Michael Palin
Acting
- Born:
- 1943-05-05
- Place of birth:
- Broomhill, Sheffield, England, UK
Biography
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS (born 5 May 1943) is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries. Palin wrote most of his comedic material with Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows such as The Ken Dodd Show, The Frost Report and Do Not Adjust Your Set. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "Argument Clinic", "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", and "The Spanish Inquisition". Palin continued to work with Jones after Python, co-writing Ripping Yarns. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as A Fish Called Wanda, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted the 30th favourite by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. After Python, he began a new career as a travel writer and travel documentarian. His journeys have taken him across the world, including the North and South Poles, the Sahara desert, the Himalayas and, most recently, Eastern Europe. In 2000 Palin was honoured as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to television.
Known For
Filmography
Michael Palin in the Philippines
Secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry: Inside the Museum
David Attenborough's 100 Years on Planet Earth
The Magic Faraway Tree
Small Prophets
Joke
Michael Palin in Venezuela
The Secret Life of Trees
When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain
Innes Lloyd: The Producer
The Academy of Armando
David Frost Vs
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
My National Gallery, London
Michael Palin in Nigeria
Fawlty Towers: 50 Years of Laughs
Michael Palin: Into Iraq
The Fringe, Fame and Me
Remembers…
Monty Python's Best Bits Celebrated
Jeepers Creepers
Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime
Sir David Attenborough and Sir Michael Palin in Conversation
Staged
Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy
Worzel Gummidge
Python at 50: Silly Talks and Holy Grails
An Accidental Studio
Final Ascent: The Legend of Hamish MacInnes
Michael Palin in North Korea
Vanity Fair
Michael Palin: A Life on Screen
The Death of Stalin
Generation '66
Attenborough at 90
Michael Palin's Quest for Artemisia
Clangers
Artsnight
Absolutely Anything
A Life on Screen
Rik Mayall: Lord of Misrule
Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace
Remember Me
Monty Python: The Meaning of Live
Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly)
Monty Python Live (Mostly)
Monty Python: And Now for Something Rather Similar
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
The New Incomplete And Utter History Of Everything
Alexander Armstrong's Real Ripping Yarns
New Tales from Around the World in 80 Days
Michael Palin In Wyeth's World
The Meaning of Monty Python
The Wipers Times
Frost on Sketch Shows
A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
Anatomy of a Liar
Brazil with Michael Palin
Produced by George Martin
The Secret Policeman's Ball
Arthur Christmas
Making Qi
The Jonathan Ross Show
Perspectives
The Phoenix: A Century of Cinema
ZULU Comedy Galla
Not The Messiah: The Road To Albert Hall
Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)
Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) - Theatrical Release
Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)
Monty Python in Aberystwyth
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
Around the World in 20 Years
Inside Shabby Road: The Music of 'The Rutles'
Get Up and Go: The Making of 'The Rutles'
Timewatch: The Last Day of World War One
Monty Python: Before the Flying Circus
The Seventh Python
What Is Brazil?
Marty Feldman: Six Degrees of Separation
Life Of Brian Screenplay
Monty Python Conquers America
Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind
Michael Palin's New Europe
Movie Connections
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
Hitler: The Comedy Years
The Graham Norton Show
What the Pythons Did Next...
The Secret Life of Brian
Legends
The One Show
50 Films to See Before You Die
Monty Python's Flying Circus—John Cleese's Personal Best
Monty Python's Flying Circus — Michael Palin's Personal Best
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Terry Gilliam's Personal Best
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Graham Chapman's Personal Best
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Eric Idle's Personal Best
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Graham Chapman's Personal Best
Monty Python's Personal Best
The Roots of Monty Python
John Peel's Record Box
Michael Palin & the Mystery of Hammershøi
Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
Himalaya with Michael Palin
Parkinson
The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus Volume 2
The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus Volume 1
The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus Volume 3
Concert for George
The Meaning of Making 'The Meaning of Life'
Michael Palin and the Ladies Who Loved Matisse
Life on Air: David Attenborough's 50 Years in Television
Sahara with Michael Palin
Spike Milligan I told you I was ill... A live tribute
The Quest for the Holy Grail Locations
The Unknown Peter Sellers
Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure
Monty Python: 30th Anniversary Sketches
Monty Python: Pythonland
The Monty Python Story
Monty Python: From Spam to Sperm
30 Years of Monty Python, a Revelation
Fantasy World Cup
Monty Python: Live at Aspen
Parkinson
Palin on Redpath
Full Circle with Michael Palin
Fierce Creatures
The Willows in Winter
The Wind in the Willows
Clive Anderson All Talk
TFI Friday
The Wind in the Willows
The Frank Skinner Show
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Tracey Ullman: A Class Act
Meridian: The First Ten Minutes
The First Night of Meridian
Pole to Pole
Rabbit Ears - Jack and the Beanstalk
G.B.H.
American Friends
The Witches
Viz: The Documentary
Life of Python
The Simpsons
Parrot Sketch Not Included: Twenty Years of Monty Python
The Art Of Travel With Michael Palin
Michael Palin: The Art of Travel
Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days
The Movie Life of George
The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball
A Fish Called Wanda
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Daytime Live
Going Live!
The Grand Knockout Tournament
Omnibus Presents Comic Relief
Comedians Do It On Stage
Brazil
Friday People
A Private Function
The Dress
Comic Roots: Michael Palin
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
The Crimson Permanent Assurance
The Missionary
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Wogan
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
Time Bandits
The Box
Travels with Palin
Great Railway Journeys
The Secret Policeman's Ball
Roger of the Raj
Golden Gordon
Whinfrey's Last Case
Friday Night, Saturday Morning
Life of Brian
The Pythons: Somewhere in Tunisia, Circa A.D. 1979
The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash
Michael Palin’s Super 8mm - “Life of Brian”
The Curse of the Claw
Across the Andes by Frog
Murder at Moorstones Manor
Escape from Stalag Luft 112B
The Testing of Eric Olthwaite
The Broken Bottle
Jabberwocky
Pleasure at Her Majesty's
The Secret Policeman's Ball
Tomkinson's Schooldays
Ripping Yarns
Three Men in a Boat
Saturday Night Live
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Monty Python & the Holy Grail Location Report
Henry Cleans Up
Is This a Record?
Monty Python In The Netherlands
Full House
Pebble Mill at One
The Philosophers' Football Match
Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus
The Great Birds Eye Peas Relaunch 1971
Film '72
And Now for Something Completely Different
Euroshow '71: May Day Special
Monty Python: Who's There?
Ending It All
Monty Python's Flying Circus
How to Irritate People
The Complete and Utter History of Britain
Frost on Sunday
Do Not Adjust Your Set
Twice a Fortnight
A Series of Bird's
Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
Close-Up Toothpaste Relaunch
Just Dandy
The Mystery of the Missing Morsel of Murder at Moorstones Manor