Michael Palin

English artist (born 1943)

Sir

Michael Palin

KCMG CBE FRGS FRSGS FRSL

Palin in 2018 at the National Churches Trust carol concert

Born|

Michael Edward Palin

(1943-05-05) 5 May 1943 (age 82)

Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

Education| Shrewsbury School, Shropshire
Alma mater| Brasenose College, University of Oxford (BA)
Occupations|

* Actor
* comedian
* writer
* television presenter

Years active| 1965–present
Known for|

* Monty Python
* Travel documentary

Spouse|

Helen Gibbins

(m. 1966; died 2023)​

Children| 3
Website| themichaelpalin.com

Sir Michael Edward Palin (/ˈpeɪlɪn/; born 5 May 1943[1]) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group.[2] He received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2013[3] and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019.[4][5]

Palin started in television working on programmes including the Ken Dodd Show, The Frost Report, and Do Not Adjust Your Set. He joined Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Graham Chapman. He acted in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "Argument Clinic", "Dead Parrot sketch", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Spanish Inquisition", "Bicycle Repair Man", and "The Fish-Slapping Dance". Palin continued to work with Jones away from Python, co-writing Ripping Yarns.[6]

Palin co-wrote and starred in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983). For his performance in A Fish Called Wanda (1988) he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.[7][8] Other notable films include Jabberwocky (1977), Time Bandits (1981), The Missionary (1982), A Private Function (1984), Brazil (1985), Fierce Creatures (1997), and The Death of Stalin (2017).

Since 1980, Palin has made numerous television travel documentaries and is a widely recognised writer and presenter.[9] He has been a travel writer and travel documentarian in programmes broadcast on the BBC. His journeys have taken him across the world, including the North and South Poles, the Sahara, the Himalayas, Eastern Europe, and Brazil; in 2018, he visited North Korea, documenting his visit to the isolated country in a series broadcast on Channel 5. Palin visited Nigeria in 2023 to make a travel documentary that was aired in 2024. From 2009 to 2012 he was president of the Royal Geographical Society.[10]

## Early life and education

[edit]

Palin was born in Ranmoor, Sheffield,[11][12] the second child and only son of Edward Moreton Palin (1900–1977)[13][14] and Mary Rachel Lockhart (née Ovey; 1903–1990). His father was a Shrewsbury and Cambridge-educated engineer working for a steel firm.[15] His maternal grandfather, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Lockhart Ovey, DSO, was High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1927.[16]

Palin was educated at Birkdale and Shrewsbury School. His sister Angela was nine years his senior; despite the age gap the two had a close relationship until her suicide in 1987.[15][17] Palin has ancestral roots in Letterkenny, County Donegal.[18] His great-grandmother fled the Irish Famine and was adopted by a wealthy English family.[19]

When he was five years old, Palin had his first acting experience at Birkdale playing Martha Cratchit in a school performance of A Christmas Carol. At the age of 10, still interested in acting, he made a comedy monologue and read a Shakespeare play to his mother while playing all the parts.[20]

After leaving Shrewsbury in 1962, he went on to read Modern History at Brasenose College, Oxford.[1] With fellow student Robert Hewison he performed and wrote, for the first time, comedy material at a university Christmas party.[21] Terry Jones, also a student at Oxford, saw that performance and began writing with Hewison and Palin.[20] That year Palin joined the Brightside and Carbrook Co-operative Society Players and first gained fame when he won an acting award at a Co-op drama festival.[22] He also performed and wrote in the Oxford Revue (called the Et ceteras) with Jones.[23]

## Career

[edit]

### Early career

[edit]

After finishing university in 1965, Palin became a presenter on a comedy pop show called Now! for the television contractor Television Wales and the West.[24] At the same time, Palin was contacted by Jones, who had left university a year earlier, to help with writing a theatrical documentary about sex through the ages.[25] Although this project was eventually abandoned, it brought Palin and Jones together as a writing duo and led them to write comedy for various BBC programmes, such as The Ken Dodd Show, The Billy Cotton Bandshow, and The Illustrated Weekly Hudd.[26] They collaborated in writing lyrics for an album by Barry Booth called Diversions. They were also in the team of writers working for The Frost Report, whose other members included Frank Muir, Barry Cryer, Marty Feldman, Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett, Dick Vosburgh and future Monty Python members Graham Chapman, John Cleese and Eric Idle.[27][28][29]

Although the members of Monty Python had already encountered each other over the years, The Frost Report was the first time all the British members of Monty Python (its sixth member, Terry Gilliam, was at that time an American citizen) worked together.[15] During the run of The Frost Report the Palin/Jones team contributed material to two shows starring John Bird: The Late Show and A Series of Birds. For A Series of Birds the Palin/Jones team had their first experience of writing narrative instead of the short sketches they were accustomed to conceiving.[30]

Following The Frost Report the Palin/Jones team worked both as actors and writers on the show Twice a Fortnight with Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie and Jonathan Lynn, and the successful children's comedy show Do Not Adjust Your Set with Idle and David Jason. The show also featured musical numbers by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, including future Monty Python musical collaborator Neil Innes. The animations for Do Not Adjust Your Set were made by Terry Gilliam. Eager to work with Palin[31] sans Jones, Cleese later asked him to perform in How to Irritate People together with Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. The Palin/Jones team were reunited for The Complete and Utter History of Britain.[32]

### Monty Python

[edit]

Main article: Monty Python

Palin in "The Spanish Inquisition" sketch at the 2014 reunion, Monty Python Live (Mostly)

On the strength of their work on The Frost Report and other programmes, Cleese and Chapman had been offered a show by the BBC, but Cleese was reluctant to do a two-man show for various reasons, among them Chapman's reputedly difficult personality. During this period Cleese contacted Palin about doing the show that ultimately became Monty Python's Flying Circus.[15] At the same time the success of Do Not Adjust Your Set had led Palin, Jones, Idle and Gilliam to be offered their own series and, while it was still in production, Palin agreed to Cleese's proposal and brought along Idle, Jones and Gilliam. Thus the formation of the Monty Python troupe has been referred to as a result of Cleese's desire to work with Palin and the chance circumstances that brought the other four members into the fold.[16]

