Ian MacNaughton 'Monty Python' Director Dies
01-03-03, 06:55 PM
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Ian MacNaughton 'Monty Python' Director Dies
http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?29510
Fri, Jan 3, 2003 10:29 AM PDT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Ian MacNaughton, who directed nearly every episode of "Monty Python's Flying Circus," has died.
MacNaughton died in mid-December at his home in Germany, the AP reports. He was 76. Python member Terry Jones says MacNaughton never fully recovered from a 2001 car accident.
After a few years working as an actor, playing mostly minor roles, MacNaughton moved into directing in the late 1960s. He worked on the British comedy series "Q5" before joining the "Flying Circus" in its early stages in 1969.
Jones says although the six members of the troupe -- Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Jones -- were initially wary of MacNaughton, he soon became a trusted member of the team. The director also championed the often crazy antics of the show to BBC executives.
The series was seen on PBS in the United States, and the members of Monty Python quickly became cult heroes.
MacNaughton also directed the troupe's first feature film, "And Now for Something Completely Different," a collection of sketches from the TV show restaged and shot on film.
He appreciated the spirit of Python: the subversiveness and a touch of anarchy struck a chord with him, and being a bit of a wild Scotsman, he loved the fact that we were trying something new," Palin says."
I have to say that Monty Python's Flying Circus was probably the most funny and smart comedy ever on t.v. There was nothing ever like it and I think that Ian deserves alot of credit for his direction of it, even though he was rarely mentioned in the same breath as Monty Python.
Chris
Fri, Jan 3, 2003 10:29 AM PDT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Ian MacNaughton, who directed nearly every episode of "Monty Python's Flying Circus," has died.
MacNaughton died in mid-December at his home in Germany, the AP reports. He was 76. Python member Terry Jones says MacNaughton never fully recovered from a 2001 car accident.
After a few years working as an actor, playing mostly minor roles, MacNaughton moved into directing in the late 1960s. He worked on the British comedy series "Q5" before joining the "Flying Circus" in its early stages in 1969.
Jones says although the six members of the troupe -- Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Jones -- were initially wary of MacNaughton, he soon became a trusted member of the team. The director also championed the often crazy antics of the show to BBC executives.
The series was seen on PBS in the United States, and the members of Monty Python quickly became cult heroes.
MacNaughton also directed the troupe's first feature film, "And Now for Something Completely Different," a collection of sketches from the TV show restaged and shot on film.
He appreciated the spirit of Python: the subversiveness and a touch of anarchy struck a chord with him, and being a bit of a wild Scotsman, he loved the fact that we were trying something new," Palin says."
I have to say that Monty Python's Flying Circus was probably the most funny and smart comedy ever on t.v. There was nothing ever like it and I think that Ian deserves alot of credit for his direction of it, even though he was rarely mentioned in the same breath as Monty Python.
Chris
01-04-03, 04:47 AM
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The MP team was magic, they had a special blend of talent that made their show classic, and I will remember them forever.
After Graham's death, it just couldn't be the same although the laughs are still very real.
