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Michael Palin
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Image:Michael_Palin.jpg 150px|thumb|right|Michael Palin
'''Michael Edward Palin''' (born
May 5,
1943 in
Sheffield,
Yorkshire,
England) is an
England English comedian,
actor and
television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group
Monty Python, as well as for his travel
documentary film documentaries.
In a 2005 poll to find ''
The Comedian's Comedian'', he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
Early career
Michael Palin was educated at
Birkdale School, Sheffield, and
Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School. He went on to read
History at
Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College at
The University of Oxford.
While performing onstage at the ETC in Oxford, Palin met
Terry Jones, and together they wrote sketches for various
BBC comedy shows. He married his wife, Helen Gibbins, in 1966, and they remain together to this day.
He worked with future Pythons and other
Oxbridge comedians on projects such as ''
How to Irritate People'' with
John Cleese and
Tim Brooke-Taylor, and ''
Do Not Adjust Your Set'' with
Eric Idle, Terry Jones and
David Jason, and ''
Twice a Fortnight'' with Terry Jones,
Graeme Garden,
Bill Oddie and
Jonathan Lynn. It was during this time that John Cleese called up Michael Palin and wondered whether he was interested in doing a show with him, which would become ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus''.
''Monty Python''
In ''Monty Python'', Palin played various roles, showing the range of his acting abilities. Roles go from manic enthusiasm, (such as the
lumberjack of
the Lumberjack Song), or unflappable calmness (such as the
Dead Parrot vendor or
Cheese Shop sketch Cheese Shop proprietor). As the latter, he was often a foil to the rising ire of characters portrayed by
John Cleese.
Palin frequently wrote with Terry Jones for the sketches, some of the most memorable being the Lumberjack Song and Spam. But some sketches Palin wrote by himself, (or began the sketch by himself) such as the Spanish Inquisition, in which a fairly widespread
catchphrase was created- "No-one expects the
Spanish Inquisition Spanish Inquisition!"
Other Performances
Image:Ripping Yarns - Eric Olthwaite Being Tested.jpg thumb|left|Michael Palin in the ''[[Ripping Yarns'' episode: ''The Testing of Eric Olthwaite'']]
After Python ended, Palin collaborated with Python writing partner
Terry Jones on the television comedy series ''
Ripping Yarns'' and the play ''
Secrets (play) Secrets''. He also appeared in ''
All You Need Is Cash'' as the lawyer and press agent for
The Rutles.
In 1982, Palin wrote and starred in his first solo project after Python, ''
The Missionary''. In it, he plays the Reverend Charles Fortesque who is recalled back from Africa to England to aid prostitutes. This also starred
Maggie Smith.
He frequently appeared in
Terry Gilliam Terry Gilliam's films, such as ''
Time Bandits'', ''
Jabberwocky (film) Jabberwocky'', and ''
Brazil (film) Brazil''. His biggest international role in a movie besides Python was Ken Pile in ''
A Fish Called Wanda''. The movie was such a success that John Cleese reunited the main cast of ''A Fish Called Wanda'' to make ''
Fierce Creatures''. As Bugsy Malone, Michael once commented that Cleese had thought it amusing to give him a character that wouldn't shut up, when his character in ''A Fish Called Wanda'' hardly talked at all. Five days after, Michael went on another travel journey and returned a year later, only to find that the end of ''Fierce Creatures'' had been unsatisfactory and that the ending had to be reshot.
Although this role in ''Fierce Creatures'' was his official last big role on screen, Palin had a small part in ''
Wind in the Willows'', or Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, a film directed and starring Pythonite Terry Jones. Palin also appeared with John Cleese in his documentary, ''The Human Face''.
He assisted
Transport 2000 and others with campaigns on transport policy issues, particularly those relating to urban areas, and has now become president of Transport 2000.
Palin has also appeared as a "straight" actor in serious drama. In 1991 Palin worked as producer and actor in the film ''
American Friends'' based upon a real event in the life of his great grandfather, a fellow at St John's College, Oxford. In that same year he also played the part of a headmaster in
Alan Bleasdale's
Channel 4 drama series ''
G.B.H. (TV drama) G.B.H.''.
Documentaries
Palin's first travel documentary was part of the
1980 BBC Television series ''
Great Railway Journeys of the World'', in which — humourously reminiscing about his childhood hobby of
train spotting — he travelled throughout the UK by train, from
London to
Kyle of Lochalsh, via
Manchester,
York,
Edinburgh and
Inverness. 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, a second journey of Palin's for the same series, entitled "Derry to Kerry", went through
Ireland. More recently, he has presented several series of travel programmes on television:
* ''
Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days'' (
1989): travelling as closely as possible the path described in the famous
Jules Verne story without using
aircraft.
