Terry Jones was born Terence Graham Parry Jones on February 1 1942 in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. When he was around 5 years old his family moved to Claygate, Surrey, a suburb of London. He was very young when he became a fan of The Goon Show, the legendary British radio comedy program featuring Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, and Michael Bentine. He attended Royal Grammar School in Guildford, Surrey. He attended Oxford, where he developed an interest in the medieval era and Geoffrey Chaucer. While at Oxford he joined the university's Experimental Theatre Club. It was also while at Oxford that he met fellow future Monty Python member. Michael Palin.
It was in 1963 that Terry Jones performed in and wrote part of what was his first revue, Loitering With Intent, to which Michael Palin also made contributions. Another Experimental Theatre Club show, Hang Down Your Head and Die, on which Messrs. Jones and Palin worked, went onto a six week run at the Comedy Theatre on London's West End in 1964.
Terry Jones and Michael Palin appeared on the sketch comedy television program Twice a Fortnight in 1967. That same year they appeared on, as well as contributed writing to, the children's show Do Not Adjust Your Set, alongside future Monty Python member Eric Idle. Future Monty Python member Terry Gilliam was also a writer on the show. Among the fans of Do Not Adjust Your Set were Graham Chapman and John Cleese. It was because of Do Not Adjust Your Set that Terry Jones and Michael Palin became charter members of Monty Python. Terry Jones also appeared on the TV programs Marty and The Complete and Utter History of Britain. He wrote material for The Late Show, The Frost Report, A Series of Bird's, Horne A'Plenty, and Broaden Your Mind.
Monty Python's Flying Circus debuted on BBC1 on October 5 1969. The show proved extremely popular in the United Kingdom from the start. In 1974 it grew in popularity in the United States when PBS stations began running it. The success of Monty Python's Flying Circus led to several movies, the first of which was And Now for Something Completely Different in 1971. The cult film Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), was co-directed by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam. Their next film, Life of Brian (1979), Mr. Jones directed alone. He would also direct Monty Python's final film, The Meaning of Life. Over the years Terry Jones appeared in various Monty Python reunions.
In the Seventies Terry Jones also wrote on the series The Two Ronnies, as well as wrote and appeared in the series Ripping Yarns. He appeared in Terry Gilliam's feature film debut as a solo director, Jabberwocky (1977). He also appeared in an episode of Saturday Night Live.
In the Eighties Terry Jones had a cameo in The Great Muppet Caper (1981). In addition to The Meaning of Life, he directed the movies Personal Services (1987) and Erik the Viking (1989). He also played King Arnulf in Erik the Viking. He wrote episodes of the TV miniseries Bombardemagnus and the TV show East of Moon. He guest starred on the TV show The Young Ones.
In the Nineties Mr. Jones wrote episodes of the medieval documentary TV series Crusades. He co-created the animated series Blazing Dragons. He wrote episodes of the documentary TV miniseries Ancient Inventions. He wrote the screenplay for the movie The Wind in the Willows (1996), which he also directed. He played Toad in the film as well. He was the English voice of Obelix in Astérix & Obélix contre César (1999), appeared in the feature film Le créateur (1999), and provided the voice of Professor Mac Krill in Hjælp! Jeg er en fisk (2000).
In the Naughts Terry Jones did a good deal as a medieval historian, writing the documentary TV movie The Surprising History of Rome, the documentary TV movie The Surprising History of Egypt, the documentary TV movie The Surprising History of Sex and Love, the documentary TV series Medieval Lives, and the documentary TV series Barbarians. He provided the voice of the Messenger Bird in the mini-series Dinotopia, guest starred on the TV series Comedy Lab, and served as the narrator on The Legend of Dick and Dom. In the Teens he wrote, directed, and appeared in the film Absolutely Anything (2015). He appeared in the TV series The Secret Policeman's Ball.
In addition to being a British comedy legend, Terry Jones was also a medieval historian of note. He was one of the world's foremost experts on Geoffrey Chaucer. He wrote Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary (1980), in which he argues that rather than the traditional interpretation of the Knight in The Knight's Tale as a exemplar of Christian virtues, he can be interpreted as an ordinary mercenary. He co-wrote the book Who Murdered Chaucer? (2003) with Robert F. Yeager, Terry Doran, and Alan Fletcher. As noted above, he wrote several television documentaries on history. He was known for challenging popular views of history. For example, in Barbarians he portrays the people conquered or opposing Rome as considerably more sophisticated than many historians have before.
He also wrote several children's books illustrated by Michael Forman and later Brian Froud, as well as novels for adults. He wrote columns for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and The Observer. He wrote poetry as well.
Terry Jones was a true Renaissance man who achieved much in his life, so much so that it is difficult to include everything he did in one blog post (I have to think that I have missed some of his career). Of course, chances are good that he will always be remembered as a comedy legend. Although not as well known in the United States, his work on Do Not Adjust Your Set is remembered in Britain to this day. He as regarded as the heart of Monty Python and often considered the driving force behind shaping the comedy troupe. He was well known for playing what the BBC termed "ratbag old women"and played notable parts in some of Monty Python's most famous sketches, including Cardinal Biggles in "The Spanish Inquisition," the nude organist who punctuated many sketches, a reserved, upper class man in "Nudge, Nudge," and the tobacconist in the "Hungarian translation sketch." Behind the scenes Terry Jones wrote much of Monty Python's material. He also co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail and directed The Life of Brian and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. He would go onto other comedy projects beyond Monty Python, including the classic comedy series Ripping Yarns and the movie Erik the Viking, which blended his interest in medieval history with comedy.
Of course, Terry Jones was much more than a comedy legend. He was also a medieval historian of note. It was Mr. Jones's gift as a historian to reveal other ways of looking at history than what many would have us believe. For anyone who has been taught that the tribes who often opposed the Roman Empire were nothing more than savages, the TV series Barbarians can be a revelation. As someone who has always had a keen interest in the Dark Ages (particularly Anglo-Saxon England), I have always had a keen appreciation for Terry Jones's work as a historian.
Terry Jones was also a rather prolific author, writing everything from a book of fantasy stories titled Evil Machines to medieval adventures such as The Tyrant and the Squire. He wrote a large number of critically acclaimed and award winning children's books.
Terry Jones was certainly appreciated in the entertainment industry, particularly by his fellow members of Monty Python. Michael Palin, who may well have been closest to Mr. Jones out of all the members of Monty Python, said in a statement, "He was kind, generous, supportive and passionate about living life to the full...He was far more than one of the funniest writer-performers of his generation, he was the complete Renaissance comedian – writer, director, presenter, historian, brilliant children’s author, and the warmest, most wonderful company you could wish to have." In the end Terry Jones was a most remarkable man, comedy legend, historian, author, and poet. He was a true scholar and a gentleman.
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