Monty Python

Monty Python('s Flying Circus)

British comedy troupe. The innovative group, formed in the early 1960s, came to prominence in the 1970s, first on television and later in films. Its members, most of whom met while attending the University of Cambridge, included Graham Chapman (1941–89) and John Cleese (coauthors of most of their skits and films) as well as Terry Jones (b. 1942), Terry Gilliam (b. 1940), Eric Idle (b. 1943), and Michael Palin (b. 1943). The troupe's parodies of British life and television and their array of absurd characters surprised and delighted international audiences. Their films include Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979).