Palin played various roles in Monty Python, which ranged from manic enthusiasm (such as the lumberjack of "The Lumberjack Song", or Herbert Anchovy, host of the game show "Blackmail") to unflappable calmness (such as the dead parrot seller or cheese shop proprietor).[33][34][35] As a straight man he was often a foil to the rising ire of characters portrayed by Cleese. He also played timid, socially inept characters such as Arthur Putey, the man who sits quietly as a marriage counsellor (Eric Idle) makes love to his wife (Carol Cleveland), and Mr Anchovy, a chartered accountant who wants to become a lion tamer. He appeared as the "It's" man (a Robinson Crusoe-type castaway with torn clothes and a long, unkempt beard) at the beginning of most episodes. He also frequently played a Gumby, a character Palin said "had these moronic views that were expressed with extraordinary force".[36]

Palin frequently co-wrote sketches with Terry Jones, including the "Spanish Inquisition sketch", which featured the catchphrase "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!". He also composed songs with Jones including "The Lumberjack Song", "Every Sperm Is Sacred" and "Spam". His solo musical compositions included "Decomposing Composers" and "Finland".[37]

### 1974–1996: Ripping Yarns and film roles

[edit]

In 1971, he co-wrote, with Hugh Leonard and Terence Feely, the film Percy, which depicts a penis transplant.

After the Monty Python television series ended in 1974, the Palin/Jones team worked on Ripping Yarns, an intermittent television comedy series broadcast over three years from 1976. They had earlier collaborated on the play Secrets from the BBC series Black and Blue in 1973. He played the lead role of the peasant Dennis in Terry Gilliam's 1977 film Jabberwocky. (He had earlier played the cameo role of "Dennis the Peasant" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, also directed by Gilliam.) Palin also appeared in All You Need Is Cash (1978) as Eric Manchester (based on Derek Taylor), the press agent for the Rutles. In 1980, Palin co-wrote Time Bandits with Terry Gilliam. He also acted in the film.

In 1982, Palin wrote and starred in The Missionary, co-starring Maggie Smith. In it, he plays the Reverend Charles Fortescue, who is recalled from Africa to aid prostitutes. He co-starred with Maggie Smith again in the 1984 comedy film A Private Function. In 1984, he reunited with Terry Gilliam to appear in Brazil. He appeared in the comedy film A Fish Called Wanda, which co-starred and was co-written by John Cleese, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.[7] Cleese reunited the main cast almost a decade later to make Fierce Creatures. After filming for Fierce Creatures finished, Palin went on a travel journey for a BBC documentary and, returning a year later, found that the end of Fierce Creatures had failed at test screenings and had to be reshot.

### 1996–present

[edit]

After Fierce Creatures and a small part in The Wind in the Willows, a film directed by and starring Terry Jones, it was twenty years until Palin's next film role, as Soviet politician Vyacheslav Molotov in the 2017 satirical black comedy The Death of Stalin. Palin also appeared with John Cleese in his documentary The Human Face. Palin was cast in a supporting role in the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan romantic comedy You've Got Mail, but his role was eventually cut entirely.[38]

Palin has also appeared in serious drama. In 1991 he appeared in the film American Friends, which he wrote based upon a real event in the life of his great-grandfather, a fellow at St John's College, Oxford.[39][40] In that same year he also played the part of a headmaster in Alan Bleasdale's Channel 4 drama series GBH. In 1994, Palin narrated the English language audiobook version of Esio Trot by children's author Roald Dahl.[41]

In 1997, Palin had a small cameo role in the Australian soap opera Home and Away. He played an English surfer with a fear of sharks, who interrupts a conversation between two main characters to ask whether there were any sharks in the sea. This was filmed while he was in Australia for the Full Circle series, with a segment about the filming of the role featuring in the series. In November 2005, he appeared in the John Peel's Record Box documentary.[42]

Michael Palin, Nightingale House, in Clapham, November 2010

In 2013, Palin appeared in a First World War drama titled The Wipers Times written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman.[43] At the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, it was announced that Palin was set to star alongside Adam Driver in Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.[44] Palin, however, dropped out of the film after it ran into a financial problem.[45]

While speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Palin announced that he was presenting the two-part documentary Michael Palin in North Korea to be broadcast on the British television network Channel 5.[46] The documentary was broadcast in September 2018, in two one-hour segments on Channel 5 in the UK and in a single two-hour programme on National Geographic in the United States.[47][48][49] It was broadcast again by Channel 5, in a single two-hour programme in December 2018.[50]

In July 2019, Palin performed a one-man stage show at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, Wales, about the loss of HMS Erebus during the third Franklin expedition, which is recounted in his book Erebus: The Story of a Ship.[51]

## Television documentaries

[edit]

### Travel

[edit]

Michael Palin at Cadogan Hall in 2022

Palin's first travel documentary was episode 4 of the 1980 BBC Television series Great Railway Journeys of the World, entitled "Confessions of a Trainspotter". Throughout the hour-long show, Palin humorously reminisces about his childhood hobby of train spotting while he travels throughout the UK by train from London to the Kyle of Lochalsh, via Manchester, York, Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh and Inverness. He rides vintage railway lines and trains including the Flying Scotsman. At the Kyle of Lochalsh, Palin bought the station's long metal platform sign and is seen lugging it back to London with him.

In 1994, Palin travelled through Ireland for the same series, entitled "Derry to Kerry". In a quest for family roots, he attempted to trace his great-grandmother – Brita Gallagher – who had set sail from Ireland 150 years earlier during the Great Famine (1845–1849), bound for a new life in Burlington, New Jersey. The series is a trip along the Palin family line.

