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'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - In April 1969, six young men came together to create 'Monty Python’s Flying Circus.' The inaugural meeting of the comedy team happened either in a park or an Indian restaurant. Nobody can remember quite where. But it definitely happened 50 years ago.

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5 Brits, 1 Yank -

Five of the team were British. The other, American. Here they are front row left to right: Terry Jones, John Cleese, and Michael Palin. Back row: Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam. 

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Surreal and sidesplittingly funny - The first episode premiered on October 5, 1969 on BBC 1. British comedy would never be the same again. Absurd, irreverent, and often risqué, Python sketches typically targeted the idiosyncrasies of British life.

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The art of the "Pythonesque" - Terry Gilliam's surreal, bizarre, and subversive cut-out animations linked together many jokes and sketches. The American was responsible for the iconic giant foot that became a symbol of all that was "Pythonesque."

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Famous sketches and other silly skits - Many of the troupe's gags have achieved legendary status, sketches that include 'The Fish-Slapping Dance,' 'Dead Parrot,' 'Cheese Shop,' 'Nudge Nudge,' and 'Ministry of Silly Walks.' Feel free to follow this silly walk guide, attached here at no extra cost! (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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From the BBC to Bavaria! - In all, 45 episodes were aired over four series from 1969 to 1974, plus two episodes for German TV, known as 'Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus'—shot entirely on film and mostly on location in Bavaria. Terry Jones quipped that it was an opportunity "to do silly things in German."

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What's in a name? -

'A Horse, a Spoon and a Basin,' 'The Toad Elevating Moment,' and 'Owl Stretching Time,' were just three of the names suggested for the show before Cleese came up with 'Python,' with Idle suggesting 'Monty.' 

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Monty at the movies - A film, 'And Now for Something Completely Different' (1971), made ostensibly for the American market, packaged 90 minutes of sketches seen in the first two series of the television show. Later, 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975) galloped onto the big screen.

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'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975) - Mercilessly parodying the legend of King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, the comedy grossed more than any British film exhibited in the US in 1975.

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'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975) - Graham Chapman portrayed Arthur, King of the Britons. He also played a hiccuping guard at Swamp Castle.

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'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975) - And Chapman is the middle head of the Three-Headed Knight, seen here flanked by Terry Jones and Michael Palin.

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'Monty Python's Life of Brian' (1979) - This celebrated farce was directed by Terry Jones. Containing themes of religious satire that were controversial at the time, the movie nonetheless caught the imagination of the public and was a box-office success. However, the film was banned in some countries.

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'Monty Python's Life of Brian' (1979) - Graham Chapman again plays the lead role, this time as a chap called Brian Cohen, a Jewish man who is mistaken for Jesus Christ.

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'Monty Python's Life of Brian' (1979) - Rotten Tomatoes described the movie "as poignant as it is funny and satirical." This production was the highest grossing of any British film in the United States in 1979.

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'Monty Python's Life of Brian' (1979) - Classic lines include Michael Palin's character Pontius Pilate asking after Roman centurion Biggus Diccus and his wife, Incontinentia Buttocks, delivered deadpan and with a speech impediment.

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'Monty Python's Life of Brian' (1979) - Another memorable moment is when Reg, played by John Cleese, asks out loud during a meeting of the People's Liberation Front of Judea: "What have the Romans ever done for us?" The listeners shout back sanitation, medicine, education, and wine, among other positive aspects of the Roman occupation.

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'Monty Python's Life of Brian' (1979) - Christian protesters objected to the movie's final scene, the crucifixion sequence, accusing the troupe of mocking Jesus' suffering on the cross against a jolly ditty called 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.'

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'Monty Python's The Meaning of Life' (1983) - Loosely structured as a series of comic sketches about the various stages of life, this was the last film to feature all six Python members before Graham Chapman's death in 1989.

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'Monty Python's The Meaning of Life' (1983) - The film screened at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix.

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'Monty Python's The Meaning of Life' (1983) - The first sketch, 'The Miracle of Birth,' featured a musical set piece sung to 'Every Sperm Is Sacred,' which was nominated for a BAFTA Music Award for Best Original Song in a Film.

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'Monty Python's The Meaning of Life' (1983) - The film's high point (or should that be low point) is the sketch featuring the dreadful and horribly obese Mr Creosote, played by Terry Jones. French fine dining never looked so grotesque... and it's all down to a single after-dinner mint.

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'Monty Python's The Meaning of Life' (1983) - True to form, the Pythons took controversy by the teeth. The film's tagline said it all: "It took God six days to create the Heavens and the Earth, and Monty Python just 90 minutes to screw it up."

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'Monty Python's The Meaning of Life' (1983) - Ireland banned the film on its original release, as it had previously done with 'Monty Python's Life of Brian.'

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Death of Graham Chapman - In 1988 Graham Chapman was diagnosed with cancer. He died on October 4, 1989.The surviving members sent a wreath in the shape of the Python foot with the message: "To Graham from the other Pythons with all our love. PS: Stop us if we're getting too silly."

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'Spamalot' (2008) - Devised by Eric Idle, this musical comedy based on 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' originally opened in 2005 on Broadway. It's since toured the world, garnered dozens of awards, and provided the Python's with a very useful pension fund. Pictured: 'Spamalot' showing at London's Palace Theatre.  (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Reunion - Planned as a single performance for July 1, 2014 at the O2 venue in London, 'Monty Python Live (Mostly)' was expanded to 10 shows due to the incredibly high demand for tickets.

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'Monty Python Live (Mostly)' (2014) - The O2 shows marked the Pythons' first live performances together in 34 years, and their first without Graham Chapman. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0)

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'Monty Python Live (Mostly)' (2014) - The classic 'Four Yorkshiremen' sketch performed by Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and John Cleese, who replaced Graham Chapman, the original "fourth" Yorkshireman, for this gig.

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'Monty Python Live (Mostly)' (2014) -

Written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman, the 'Dead Parrot' skit is one of the most famous of all Python sketches. It was first aired in December 1969.

See also: Classic comedy double acts that made us all laugh. 

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