July 2009
- ^ "50 Greatest Comedy Films". channel4.com. http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/G/greatest-comedyfilms/index.html. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ a b Secret Policeman's Ball recruits New York's finest to Amnesty celebration. The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2012
- ^ IMDB; as of January 2005; includes pre-release items.
- ^ a b Alan Parker; Mick O'Shea (1 April 2006). And Now For Something Completely Digital: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs. The Disinformation Company. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-932857-31-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=G49bRxbeH1kC&pg=PA68. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Alleen Pace Nilsen; Don Lee Fred Nilsen (2000). Encyclopedia of 20th-century American humor. Oryx Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-57356-218-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=0ufWAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Monty Python reunion 'unlikely', BBC News, 9 September 2003
- ^ Graham Chapman; John Cleese; Terry Gilliam; Eric Idle (15 November 2005). The Pythons Autobiography by the Pythons. Macmillan. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-312-31145-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=3Q-XD02f4oQC&pg=PT328. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Exclusive new Monty Python specials slated to premiere in 2006, PBS, 13 July 2005
- ^ mollyblack wrote: (11 July 2009). "retrieved 6 July 2009". The Independent (UK). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/monty-python-stars-to-stage-reunion-1733638.html. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- ^ "Pythons receive BAFTA Special Award". Bafta.org. 18 October 2009. http://www.bafta.org/access-all-areas/videos/monty-python-special-award,877,BA.html. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
- ^ "Monty Python back for 3D animated film". The Daily Telegraph (London). 28 June 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/8602765/Monty-Python-back-for-3D-animated-film.html.
- ^ David Morgan (6 October 2006). "Terry Gilliam Sounds Off, Director Of 'Brazil' Says Current Events Parallel His Cult Movie". CBSNews. http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/06/movies/main2071659.shtml. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ Philip French, Mark Kermode, Jason Solomons, Akin Ojumu, and Killian Fox (22 July 2007). "The last laugh: your favourite 50". The Observer (UK). http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2131880,00.html. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ Sarah Womack (19 February 2002). "Life of Brian wins the vote for film's best laughter line". London: Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385293/Life-of-Brian-wins-the-vote-for-film's-best-laughter-line.html. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ Perry, George (1999). The Life of Python. London: Pavilion Books. p. 6. ISBN 1-85793-441-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=J_Zg-9u4yLAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=life+python#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ Hardcastle, G.L., & Reisch, G.A. (2006). "”What’s All This Then?” The Introduction". In Gary L. Hardcastle & George A Reisch. Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think!. Vol. 19 in Popular Culture and Philosophy series. Chicago: Open Court. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8126-9593-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=wPQelKFNA5MC&printsec=frontcover&dq=monty+python#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 24 August 2010. Also ISBN 0-8126-9593-3
- ^ "Monty Python's Flying Circus Foot couch gag - Simpsons Wiki". Simpsons.wikia.com. 2011-12-24. http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Monty_Python's_Flying_Circus_Foot_couch_gag. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
- ^ BBC-Spamalot cast sets coconut record.
- ^ "Monty Pythonesque." Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7). Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 23 November 2007. Pythonesque
- ^ Monty Python: Live at Aspen, 1998
- ^ "Monty Python meets South Park". BBC News. 4 October 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/464765.stm. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ Marc Berman (27 September 2009). "Mr. TV: Food for Thought". Mediaweek. http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/community/programming-insider/column/e3icbd5f8a8048766fc980ec4910fe71b25. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ Monty Python – a Brief History, BBC, 29 January 2002
- ^ "STAN FREBERG HERE – British Ice Cream Flavors:". http://leemichaelwithers.tripod.com/sfh7_16_96.htm. Retrieved 1 October 2010. "Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream has just finished a contest to select the quintessential British ice cream flavor. ... They wanted a kind of "pun" flavor along the lines of their successful American flavor, "Cherry Garcia"--hmm, my favorite. Anyhow, the winner was "Cool Brittania." ... But some of the 7500 losers might have been better. How about this, for British flavors: "Minty Python"? "Jack the Ripple"? Or how about "The Rolling Scones"?"
- ^ "American Scoops Up Prize For Name Of Brit Ben & Jerry's – Orlando Sentinel". Wall Street Journal. 4 July 1996. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-07-04/business/9607030986_1_ben-jerry-ice-cream-flavor. Retrieved 1 October 2010. "If Britain were an ice cream, what flavor would it be? Jack the Ripple? Charles and Diana Split? Those names were floated in a contest run by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. to create the quintessential British ice cream flavor, along the lines of its world-famous American flavor, Cherry Garcia."
