Michael Palin
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Michael Edward Palin (born May 5, 1943 in Sheffield, Yorkshire) is a British comedian and television presenter. He is famous for being a member of the Monty Python's Flying Circus team in which he generally played roles that called for manic enthusiasm (such as the lumberjack of the Lumberjack Song), or unflappable calmness (such as the Dead Parrot vendor or Cheese Shop proprietor). As the latter, he was often the perfect foil to the rising ire of characters portrayed by John Cleese.
Michael Palin was educated at Birkdale preparatory school and Shrewsbury public school. He went on to read History at Brasenose College, Oxford.
After Monty Python, Palin subsequently collaborated with Python writing partner Terry Jones on the television comedy series Ripping Yarns. He also appeared in All You Need Is Cash as the lawyer and press agent for The Rutles.
In later years, Palin rejoined Cleese for the movies A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures and played an information retrieval specialist in fellow Python Terry Gilliam's Brazil. He has assisted Transport 2000 and others with campaigns on transport policy issues, particularly those relating to urban areas.
Palin's first travel documentary was part of the 1980 BBC Television series Great Railway Journeys of the World, in which, reminiscing about his childhood hobby of train spotting, he travelled throught the UK by train, from London to Kyle of Lochalsh, via Manchester, York, Edinburgh and Inverness. A second journey for the same series of Michael's went through Northern Ireland and Ireland titled "Derry to Kerry". 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 of the same name 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
- Full Circle with Michael Palin (1997), in which he circumnavigated the lands around the Pacific Ocean counter-clockwise, starting on Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait
- Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (1999), retracing the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway through the United States, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean
- Sahara (2002), in which he trekked through the world's largest desert.
- Himalaya (2004), in which he travels through the Himalaya region
Palin's travel programmes are responsible for a phenomenon termed the "Palin effect", in which areas of the world visited by Michael Palin suddenly become popular tourist attractions — for example, the significant increase in the number of British tourists interested in holidaying in the Sahara region in 2003.
Palin has also appeared as a 'straight' actor in serious drama, most notably in the 1991 serial G.B.H., broadcast on the Channel 4 network in the UK.
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.
External links
- Palin's Travels - official website for the travel series (http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/)
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- Transport 2000 (http://www.transport2000.org.uk/)
| Monty Python | Missing image MontyPythonFootLeftSmall.jpg foot | |
|---|---|---|
| Members | Graham Chapman • John Cleese • Terry Gilliam • Eric Idle • Terry Jones • Michael Palin | |
| Other Contributors | Carol Cleveland • Neil Innes • Connie Booth | |
| Films & TV Series | Monty Python's Flying Circus • And Now For Something Completely Different • Monty Python and the Holy Grail • Monty Python's Life of Brian • Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl • The Meaning of Life | |
de:Michael Palin es:Michael Palin fr:Michael Palin nl:Michael Palin ja:マイケル・ペイリン pl:Michael Palin pt:Michael Palin sv:Michael Palin