Between 1989 and 2012, Palin appeared as a presenter in a series of travel programmes made for the BBC. It was after the veteran TV globetrotter Alan Whicker and journalist Miles Kington turned down presenting the first of these, Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin, that gave Palin the opportunity to present his first and subsequent travel shows.[52] In 2018, he was hired by ITN Productions to present travel documentaries commissioned by Channel 5, with journeys to North Korea and Iraq completed by 2022.[53]

* Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin (travel 1988; programme release 1989): travelling as closely as possible the path described in the famous Jules Verne story without using aircraft.
* Pole to Pole with Michael Palin (travel 1991; programme release 1992): travelling from the North Pole to the South Pole, following as closely as possible the 30-degree line of longitude, over as much land as possible, i.e., through Europe and Africa.
* Full Circle with Michael Palin (travel 1995/96; programme release 1997): in which he circumnavigated the lands around the Pacific Ocean anti-clockwise; a journey of almost 50,000 miles (80,000 km) starting on Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait and taking him through Asia, Oceania and the Americas.
* Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (1999): retracing the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway through the United States, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.
* Sahara with Michael Palin (travel 2001/02; programme release 2002): in which he trekked around and through the world's largest desert.
* Himalaya with Michael Palin (travel 2003/04; programme release 2004): in which he travels through the Himalaya region.
* Michael Palin's New Europe (travel 2006/07; programme release 2007): in which he travels through Central and Eastern Europe.
* Brazil with Michael Palin (2012) in which he travels through Brazil.[54]
* Michael Palin in North Korea on Channel 5 (2018, this ITN production was released in the US as North Korea from the Inside with Michael Palin) in which he visits North Korea at the time of the April 2018 inter-Korean summit.[55]
* Michael Palin: Into Iraq on Channel 5 (2022).[56][57]
* Michael Palin in Nigeria on Channel 5 (2024).[58]
* Michael Palin in Venezuela on Channel 5 (2025).[59]

Following each trip, Palin wrote a book about his travels, providing information and insights not included in the TV programme. Each book is illustrated with photographs by Basil Pao, the stills photographer who was on the team. (Exception: the first book, Around the World in 80 Days, contains some pictures by Pao but most are by other photographers.)

All seven of these books were also made available as audiobooks, and all of them are read by Palin himself. Around the World in 80 Days and Hemingway Adventure are unabridged, while the other four books were made in both abridged and unabridged versions.[60]

For four of the trips, a photography book was made by Pao, each with an introduction written by Palin. These are large coffee-table-style books with pictures printed on glossy paper. The majority of the pictures are of various people encountered on the trip, as informal portraits or showing them engaged in some interesting activity. Some of the landscape photos are displayed as two-page spreads.

Palin's travel programmes are responsible for a phenomenon called the "Palin effect", referring to areas of the world that he has visited suddenly become popular tourist attractions – for example, the significant increase in the number of tourists interested in Peru after Palin visited Machu Picchu.[61] In a 2006 survey of "15 of the world's top travel writers" by The Observer, Palin named Peru's Pongo de Mainique (canyon below the Machu Picchu) his "favourite place in the world".[62]

Palin notes in his book of Around the World in 80 Days that the final leg of his journey could originally have taken him and his crew on one of the trains involved in the Clapham Junction rail crash, but they arrived ahead of schedule and caught an earlier train.

### Art and history

[edit]

In recent years, Palin has written and presented occasional documentary programmes about artists who interest him. The first, on Scottish painter Anne Redpath, was Palin on Redpath in 1997. In The Bright Side of Life (2000), Palin continued on a Scottish theme, looking at the work of the Scottish Colourists. Two further programmes followed on European painters; Michael Palin and the Ladies Who Loved Matisse (2004) and Michael Palin and the Mystery of Hammershøi (2005), about the French artist Henri Matisse and Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi respectively. The DVD Michael Palin on Art contains all these documentaries except for the Matisse programme. In 2013, he travelled to the United States and filmed in both Maine and Pennsylvania, to write and present "Michael Palin in Wyeth World", which is about the American painter Andrew Wyeth and the people who inspired his paintings.

In November 2008, Palin presented a First World War documentary about Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, when thousands of soldiers lost their lives in battle after the war had officially ended. Palin filmed on the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium for the programme, called the Last Day of World War One, produced for the BBC's Timewatch series.[63]

## Personal life

[edit]

In 1966, Palin married Helen Gibbins (born October 1942), whom he first met in 1959 on holiday in Southwold in Suffolk.[15] This meeting was later fictionalised in Palin's teleplay for the 1987 BBC television drama East of Ipswich.[64] Their marriage lasted for 57 years, until Helen's death from kidney failure on 2 May 2023.[65]

Palin has three adult children: Thomas (born 1969), William (born 1970), and Rachel (born 1975); he also has four grandchildren.[55] Rachel is a BBC TV director, whose work includes MasterChef: The Professionals.[66][67] William is Director of Conservation at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London,[68] and oversaw the 2018–19 restoration of the Painted Hall.[69] A photograph of William as a baby briefly appeared in Monty Python and the Holy Grail as "Sir Not-appearing-in-this-film".[70] The theatre designer Jeremy Herbert is a nephew.[71]

Palin describes his religious belief as "agnostic with doubts".[72] He has lived in Gospel Oak, London, since the 1960s.[73][74]

Palin is a supporter of Sheffield Wednesday, holding aloft a trophy and shouting the club's name while in Venice shooting Around the World in 80 Days.[75] He has also followed the fortunes of Sheffield United[2] and Stenhousemuir F.C.[76]

On turning 80, Palin said,

> Eighty is a weird land to be in. People say to you 'you're a very young 70'. No one ever says 'you're a very young 80'.

> — [77]

## Activism and charity

[edit]

Palin assisted Campaign for Better Transport and others with campaigns on sustainable transport, particularly those relating to urban areas, and has been president of the campaign since 1986.[78]

On 2 January 2011, he became the first person to sign the UK-based Campaign for Better Transport's Fair Fares Now campaign. In July 2015, he signed an open letter and gave an interview to support "a strong BBC at the centre of British life" at a time when the government was reviewing the corporation's size and activities.[79]

In July 2010, Palin sent a message of support for the Dongria Kondh tribe of India, who were resisting mining on their land by the company Vedanta Resources. Palin said, "I've been to the Nyamgiri Hills in Orissa and seen the forces of money and power that Vedanta Resources have arrayed against a people who have occupied their land for thousands of years, who husband the forest sustainably and make no great demands on the state or the government. The tribe I visited simply want to carry on living in the villages that they and their ancestors have always lived in."[80]

Palin is a longstanding Vice President of the National Churches Trust.[81]

Palin is a co-founder of The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering.[82] When it opened in 1993 Palin became Vice President of Action for Stammering Children. Palin's awareness and understanding of stammering stemmed from his father’s experience as a person who stammers. Over the years Palin has provided support and connection to young people and families of people who stammer.