- ^ "Monty Python's Holy Grail". Blacksheepbrewery.com. http://www.blacksheepbrewery.com/Beers/BottledBeers/HolyGrail.aspx. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
- ^ "Boxhamsters". www.boxhamsters.net. http://www.boxhamsters.net. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- ^ Eric Barnes. "Gary L. Hardcastle: Themes in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy as Relfected in the Work of Monty Python". Mtholyoke.edu. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ebarnes/python/python.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
- ^ Gary L. Hardcastle & George A Reisch, ed. (2006). Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think!. Chicago: Open Court. ISBN 978-0-8126-9593-9. Also ISBN 0-8126-9593-3
- ^ "RFC 2635 – DON\x27T SPEW A Set of Guidelines for Mass Unsolicited Mailings and Postings (spam*):". http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2635. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ "Monty Python's Flying Circus on World of Spectrum". Worldofspectrum.org. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0003260. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- ^ "Toy Vault web site for Python-opoly, retrieved November 20, 2008". Toyvault.com. http://www.toyvault.com/pythonopoly/index.htm. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- ^ "Web site for Monty Python Fluxx". Fluxxgames.com. http://fluxxgames.com/. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
Further reading[link]
- Graham Chapman; Jim Yoakum (1997). Graham Crackers: Fuzzy Memories, Silly Bits, and Outright Lies. Career Press. ISBN 978-1-56414-334-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=8xGcAAAACAAJ. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- Marcia Landy (2005). Monty Python's flying circus. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3103-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=J1CxIuG-_NkC. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- Darl Larsen (2003). Monty Python, Shakespeare, and English Renaissance drama. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-1504-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=qVa1Hfh11V0C. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- David Morgan (1999). Monty Python speaks!. Fourth Estate. ISBN 978-1-84115-168-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=aTYcAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- Alan Parker; Mick O'Shea (2006). And Now For Something Completely Digital: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs. The Disinformation Company. ISBN 978-1-932857-31-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=G49bRxbeH1kC. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- George Perry (2007). The Life of Python. Pavilion. ISBN 978-1-86205-762-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=J_Zg-9u4yLAC. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- Roger Wilmut (1980). From fringe to flying circus: celebrating a unique generation of comedy, 1960–1980. Eyre Methuen. ISBN 978-0-413-46950-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=PzxaAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- The Secret Policeman's Balls, 3-DVD set (2009)
- "The Secret Policeman's Balls DVD Release". Music For Human Rights. 27 January 2009. http://www.musicforhumanrights.org/news/secret-policemans-balls-dvd-release. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- Monty Python: 40 Years of Insanity
- "Monty Python: 40 Years of Insanity". Life.com. 5 October 2009. http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/34232/monty-python-40-years-of-insanity. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
- The Life of Python – 20 Greatest Monty Python Sketches (40th Anniversary)
- "The Life of Python – 20 Greatest Monty Python Sketches". Gnews.com. 5 October 2009. http://gnews.com/entertainment/The-Life-of-Python-20-Greatest-Monty-Python-Sketches-110424014489.html. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
External links[link]
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Monty Python |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Monty Python |
- Pythonline.com – Monty Python's sort-of official site, actively maintained by Eric Idle
- Monty Python – Official YouTube page
- Monty Python Videos – Monty Python's best videos and movies
- 2012 interview with Carol Cleveland, covering Flying Circus and Holy Grail
- Python at ifilm.com
- Pythonisms: Python quotes as figures of speech
- Release of the 3-DVD Secret Policeman's Balls
- 40 Years of Monty Python – photo essay by TIME magazine
- Monty Python Reunion event, New York, 15 October 2009
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| Persondata | |
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| Name | Python, Monty |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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| Josie Long | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1982-04-17) 17 April 1982 (age 30) Orpington, Kent, England |
| Website | http://www.josielong.com |
Josie Long (born 17 April 1982) is an English comedian.
Contents |
Background[link]
Long spent her early life in Orpington, Kent, where she attended Newstead Wood School for Girls in Swift House. She also attended GIFT Ltd. summer schools. She began performing stand-up comedy at 14, winning the BBC New Comedy Awards at the age of 17. At 18 she gave up stand-up whilst she read English Language and Literature (BA (Hons)) at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, though she ran experimental comedy clubs while at university. In 2007 she lived in Peckham Rye and currently lives in Hackney.
Career[link]
After graduating from Oxford, she returned to live stand-up, supporting Stewart Lee on his spring 2005 tour.
She contributed sketches and one-liners to BBC Radio One's 2004/05 comedy show, The Milk Run with Andrew O'Neill. One edition of the show was entirely given over to a script she co-wrote with her friend Dan Harkin, entitled The Adventures Of Marco Polo.
In 2005 she began publishing a fanzine, Drawing Moustaches In Magazines Monthly Magazine (Bi-Monthly), which is distributed for free, and has featured contributions from Robin Ince, Kevin Eldon and Stewart Lee, as well as Danielle Ward and Isy Suttie.
She appeared in the show An Audience With Dan Nightingale & Josie Long with Mancunian comic Dan Nightingale, at the Café Royal, at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe. In 2006 she won the If.comeddies Best Newcomer award at the Fringe for her show Kindness and Exuberance. In her 2007/2008 tour Trying is Good her act often involved drawing a sea scene on her arms and stomach. Long has a love of applique and the V&A Museum, and live Boggle contests sometimes form a part of her performances.
