Name: Michael Palin
Date of Birth: 5/5/1943
Age At Time Of Writing: 71
Date of Birth: 5/5/1943
Age At Time Of Writing: 71
Michael Palin studied at Oxford University where he wrote for and performed at a Christmas Party with a fellow student. Terry Jones saw him performing and began working with Palin soon after. He was brought in by Jones, who was a year older, as a writer on several shows such as The Ken Dodd Show. They were also part of the writing team on The Frost Report which led to the creation of Do Not Adjust Your Set. He also worked with John Cleese and How to Irritate People.
While working on Monty Python's Flying Circus Michael Palin wrote with Terry Jones, with the humour developing a lot of the time from visual humour, and from ridiculous situations with a prime example of their work being the Spanish Inquisition. Palin was particularly good at playing very timid parts such as Arthur Putey, Mr. Anchovy and any other number of chartered accountants and that kind of thing as well as slimy conniving types like the pet shop owner, or members of the mafia and he played straight up bizarre characters like the homicidal barber who wanted to be a lumberjack.
While working on Monty Python's Flying Circus Michael Palin wrote with Terry Jones, with the humour developing a lot of the time from visual humour, and from ridiculous situations with a prime example of their work being the Spanish Inquisition. Palin was particularly good at playing very timid parts such as Arthur Putey, Mr. Anchovy and any other number of chartered accountants and that kind of thing as well as slimy conniving types like the pet shop owner, or members of the mafia and he played straight up bizarre characters like the homicidal barber who wanted to be a lumberjack.
Following his work on Python he worked with Jones again on Ripping Yarns, with Eric Idle on the Rutles mockumentary All You Need Is Cash, John Cleese in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures and Terry Gilliam in Jabberwocky; he also helped Terry Gilliam write Time Bandits and wrote and starred in The Missionary. However since 1996 he hasn't appeared in any films and doesn't do much in the way of acting, though he will be providing voiceover for the remake of the clangers.
In the mid 1980s Palin began working on travel documentaries beginning with the well regarded Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days and carried on making them through to his most recent one in 2012. These are highly regarded and all have books written around them as well; he helped to create something called the Palin effect, where the subjects of his documentaries become famous tourist spots.
In the mid 1980s Palin began working on travel documentaries beginning with the well regarded Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days and carried on making them through to his most recent one in 2012. These are highly regarded and all have books written around them as well; he helped to create something called the Palin effect, where the subjects of his documentaries become famous tourist spots.
Overall I would definitely class Michael Palin as one of my favourite comedy performers, he has a great amount of versatility and always looks very happy to be getting to do what he clearly loves to do.