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1971  | And Now for Something Completely Different | Various roles  | Also writer
1975  | Monty Python and the Holy Grail | Sir Galahad the Pure
Leader of the Knights Who Say "Ni!"
Various roles
1977  | Jabberwocky | Dennis Cooper  |
1978  | All You Need Is Cash | Eric Manchester/Lawyer  |
1979  | Monty Python's Life of Brian | Pontius Pilate/Various roles  | Also writer
1981  | Time Bandits | Vincent
1982  | Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl | Various roles
The Missionary | The Reverend Charles Fortescue  | Also writer and producer
1983  | Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | Various roles  | Also writer
The Crimson Permanent Assurance | Workman  | Short film
1984  | A Private Function | Gilbert Chilvers  |
1985  | Brazil | Jack Lint  |
1987  | The Grand Knockout Tournament | Himself  | Television special
1988  | A Fish Called Wanda | Ken Pile  |
1991  | American Friends | Reverend Francis Ashby  | Also writer
1996  | The Wind in the Willows | The Sun  | Voice only
1997  | Fierce Creatures | Adrian 'Bugsy' Malone  |
2010  | Not the Messiah | Mrs Betty Palin/Pontius Pilate/Bevis  |
2011  | Arthur Christmas | Ernie Clicker  | Voice only
2012  | A Liar's Autobiography:
The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman | Various roles
2014  | Monty Python Live | Also writer
2015  | Absolutely Anything | Kindly Alien  | Voice only
2017  | The Death of Stalin | Vyacheslav Molotov |
TBA | The Magic Faraway Tree | TBA | Filming

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1965–1966  | Now! | Himself (host)  |
1966–1967  | The Frost Report |  | Writer
The Late Show |
1967  | A Series of Bird's |  | Also writer
Twice a Fortnight | Various
1967–1969  | Do Not Adjust Your Set
1968  | Broaden Your Mind
How to Irritate People |
Marty | Also writer
1969  | The Complete and Utter History of Britain
1969–1974  | Monty Python's Flying Circus
1975  | Three Men in a Boat | Harris  | TV movie
1976–1979  | Ripping Yarns | Various  | Also writer
1978–1984  | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host)  | 4 episodes
1980  | Great Railway Journeys of the World | Himself  | Episode: "Confessions of a Trainspotter"; also writer
1987  | East of Ipswich |  | Writer
1989  | Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin | Himself (host)  | Also writer
Number 27 |  | TV movie, writer[83]
1991  | G.B.H. | Jim Nelson  |
1992  | Pole to Pole with Michael Palin | Himself (host)  | Also writer
1993  | Tracey Ullman: A Class Act | Various  | TV movie
1994  | Great Railway Journeys | Himself (host)  | Episode: "Derry to Kerry"; also writer
1994  | Palin's Column | Himself (host)  |
1995  | The Wind in the Willows | Rat (voice)  | TV movie
1996  | The Willows in Winter
1997  | Full Circle with Michael Palin | Himself (host)  | Also writer
Palin on Redpath |
1998  | Monty Python Live at Aspen | Himself / various  |
1999  | Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure | Himself (host)  | Also writer
2000  | Michael Palin On... The Colourists
2002  | Sahara with Michael Palin
Life on Air |
2004  | Himalaya with Michael Palin | Also writer
Michael Palin and the Ladies Who Loved Matisse |
2005  | Michael Palin and the Mystery of Hammershøi |
2007  | Michael Palin's New Europe | Also writer
Robbie the Reindeer | Gariiiiiii/Gary (voice)  | Episode: "Close Encounters of the Herd Kind"
2008  | Around the World in 20 Years | Himself (host)  | Also writer
2012  | Brazil with Michael Palin
2013  | The Wipers Times | General Mitford  | TV movie
Michael Palin in Wyeth's World | Himself (host)  | Also writer
2014  | Remember Me | Tom Parfitt  |
2015  | Clangers | Narrator[84] |
Michael Palin's Quest for Artemisia | Himself (host)  |
2018  | Vanity Fair | William Makepeace Thackeray |
Michael Palin in North Korea[85] | Himself (host)  |
2019  | Worzel Gummidge | The Green Man[86] |
2020  | The Simpsons | Museum Curator (voice)  | Episode: "I, Carumbus"
Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime[87] | Himself (host)  |
Michael Palin’s Himalaya: Journey of a Lifetime[88] |
2021  | Staged | Himself  |
2022  | Michael Palin: Into Iraq[89] | Himself (host)  |
2024  | Michael Palin in Nigeria[90] |
2025  | Michael Palin in Venezuela |
TBA  | Small Prophets (w/t) | Brian[91] |

### Radio

[edit]

* The Weekend (2017, adapted from his 1994 stage play)
* John Finnemore's Double Acts – "The Wroxton Box" (Series 2, Episode 6; 2017)
* Torchwood: Tropical Beach Sounds and Other Relaxing Seascapes #4 (April 2020)

## Bibliography

[edit]

### Travel books

[edit]

* Around the World in 80 Days (1989) ISBN 0-563-20826-0
* Pole to Pole (1992) ISBN 0-563-37065-3
* Full Circle (1997) ISBN 0-563-37121-8
* Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (1999) ISBN 0-297-82528-3
* Sahara (2002) ISBN 0-297-84303-6
* Himalaya (2004) ISBN 0-297-84371-0
* New Europe (2007) ISBN 0-297-84449-0
* Brazil (2012) ISBN 0-297-86626-5
* North Korea Journal (2019) ISBN 978-1786331908
* Into Iraq (2022) ISBN 978-1529153118
* Michael Palin in Venezuela (2025) ISBN 978-1529154726

All but the latest two of his travel books can be read with no charge, complete and unabridged, on Palin's Travels website Archived 1 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine.