* ''
Pole to Pole'' (
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.
*
Irish Railway Journey: Derry to Kerry (1994): a quest for family roots, an attempt to trace his great grandmother — Brita Gallagher — who set sail from Ireland 150 years ago during the potato famine, bound for a new life in
Burlington, New Jersey,
USA. It is a trip along the Palin family line.
* ''
Full Circle with Michael Palin'' (
1997): in which he circumnavigated the lands around the
Pacific Pacific Ocean counter-clockwise. A journey of 80,000 kilometres 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 (television series) Sahara'' (
2002): in which he trekked through the world's
Sahara largest desert.
*''
Himalaya (mini-series) Himalaya'' (
2004): in which he travels through the
Himalaya Himalaya region.
Palin's travel programmes are responsible for a phenomenon termed the "Palin effect": how areas of the world that he has visited suddenly become popular tourist attractions — for example, the significant increase in the number of British holidaymakers interested in journeying to the
Sahara Desert Sahara region in
2003.
In 2005, he presented ''Michael Palin and the Mystery of Hammershoi'', about the
Denmark Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi, whose work he collects.
All his travel books can be read at no charge, complete and unabridged, on his [http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/ website].
Trivia
*The
Globe Theatre in London has a "Supporting Wall" which bears the names of individual donors to the Shakespeare's Globe Trust. John Cleese bought two "signatures" on the wall, one for himself and one for Palin, whose name he intentionally mis-spelled as "Michael Pallin".
*Much has been argued over which
football (soccer) football team Palin supports. He has often mentioned both major
Sheffield teams,
Sheffield Wednesday and
Sheffield United, in his travel programmes as well as occasionally going to the matches of both. In fact, Palin has himself admitted that he supports whichever team is doing better at the particular moment; following
Sheffield Wednesday's 1991
League Cup victory, he mentioned his support for the club in ''
Pole to Pole''. Several years later, on the
audio commentary (DVD) DVD commentary for the ''Ripping Yarns'' episode ''Golden Gordon'', he stated that his "current" team were
Sheffield United.
*Palin spent a week in
New York filming his role in ''
You've Got Mail'' as the long-time customer of Meg Ryan's bookshop, but his role was cut from the movie.
*During his
1995 journey around the Pacific Rim, Palin made a guest appearance on the Australian television soap opera ''
Home and Away'', playing a surfer.
*Palin is an acquaintance of
David Attenborough, and interviewed the naturalist about his career for the
2002 documentary ''Life on Air''.
*An asteroid, 9621 Michaelpalin, is named in his honour.
Further reading
*''From Fringe to Flying Circus'' - 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980' - Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980.
External links
{{wikiquote}}
-
Michael Palin - BBC Guide to Comedy
-
Palin's Travels - official website for the travel series
* {{imdb name|id=0001589|name=Michael Palin}}
-
Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children
{{MontyPython}}
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|- bgcolor="lightblue"
! Do Not Adjust Your Set
|-
| Denise Coffey — Eric Idle — David Jason — Terry Jones — Michael Palin
|
|- bgcolor="lightblue"
! Twice a Fortnight
|-
| Graeme Garden — Terry Jones — Jonathan Lynn — Bill Oddie — Michael Palin
|}
Category:1943 births Palin, Michael
Category:Living people Palin, Michael
Category:English actors Palin, Michael
Category:English comedians Palin, Michael
Category:British comedy writers Palin, Michael
Category:British television presenters Palin, Michael
Category:British television writers Palin, Michael
Category:English travel writers Palin, Michael
Category:Travel writers Palin, Michael
Category:Film actors Palin, Michael
Category:Monty Python members Palin, Michael
Category:Television actors Palin, Michael
Category:Former students of Brasenose College, Oxford Palin, Michael
Category:Sheffielders Palin, Michael
Category:Commanders of the British Empire Palin, Michael
Category:Old Salopians Palin, Michael
bg:Майкъл Палин
da:Michael Palin
de:Michael Palin
es:Michael Palin
fr:Michael Palin
he:מייקל פ×?לין
nl:Michael Palin
ja:マイケル・ペイリン
no:Michael Palin
pl:Michael Palin
pt:Michael Palin
simple:Michael Palin
fi:Michael Palin
sv:Michael Palin
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