She has performed three solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and performed three subsequent UK tours in spring 2007, 2008 and 2009. She has appeared at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (2007–10), the Adelaide Fringe Festival (2008), the New Zealand Comedy Festival (2008) and the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival (2008). Her show, Trying is Good was nominated for the Barry Award in Melbourne 2008. In 2009 she toured her show All of the Planet's Wonders, playing 14 dates during February and March. Her radio series Josie Long: All of the Planet's Wonders was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in early 2009.
Along with fellow comics Hils Barker, Steve Hall and James Sherwood, she founded the All-Singing, All-Dancing Competitive News Bonanza, a live topical panel show that ran at the Red Lion pub in Soho, London in 2004/05, and at the Arts Theatre Club in Soho in 2006. In 2006 she also launched her own monthly comedy clubs, the Sunday Night Adventure Club, at the ABC Café in Crystal Palace, London (later at the Black Sheep pub) and The OK Club at the Boogaloo pub in Highgate, North London.
Long has written for the Channel Four teen comedy-drama series Skins. She has also appeared in an online webisode and episodes five and ten of the second series of the show, in which she plays a college careers adviser, and appeared again in episode 5 of the third series, reprising that role, this time, however, in another career. She makes a return appearance in series 6 as the college guidance counselor in episode 1.
She has also been involved in BBC Switch, on a weekly mini-feature called Josie Long's Confuse the Teacher Feature, where a word is read out by Long for young people listening to the show to include in their homework, which was formed after her suggestion of the idea during an interview on the show with Annie Mac.
She also appeared regularly in Robin Ince's podcast Show & Tell, now called Robin and Josie's Utter Shambles, co-hosted the Resonance FM show I, DJ with Danielle Ward and Isy Suttie, and guested on Answer Me This! podcast. She appeared on the Jon Richardson Show on 27 July 2008 and again on 15 February 2009. On 9 October 2008 she appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in the second programme of the 22nd series. On 19 January 2009 she appeared on the radio panel game Just a Minute.[1] She appeared in hit Australian improvised-comedy show Thank God You're Here twice, the first of which aired on 6 May 2009. On 5 July 2009 she appeared on Sunday Night Show on Absolute Radio with Iain Lee. On 14 July and 28 July 2009 she appeared on Charlie Brooker's Channel 4 show You Have Been Watching.
On 21 August and 23 August 2009 Long performed at the Green Man Festival. On 15 November 2009, Long was the guest on the Dave Gorman radio show on Absolute Radio and the subsequent podcast of the show, before making her second appearance with Iain Lee, this time on Iain Lee's 2 Hour Long Late Night Radio Show, on the same station eight days later. She occasionally writes for Alan Moore's underground magazine Dodgem Logic.
On 15 January 2010 she was a contestant on Channel 4's "irreverent, and often irrelevant, panel show" 8 Out of 10 Cats. On 18 March 2010 she appeared on the BBC Two comedy quiz TV programme show The Bubble, during which she notably wore a garment displaying Nye Bevan related witticisms. She wrote and performed three short plays as part of BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play series, including one about apostrophes.
Since 2010, Long has been involved with the anti-tax avoidance actvist group UK Uncut, and has on occasion promoted the group through her standup.
Josie Long currently presents a Saturday morning radio show with Andrew Collins on BBC 6 Music[2] and runs a monthly comedy club at The Black Heart in Camden Town, recordings of which are used for her new podcast "The Lost Treasure Of The Black Heart".
Live credits[link]
- 2011 MaxFunCon (Stand up show at conference in Lake Arrowhead, California, USA)
- 2010 Be Honourable (Stand Up Show at the Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne Comedy Festival)
- 2009 Darwin's Birthday Spectacular with Robin Ince
- 2009 All of the Planet's Wonders (Shown in Detail) (UK and Australian Tour)
- 2008 Trying is Good (UK, NZ, Montreal and Australian Tour. UCB Los Angeles)
- 2006 Kindness and Exuberance (UK and Australian Tour. UCB New York)
Radio credits[link]
- 2011 Andrew Collins and Josie Long on BBC 6 Music [3]
- 2009 All the Planet's Wonders on BBC Radio 4 [4]
- 2010 So Wrong, It's Right hosted by Charlie Brooker on BBC Radio 4
- 2010 The Adult Hour on TalkSport hosted by Ian Collins
Television credits[link]
- 2009 Skins, Channel 4, as Josie, the group's careers advisor in series 2 and then English teacher in series 3.
- 2009 Maeve Higgins' Fancy Vittles, RTÉ2 (Ireland), as Maeve Higgins's English friend.
References[link]
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00grd29
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012cp5r
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012cp5r | Andrew Collins And Josie Long on BBC.co.uk
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hkrbn | Josie Long: All of the Planet's Wonders on BBC.co.uk
External links[link]
- Official homepage
- Homepage for the Show & Tell podcast
- “Text messages are like saucy little letters”. Comedian Josie Long on her tech loves and hates, 11 July 2008
- Chortle.com page
| Preceded by Tim Minchin |
Edinburgh Fringe Best Comedy Newcomer 2006 |
Succeeded by Tom Basden |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Long, Josie |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 17 April 1982 |
| Place of birth | Orpington, Greater London, England |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Josie_Long
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josie_Long
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