### Autobiography (contributor)

[edit]

* The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons (2003) ISBN 0-7528-5293-0

### Diaries

[edit]

* Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years. 2006. ISBN 978-0-297-84436-5
* Diaries 1980–1988: Halfway to Hollywood – The Film Years. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2009. ISBN 978-0-297-84440-2
* Diaries 1988–1998: Travelling to Work. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2014. ISBN 978-0-297-84441-9
* Diaries 1999–2009: There and Back. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2024. ISBN 978-1-474-61275-3

### Fiction

[edit]

* Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls with Terry Jones, illus Martin Honeysett, Frank Bellamy et al. (1974) ISBN 0-413-32740-X
* Dr Fegg's Encyclopaedia of All World Knowledge (1984) (expanded reprint of the above, with Terry Jones and Martin Honeysett) ISBN 0-87226-005-4
* Hemingway's Chair (1995) ISBN 0-7493-1930-5
* The Truth (2012) ISBN 978-0297860211

### Non-fiction

[edit]

* Erebus: The Story of a Ship (2018, UK) ISBN 978-1847948120
* Erebus: One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time (2018, US/Canada) ISBN 978-1771644419
* Great-Uncle Harry: A Tale of War and Empire (2023) ISBN 978-1039001985

### Children's books

[edit]

* Small Harry and the Toothache Pills (1982) ISBN 0-416-23690-1
* Limerics or The Limerick Book (1985) ISBN 0-09-161540-2
* Cyril and the House of Commons (1986) ISBN 1-85145-078-5
* Cyril and the Dinner Party (1986) ISBN 1-85145-069-6
* The Mirrorstone with Alan Lee and Richard Seymour (1986) ISBN 0-224-02408-6

### Plays

[edit]

* The Weekend (1994) ISBN 0-413-68940-9

## Awards, honours and legacy

[edit]

Class 153, no. 153335 Michael Palin at Cambridge

Palin was instrumental in setting up the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in 1993.[92] Also in 1993, each member of Monty Python had an asteroid named after them. Palin's is Asteroid 9621 Michaelpalin.[93] In 2003, inside the Globe Theatre a commemorative stone was placed – Palin has his own stone, to mark donors to the theatre, but it is misspelt as "Michael Pallin". The story goes that John Cleese paid for the stone, and mischievously insisted on misspelling his name.[94]

In honour of his achievements as a traveller, especially rail travel, Palin has two British trains named after him. In 2002, Virgin Trains' new £5 million high-speed Super Voyager train number 221130 was named Michael Palin - it carries his name externally and a plaque is located adjacent to the onboard shop with information on Palin and his many journeys.[95] Also, National Express East Anglia named a British Rail Class 153 (unit number 153335) after him. (He is a model railway enthusiast.[96][self-published source?])

Sheffield Legends plaque in Palin's home city of Sheffield, England

In 2008, he received the James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society in Dublin. In recognition of his services to the promotion of geography, Palin was awarded the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in March 2009, along with a Fellowship of this Society (FRGS).[97]

In June 2013, he was similarly honoured in Canada with a gold medal for achievements in geography by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.[98] In June 2009, Palin was elected for a three-year term as President of the Royal Geographical Society.[99][100] Because of his self-described "amenable, conciliatory character" Michael Palin has been referred to as unofficially "Britain's Nicest Man".[101] In a 2018 poll for Yorkshire Day he was named the greatest Yorkshireman ever, ahead of Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart.[102]

In September 2013, Moorlands School, Leeds, named one of their school houses "Palin" after him.[103] The University of St Andrews awarded Palin an honorary Doctor of Science degree during their June 2017 graduation ceremonies, with the degree recognising his contribution to the public's understanding of contemporary geography.[104] He joins his fellow Pythons John Cleese and Terry Jones in receiving an honorary degree from the Fife institution.[105] In October 2018, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society awarded Palin the first Louie Kamookak Medal for advances in geography, for his book on the history of the polar exploration vessel HMS Erebus.[106]

Palin was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for "services to television drama and travel documentaries".[107] He then was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2019 New Year Honours for "services to travel, culture and geography". Palin is the only member of the Monty Python team to receive a knighthood.[108]

In 2017, the British Library acquired Palin's archive consisting of project files relating to his work, notebooks, and personal diaries. The papers in the archive (Add MS 89284) relate to his work with Monty Python, his later TV work, and his children's and humorous books.[109]

BAFTA Awards

Sir Michael Palin with the AIB Lifetime Achievement Award November 2024

* 1984 Nominated – BAFTA Award for "Best Original Song" (the award was discontinued after the 1985 ceremonies) for Every Sperm is Sacred from The Meaning of Life (shared with André Jacquemin, Dave Howman and Terry Jones)
* 1989 Won – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for A Fish Called Wanda (as Ken Pile)[110]
* 1992 Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for GBH
* 2005 Won – BAFTA Special Award
* 2009 Won – BAFTA Special Award as part of the Monty Python team for outstanding contribution to film and television[111]
* 2013 Won – BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award[112][113]

Other awards

* 2011 Awarded the Aardman Slapstick Visual Comedy Legend award for "significant contributions made to the world of comedy".[114]
* 2020 National Television Awards Special Recognition Award
* 2024 Association for International Broadcasting Lifetime Achievement Award

## References

[edit]

