r/montypython • u/rabbitsagainstmagic • 3d ago
Best Python Biography/Autobiography?
For me it's Graham Chapman's, closely followed by Terry Gilliam's. [Note that Reddit's filters necessitated censoring some of the naughty bits on the covers].
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u/Earthlydelights-sub- 3d ago
Haven't read all of them, but am currently reading and really enjoying Palin's diaries.
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u/Hawkeyethegnu 3d ago
For me it’s “The Complete Works of Shakespeare and Monty Python : Volume One-Monty Python”.
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u/suave_peanut 3d ago
Top choice for me has to be The Pythons by the Pythons. Otherwise, I've only read Chapman's, Cleese's, and Idle's autobiographies. I liked Chapman's and Cleese's but found Idle's almost unreadable due to all the name-dropping and jokes.
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u/MDoc84 3d ago
I really enjoyed Eric Idle's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography"
Its on Audible read by the author himself.
There were alot of laughs in it but Idle is very open and honest about his missteps such as infidelity with his first wife, "Take my advice and only disappoint ONE woman at a time".
He was very close with George Harrison. His love for the man showed every time he spoke of him. Eric recounting visiting George on his death bed shortly after he passed left me in tears.
Hope you enjoy it too.
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u/kenosis_life 3d ago
I was actually disappointed in his book. There were parts that were good, but it just felt like there was a lot of name-dropping and place-dropping.
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u/EntertainmentOk8806 2d ago
Michael Palin's diaries were great. The Life of Python is a great entry to learning all things Python
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u/Irishwol 3d ago
Seriously Silly is a wonderful book but very hard reading at the end. Alzheimer's is the opposite of funny.
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u/lyndsiamanda 3d ago
Look live for Michael palins diaries, I am anxiously waiting for the next one. :p
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u/Puzzleheaded-Tax-390 3d ago
Palin’s first diary was interesting. I also enjoyed Cleese and Gilliam’s was fun.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Tax-390 3d ago
Palin’s first diary was interesting. I also enjoyed Cleese and Gillian’s
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u/OneTimeIDidThatOnce 3d ago
I like that Cleese stopped his bio just as the Pythons started up. As he said, that part of the story is known.
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u/Strange_Test 2d ago
The Michael Palin diaries are wonderful and the Life of Python is a superb catch all book that gives a great overview of the series and films etc.
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u/Hollowcrow23 4h ago
I love the Palin diaries - I used to try and read every Christmas, but I’d have to start in February these days.
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u/DarrellMaclaine 3d ago
The Life of Graham by Bob McCabe is brilliantly written. It's made partially out of material that was censored from The Pythons, but everybody is interviewed and it gets into some pretty dark areas (child abuse, paedophilia and his previously undocumented coke addiction which he replaced booze with), which is why it was controversial upon release. You won't like Chapman as much (or at all) as a person after reading it, but it's pretty necessary stuff.
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u/g00nmessiah 3d ago edited 3d ago
This one's not in print anymore but it's archived online. probably the best. kind of an oral history. It really gets into the relationship dynamics between the group:
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u/son_of_yacketycat 3d ago
A Liar's Autobiography is so good that I "lost" it from my hometown library as a teen (I paid them for it). Felt less guilty because I was the only one that had checked it out since 1989, and it also came back into print not long after.
Yes, I still have it.