Quotes

As the first series progressed I found it was John (Cleese) who I got on best with and who made me laugh the most. I thought he was quite attractive and there was something about him that reminded me of the comedian Jerry Lewis - who I'd been a great fan of as a teenager - especially when he did his silly walk. Here was this intellectual who could pull some very funny faces and do very strange things with his body. He would also giggle like a girl sometimes! I think he was the most logical, a bit moody and certainly complex. He was the one who would change the most during the course of Python.

And then there was Michael (Palin). Michael is the one who hasn't changed at all. I thought he was - and still is - the cutest of the bunch. He was not only nice-looking but charming too. He was good-tempered, easy-going, sincere and a little bit on the shy side... which was rather endearing.

[on first meeting the Monty Python members] They all welcomed me with open arms and immediately put my fears to rest. John (Cleese) was rather flirty; Michael (Palin) seemed rather shy; Terry Jones was very jolly; Eric (Idle) was a tiny bit aloof; Graham (Chapman) was very polite and Terry Gilliam was very loud and a bit manic. I felt an immediate rapport with him, as we were both Americans.

Graham (Chapman) was a lovely kind man with a big heart, but it took me a while to feel totally relaxed with him, not just because of his overt homosexuality, but mainly because of his heavy drinking that could be quite worrying at times. Graham did everything to excess. I would never have a drink myself before a show on recording day and I don't think the other boys did either.... except for Graham. Graham would have not just one but several drinks in the BBC bar prior to going downstairs to record the show in front of a live audience. I was astounded that he was able to do this. There was a set, limited time for the recording and not much allowance for re-takes, but we'd often have to do a scene several times because Graham was quite tipsy. On one occasion we had to do up to something like twenty takes because he was slurring his words so badly. I was always surprised that he was allowed to get away with it. Such was the power of Python!

I liked Terry (Gilliam) a lot because he was a bit loopy, always smiling, and because he was a straight talker. I didn't feel I had to be careful about what I said around him and if I had a concern about anything he'd usually be the one I'd talk to about it.

Terry Jones was Welsh (and still is), jolly and excitable, and seemed to be always wearing his favourite black leather jacket. I did wonder if he slept in it too. I think Terry J was the most emotional of them all. He would get visibly upset or annoyed about something, whereas the others were better at containing that and he was a bit argumentative. Being quite emotional myself, I felt an empathy with him and found him very easy to communicate with.

Eric Idle seemed the most organised and business-like of the group and I imagined that, if there was any chaos, he'd be the one to sort it out. He was certainly the monologue king! I've always had tremendous admiration for the way he could recite streams of text without faltering or even drawing breath! His female characters were a delight too. Whereas the others played rather blousy and vulgar ladies, his were always very posh and prim. Mind you, I always felt there was a slight primness about Eric too. Eric was a nice chap, but he was the only one that I never felt completely at ease with, as he was always a little bit distant. This might possibly have had something to do with the fact that he distanced himself from the others by writing on his own. He was friendly enough and we worked well together, but he was the only one I didn't feel I could sit down and have an intimate conversation with... nor have I ever done so. I wasn't sure if he appreciated my contribution to the show as much as the others did. It was many years later, when he involved me in the writing of Monty Python Live - the book about the touring days of Python - that I finally felt some kind of rapport with him... which was nice. Better late than never!