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52. ^ Vestey, Michael (6 August 2005). "Watching over Whicker". Findarticles.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
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61. ^ Webster, Ben (14 January 2005). "Globetrotter Palin brought down to earth by eco-lobby". The Times. London. Retrieved 14 August 2006.
62. ^ Wilkinson, Carl (8 January 2006). "My favourite place in the world". The Observer. UK. Retrieved 18 August 2007.
63. ^ "Timewatch – The Last Day of World War One". BBC. Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
64. ^ Ross 1997, p. 57.
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67. ^ "Home truths on Wanderlust". Camden New Journal. London, England: New Journal Enterprises. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
68. ^ "Will Palin appointed as Conservation Director". Old Royal Naval College Website. 1 February 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
69. ^ "Need helping appreciating a museum? Get comfy first". i News. 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
70. ^ "Twiggy, Monty Python's Michael Palin among recipients on New Year's Honors List". CBS News. 28 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
71. ^ Palin, Michael (2014). Travelling to Work: Diaries 1988–1998. London, England: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 88\. ISBN 9781466888913.
72. ^ Palin, Michael (22 May 2015). "My seven of the best". The Church Times. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
73. ^ "Gospel Oak | Hidden London". Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
74. ^ "Sir Michael Palin's beloved wife Helen dies aged 80". Islington Gazette. 13 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
75. ^ Palin, Michael (20 September 2007). "Michael Palin in Venice Around the World in 80 Days BBC Studios" (video). youtube.com. BBC Studios. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
76. ^ "Michael Palin puts money into his Scottish team". 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
77. ^ Harari, Fiona. "'Eighty is a weird land to be in': Michael Palin is still looking on the bright side of life". The Australian.
78. ^ "Campaign for Better Transport website". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008.
79. ^ "Michael Palin: 'BBC still lets us experiment'". BBC News. 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
80. ^ Michael Palin sends message to support Dongria Kondh Archived 25 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Survival International
81. ^ "Our Presidents and Patrons". Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
82. ^ "The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering". Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
83. ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 3 August 1989. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
84. ^ "Michael Palin to narrate Clangers". BBC News. 8 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
85. ^ Mangan, Lucy (21 September 2018). "Michael Palin in North Korea review – a soothing look at a sinister regime". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
86. ^ "BBC One – Worzel Gummidge, Series 1, The Green Man". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
87. ^ "Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
88. ^ "Michael Palin's Himalaya: Journey of a Lifetime". BBC Two. BBC. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
89. ^ "Sir Michael Palin to travel across Iraq in new Channel 5 series". irishnews.com. 18 May 2022. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
90. ^ "Michael Palin in Nigeria". orangesmarty.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
91. ^ "BBC commissions new Mackenzie Crook comedy Small Prophets (w/t)". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
92. ^ "Palin's centre for stammerers wins £340,000 grant". Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
93. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
94. ^ "11 Secret Features of Famous London Landmarks". Londonist. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
95. ^ "Virgin Trains". Archived from the original on 16 October 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
96. ^ "can we attract youth to railway modelling?". www.009.cd2.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
97. ^ "Royal Scottish Geographical Society: Medals & Awards". Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
98. ^ Ouzounian, Richard (26 June 2013). "Michael Palin, from Monty Python to travel series host". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
99. ^ "Michael Palin announced as new president of Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
100. ^ "A new journey of exploration for Michael Palin". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
101. ^ Lee, Marc (24 August 2009). "Michael Palin: he's not a Messiah, just a very nice man". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
102. ^ "Ed Sheeran named among the greatest Yorkshiremen of all time". London Economic. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
103. ^ "Moorlands School Forms and Houses". Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
104. ^ "Former Python looks on the bright side after uni honour". Fife Today. Kirkcaldy: Johnston Press. 23 June 2017. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
105. ^ [1] [permanent dead link]
106. ^ "Michael Palin wows audiences with tale of HMS Erebus". Canadian Geographic. 20 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
107. ^ "Trio of Dames lead showbiz honours". BBC News. 31 December 1999. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
108. ^ "Monty Python's Michael Palin gets knighthood in New Year Honours". Yorkshire Evening Post. 29 December 2018. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
109. ^ [2] [permanent dead link]
110. ^ "BAFTA Film Awards – Best Supporting Actor 1989". BAFTA. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
111. ^ "Monty Python Special Award". Archived from the original on 8 November 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
112. ^ "TV Baftas 2013: all the winners". The Guardian. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
113. ^ "Michael Palin To Receive Academy Fellowship at the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards". BAFTA. Archived from the original on 31 August 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
114. ^ "Aardman Slapstick Visual Comedy Award". slapstick.org.uk. 18 June 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2017.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Jones, Mark (2010). The Famous Charisma Discography The Record Press/Bristol Folk Publications ISBN 978-0-9563531-1-5 – discography of Monty Python's record label, includes foreword by Michael Palin
* Novick, Jeremy (2001). Life of Michael: an Illustrated Biography of Michael Palin Headline Publishing (a division of Hodder Headline) ISBN 0-7472-3529-5
* Ross, Robert (1997). Monty Python Encyclopedia. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. ISBN 1-57500-036-9.
* Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus: Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960–1980 Eyre Methuen Ltd ISBN 0-413-50770-X

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Michael Palin.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michael Palin.

* Official website
* Michael Palin Archived 29 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine – BBC Guide to Comedy
* Michael Palin Archived 26 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine – Comedy Zone
* Michael Palin at IMDb
* Michael Palin at the BFI's Screenonline
* Michael Palin at the Internet Broadway Database
* Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children
* Michael Palin Archived 5 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine interview on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs, 23 November 1979
* Michael Palin | Culture | The Guardian

Awards for Michael Palin

* v
* t
* e

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1968–2000|

* Ian Holm (1968)
* Laurence Olivier (1969)
* Colin Welland (1970)
* Edward Fox (1971)
* Ben Johnson (1972)
* Arthur Lowe (1973)
* John Gielgud (1974)
* Fred Astaire (1975)
* Brad Dourif (1976)
* Edward Fox (1977)
* John Hurt (1978)
* Robert Duvall (1979)
* Ian Holm (1981)
* Jack Nicholson (1982)
* Denholm Elliott (1983)
* Denholm Elliott (1984)
* Denholm Elliott (1985)
* Ray McAnally (1986)
* Daniel Auteuil (1987)
* Michael Palin (1988)
* Ray McAnally (1989)
* Salvatore Cascio (1990)
* Alan Rickman (1991)
* Gene Hackman (1992)
* Ralph Fiennes (1993)
* Samuel L. Jackson (1994)
* Tim Roth (1995)
* Paul Scofield (1996)
* Tom Wilkinson (1997)
* Geoffrey Rush (1998)
* Jude Law (1999)
* Benicio del Toro (2000)

2001–present|

* Jim Broadbent (2001)
* Christopher Walken (2002)
* Bill Nighy (2003)
* Clive Owen (2004)
* Jake Gyllenhaal (2005)
* Alan Arkin (2006)
* Javier Bardem (2007)
* Heath Ledger (2008)
* Christoph Waltz (2009)
* Geoffrey Rush (2010)
* Christopher Plummer (2011)
* Christoph Waltz (2012)
* Barkhad Abdi (2013)
* J. K. Simmons (2014)
* Mark Rylance (2015)
* Dev Patel (2016)
* Sam Rockwell (2017)
* Mahershala Ali (2018)
* Brad Pitt (2019)
* Daniel Kaluuya (2020)
* Troy Kotsur (2021)
* Barry Keoghan (2022)
* Robert Downey Jr. (2023)
* Kieran Culkin (2024)

