In Memory of Terry Jones (1942-2020)

Terry Jones (1942-2020)

British comedian/writer Terry Jones died on January 21st, 2020, at the age of 77, following the complications of his dementia. He was one of the members of the British comedy troupe Monty Python, which consisted of himself and others like John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Graham Chapman. The group is responsible for its sketch show "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and five of its movies, including "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", "Life of Brian", and "The Meaning of Life", which all have influenced a new generation of comedians.

The group was formed in 1969, as all of the founding members became household names and invented the phrase "Pythonesque" through its absurdist style of humour. Like the rest of his fellow Pythons, Jones performed various characters in several comedies. Such roles include Sir Bedivere the Wise and Prince Herbert in "Holy Grail", Brian's mother in "Life of Brian", who has famously shouted, "He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!" and the morbidly obese Mr. Creosote in "The Meaning of Life". In addition to starring in these movies, Terry Jones was known to have co-directed "Holy Grail" in his debut with Terry Gilliam and is the sole director of "Life of Brian" and "The Meaning of Life". Outside of his fame with Monty Python, Terry even wrote the script of "Labyrinth" for Jim Henson. He even directed movies like "Absolutely Anything", which he reunites with the surviving Python members and features Simon Pegg and Robin Williams in his final role.

In 2015, Jones could no longer speak due to being diagnosed with a rare degenerative form of dementia. My thoughts and prayers are to his family and friends, and we will surely miss him.

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