* v
* t
* e

BAFTA Fellowship

1971–2000|

* Alfred Hitchcock (1971)
* Freddie Young (1972)
* Grace Wyndham Goldie (1973)
* David Lean (1974)
* Jacques Cousteau (1975)
* Charlie Chaplin (1976)
* Laurence Olivier (1976)
* Denis Forman (1977)
* Fred Zinnemann (1978)
* Lew Grade (1979)
* Huw Wheldon (1979)
* David Attenborough (1980)
* John Huston (1980)
* Abel Gance (1981)
* Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger (1981)
* Andrzej Wajda (1982)
* Richard Attenborough (1983)
* Hugh Greene (1984)
* Sam Spiegel (1984)
* Jeremy Isaacs (1985)
* Steven Spielberg (1986)
* Federico Fellini (1987)
* Ingmar Bergman (1988)
* Alec Guinness (1989)
* Paul Fox (1990)
* Louis Malle (1991)
* John Gielgud (1992)
* David Plowright (1992)
* Sydney Samuelson (1993)
* Colin Young (1993)
* Michael Grade (1994)
* Billy Wilder (1995)
* Jeanne Moreau (1996)
* Ronald Neame (1996)
* John Schlesinger (1996)
* Maggie Smith (1996)
* Woody Allen (1997)
* Steven Bochco (1997)
* Julie Christie (1997)
* Oswald Morris (1997)
* Harold Pinter (1997)
* David Rose (1997)
* Sean Connery (1998)
* Bill Cotton (1998)
* Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise (1999)
* Elizabeth Taylor (1999)
* Michael Caine (2000)
* Stanley Kubrick (2000)
* Peter Bazalgette (2000)

2001–present|

* Albert Finney (2001)
* John Thaw (2001)
* Judi Dench (2001)
* Warren Beatty (2002)
* Merchant Ivory Productions (2002)
* Andrew Davies (2002)
* John Mills (2002)
* Saul Zaentz (2003)
* David Jason (2003)
* John Boorman (2004)
* Roger Graef (2004)
* John Barry (2005)
* David Frost (2005)
* David Puttnam (2006)
* Ken Loach (2006)
* Anne V. Coates (2007)
* Richard Curtis (2007)
* Will Wright (2007)
* Anthony Hopkins (2008)
* Bruce Forsyth (2008)
* Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders (2009)
* Terry Gilliam (2009)
* Nolan Bushnell (2009)
* Vanessa Redgrave (2010)
* Shigeru Miyamoto (2010)
* Melvyn Bragg (2010)
* Christopher Lee (2011)
* Peter Molyneux (2011)
* Trevor McDonald (2011)
* Martin Scorsese (2012)
* ~~Rolf Harris~~ (2012)
* Alan Parker (2013)
* Gabe Newell (2013)
* Michael Palin (2013)
* Helen Mirren (2014)
* Rockstar Games (2014)
* Julie Walters (2014)
* Mike Leigh (2015)
* David Braben (2015)
* Jon Snow (2015)
* Sidney Poitier (2016)
* John Carmack (2016)
* Ray Galton & Alan Simpson (2016)
* Mel Brooks (2017)
* Joanna Lumley (2017)
* Ridley Scott (2018)
* Tim Schafer (2018)
* Kate Adie (2018)
* Thelma Schoonmaker (2019)
* Joan Bakewell (2019)
* Kathleen Kennedy (2020)
* Hideo Kojima (2020)
* Ang Lee (2021)
* Siobhan Reddy (2021)
* Billy Connolly (2022)
* Sandy Powell (2023)
* Shuhei Yoshida (2023)
* Meera Syal (2023)
* Samantha Morton (2024)
* Floella Benjamin (2024)
* Warwick Davis (2025)
* Yoko Shimomura (2025)
* Kirsty Wark (2025)

* v
* t
* e

National Television Award for Special Recognition

* Julie Goodyear (1995)
* David Jason (1996)
* Robson Green (1997)
* John Thaw (1998)
* Michael Barrymore (1999)
* Chris Tarrant (2000)
* Des O'Connor (2001)
* Ant & Dec (2002)
* Sir Trevor McDonald (2003)
* Caroline Quentin (2004)
* Jamie Oliver (2005)
* Sir David Attenborough (2006)
* Jeremy Clarkson (2007)
* Simon Cowell (2008)
* Stephen Fry (2010)
* Bruce Forsyth (2011)
* Jonathan Ross (2012)
* Joanna Lumley (2013)
* David Tennant (2015)
* Sir Billy Connolly (2016)
* Graham Norton (2017)
* Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs (2018)
* David Dimbleby (2019)
* Sir Michael Palin (2020)
* Line of Duty (2021)
* Sir Lenny Henry (2022)
* Sarah Lancashire (2023)
* Davina McCall (2024)

* v
* t
* e

RTS Programme Award for Best Presenter

* Margi Clarke (female) / Chris Evans (male) (1994)
* Jon Snow (1995)
* John Tusa (1996)
* Cilla Black (1997)
* Jeremy Clarkson (1998)
* David Attenborough (1999)
* Johnny Vaughan (2000)
* Graham Norton (2001)
* Ant & Dec (2002)
* Susannah Constantine & Trinny Woodall (2003)
* Melvyn Bragg (2004)
* Michael Palin (2005)
* Lorraine Kelly (2006)
* Bruce Parry (2007)
* Andrew Marr (2008)
* Bruce Parry (2009)
* Louis Theroux (2010)
* Brian Cox (2011)
* Gareth Malone (2012)
* Clare Balding (2013)
* Stephen Fry (2014)
* Billy Connolly (2015)
* Reggie Yates (2016)
* Grayson Perry (2017)
* Anita Rani (2018)
* Romesh Ranganathan (2019)
* Mobeen Azhar (2020)
* Joe Lycett (2021)
* Munya Chawawa (2022)
* Ramita Navai (2023)
* Chris Packham (2024)

Articles related to Michael Palin

* v
* t
* e

Monty Python

* Graham Chapman
* John Cleese
* Terry Gilliam
* Eric Idle
* Terry Jones
* Michael Palin

* Carol Cleveland
* Neil Innes

Television series|

* Flying Circus
* episodes
* Fliegender Zirkus
* Personal Best

Films|

* And Now for Something Completely Different
* Holy Grail
* Life of Brian
* Live at the Hollywood Bowl
* The Meaning of Life
* The Crimson Permanent Assurance

Studio albums|

* Another Record
* Previous Record
* Matching Tie and Handkerchief
* Holy Grail
* Life of Brian
* Contractual Obligation
* The Meaning of Life

Compilation albums|

* Instant Record Collection
* Final Rip Off
* Sings
* Ultimate Rip Off
* Instant CD Collection
* Total Rubbish

Live albums|

* Flying Circus
* Live at Drury Lane
* Live at City Center

Specials|

* Parrot Sketch Not Included
* Live at Aspen
* Python Night

Documentaries|

* The Pythons
* Life of Python
* Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut)
* And Now for Something Rather Similar
* The Meaning of Live

Stage productions|

* Spamalot
* Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)
* An Evening Without Monty Python
* Live (Mostly)

Literature|

* Big Red Book
* Brand New Bok
* Holy Grail (Book)
* Life of Brian/SCRAPBOOK
* The Meaning of Life
* Just the Words
* Song Book
* A Pocketful of Python
* The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons
* Live!

Video games|

* Flying Circus
* Complete Waste of Time
* Quest for the Holy Grail
* The Meaning of Life
* Cow Tossing
* The Ministry of Silly Walks

Characters|

* Mr Praline
* The Colonel
* Mr Creosote
* Rabbit of Caerbannog
* Other characters

Sketches|

* Albatross!
* Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses
* Architects
* Argument Clinic
* Bruces
* Cheese Shop
* Colin "Bomber" Harris vs Colin "Bomber" Harris
* Crunchy Frog
* Dead Parrot
* Dirty Fork
* Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook
* Election Night Special
* Fish Licence
* Fish-Slapping Dance
* Four Yorkshiremen
* The Funniest Joke in the World
* How Not to Be Seen
* Kilimanjaro Expedition
* Lifeboat
* Marriage Guidance Counsellor
* Ministry of Silly Walks
* Mouse Problem
* Nudge Nudge
* Patient Abuse
* Philosophers' Football Match
* Piranha Brothers
* Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days"
* Seduced Milkmen
* Spam
* Spanish Inquisition
* Undertakers
* Upper Class Twit of the Year
* Vocational Guidance Counsellor
* World Forum/Communist Quiz

Songs|

* "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"
* "Brian Song"
* "Bruces' Philosophers Song"
* "Decomposing Composers"
* "Eric the Half-a-Bee"
* "Every Sperm Is Sacred"
* "Finland"
* "Galaxy Song"
* "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio"
* "I Like Chinese"
* "I've Got Two Legs"
* "The Lumberjack Song"
* "Medical Love Song"
* "Oliver Cromwell"
* "Sit on My Face"

Related|

* List of Monty Python projects
* The Foot of Cupid
* Cambridge Circus
* I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
* The Frost Report
* At Last the 1948 Show
* Twice a Fortnight
* Do Not Adjust Your Set
* We Have Ways of Making You Laugh
* Broaden Your Mind
* How to Irritate People
* The Complete and Utter History of Britain
* The Fred Tomlinson Singers
* Teach Yourself Heath
* Python (Monty) Pictures
* Tiny Black Round Thing
* Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls
* Rutland Weekend Television
* Fawlty Towers
* Ripping Yarns
* Out of the Trees
* A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)
* Monty Python v. ABC
* Python On Song
* All You Need Is Cash
* The Secret Policeman's Ball
* A Liar's Autobiography: Volume VI
* The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album
* The Wind in the Willows
* Monty Python Live
* Concert for George
* Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years
* The Seventh Python
* Holy Flying Circus
* A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
* Absolutely Anything

* v
* t
* e

Michael Palin's trips

TV series|

* Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin (1989)
* Pole to Pole with Michael Palin (1992)
* Full Circle with Michael Palin (1997)
* Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (1999)
* Sahara with Michael Palin (2002)
* Himalaya with Michael Palin (2004)
* Michael Palin's New Europe (2007)
* Around the World in 20 Years (2008)
* Brazil with Michael Palin (2012)
* Michael Palin in North Korea (2018)
* Michael Palin: Into Iraq (2022)
* Michael Palin in Nigeria (2024)

Books|

* Around the World in 80 Days
* Pole to Pole
* The Photographs
* Full Circle
* The Photographs
* Hemingway Adventure
* Sahara
* Inside Sahara
* Himalaya
* Inside Himalaya
* New Europe
* Brazil
* North Korea Journal
* Michael Palin: Into Iraq

* v
* t
* e

Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society

19th century|

* F. J. Robinson
* George Murray
* John Barrow
* William R. Hamilton
* George Greenough
* Roderick Murchison
* Charles Abbot
* William J. Hamilton
* William Smyth
* Roderick Murchison
* Francis Egerton
* Frederick Beechey
* Roderick Murchison
* Bingham Baring
* Roderick Murchison
* Henry Rawlinson
* Henry Frere
* Rutherford Alcock
* Thomas Baring
* Henry Bruce
* John Campbell
* Richard Strachey
* M. E. Grant Duff
* Clements Markham

20th century|

* George Goldie
* Leonard Darwin
* George Curzon
* Douglas Freshfield
* Thomas Holdich
* Francis Younghusband
* Lawrence Dundas
* David George Hogarth
* Charles Close
* William Goodenough
* Percy Cox
* Henry Balfour
* Philip Chetwode
* Francis Rodd
* Harry Lindsay
* James Wordie
* James Marshall-Cornwall
* Roger Nathan
* Raymond Priestley
* Dudley Stamp
* Gilbert Laithwaite
* Edmund Irving
* Edward Shackleton
* Duncan Cumming
* John Hunt
* Michael John Wise
* Vivian Fuchs
* George Bishop
* Roger Chorley
* Crispin Tickell
* George Jellicoe
* John Palmer

21st century|

* Ron Cooke
* Neil Cossons
* Gordon Conway
* Michael Palin
* Judith Rees
* Nicholas Crane
* Lynda Chalker
* Nigel Clifford

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Japan
* Australia
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Portugal
* Netherlands
* Latvia
* Greece
* Korea
* Sweden
* Poland
* Israel
* Catalonia
* Belgium

Academics|

* CiNii

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* FID

People|

* Trove
* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* IdRef

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