Michael Edward Palin was born on 5 May 1943 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK, to Mary and Edward Palin. He had one sibling, a sister named Angela who was 9 years older . He attended Brasenose College, Oxford University, and graduated with a degree in Modern History. In 1966, he married his childhood sweetheart, Helen Gibbins (she was 25 and he was 23). Together they had three children: Thomas (b. 1969), William (b. 1971) and Rachel (b. 1975).
In early 1968 he teamed up with an old friend from Oxford named Terry Jones, and a graduate of Cambridge named Eric Idle for a children's television series named Do Not Adjust Your Set. The show ran for just over a year, and around that time he also starred in a program called How To Irritate People, with John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Connie Booth (the show was also presented by Cleese as well as written by him and Chapman). In early 1969, he and Terry Jones put together (and starred in) a short-lived comedy show with a more historical theme called The Complete and Utter History of Britain.
In May 1969, he joined Cleese, Chapman, Idle, Jones and Terry Gilliam to begin work on a new sketch comedy program which would be known as Monty Python's Flying Circus, which ran for 45 episodes between October 1969 and December 1974. Over the series' run, they performed several stage shows in the UK and Canada, as well as several well-known stints in America after the series ended. He co-wrote and appeared in all of the Python movies, as well as several of fellow Python Terry Gilliam's films such as Time Bandits. He also performed in the Amnesty International shows organized by John Cleese, including Pleasure At Her Majesty's and The Secret Policemen's Balls.
After Python ended, Michael teamed up with Terry Jones for a series called Ripping Yarns, which modeled on early 1900's comic serials. The series ran for nine episodes from 1977 to 1979. He also followed Eric Idle in hosting a few episodes of Saturday Night Live, the first in 1978 and the last in 1984 which he co-hosted with his mother. He authored several children;s books and appeared in more films, among them A Private Function, The Missionary, Terry Gilliam's Brazil, and a short film entitled The Dress in which his daughter Rachel also appeared.
World travel came a-calling in September 1988, when he left the Reform Club in London for his first journey Around the World in 80 Days, accompanied by a BBC TV team. This was followed four years later in 1992 by Pole to Pole, and then in 1996 by Full Circle. Each series was broadcast on television and was supplemented by a book authored by Michael. He displayed his keen interest in the life of author Ernest Hemingway with a novel called Hemingway's Chair in the mid 1990s, and ultimately another journey in 1998, Hemingway's Travels.
Also in 1998, he joined the surviving Pythons for
a reunion at the Aspen Comedy Festival, and in October 1999 for
the Pythons' 30th Anniversary. On New Year's Eve, 1999, he was
named a Commander of the Order of British Empire (CBE) by Queen
Elizabeth.
In 2001, Michael trekked across the Sahara, and in 2003 he trekked across central Asia for his most recent journey, Himalaya. More information can be found at his website, Palin's Travels. In 2002, he was present at the tribute concert for George Harrison, giving a stirring rendition of the Lumberjack Song, and was presented with the Comedy Lifetime Achievement Award. He reunited with the other Pythons on March 17th, 2005, for the opening night of Spamalot, a new musical adaptation of sorts of Holy Grail, on Broadway.
What is in store for Michael for the future? He certainly sounds as if he is not ready to give up traveling (thank goodness!). Recently he expressed a desire to travel through eastern Europe. Whatever he chooses to do, we wish Michael some Happy Trails!
Palinography
(A List of Creative Works Michael Has Contributed To)
Television (some titles can be purchased - follow links to IMDB entries)
Now! (1965)
The Late Show (1966; filmed segments with Terry Jones)
Twice A Fortnight (1967; with Terry Jones)
Do Not Adjust Your Set (November? 1967 - April? 1969; with Eric Idle and Terry Jones)
Do Not Adjust Your Stocking (December 25, 1968; with Idle and Jones)
How To Irritate People (1968; with John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Connie Booth)
The Complete And Utter History of Britain (January to February 1969; with Terry Jones)
Monty Python's Flying Circus (October 1969 to December 1974; with Cleese, Chapman, Idle, Jones and Gilliam)
Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus, show Ein (filmed in 1971 for Bavarian television; with Pythons)
Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus, show Zweig (filmed in 1972 for Bavarian television; with Pythons; aired on BBC as "Schnapps With Everything", November 1973)
The Midnight Special (1973; with Chapman, Idle, Jones and Gilliam)
The Tonight Show (June 28, 1973; with Chapman, Idle, Jones and Gilliam)
In Vision (BBC2; December 5, 1974; with Chapman, Jones and Gilliam)
BBC Film Night (December 19, 1974; interviewed on Holy Grail set with Pythons and others)
KERA TV Dallas (March 1975; appearance on U.S. PBS station to promote Flying Circus and Holy Grail; with Chapman, Jones and Gilliam)
AM America (April 1975; promoting Holy Grail with Chapman, Idle, Jones and Gilliam)
Three Men In A Boat (December 31, 1975; BBC-2 TV movie with Tim Curry)
Tompkinson's Schooldays (January 1976; "pilot" for Ripping Yarns; with Terry Jones)
The Mike Douglas Show (April 1976; with Jones, Gilliam and Carol Cleveland)
Festival 40 (August 1976; special Python sketch; with Cleese, Chapman, Idle, Jones and Gilliam)
Ripping Yarns, series 1 (5 episodes; 1977)
The Red Dress (1977)
To See Such Fun (1977; with Chapman and Idle)
The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (NBC TV movie, March 1978; with Eric Idle)
Saturday Night Live (April 8, 1978; host)
Ripping Yarns, series 2 (4 episodes, 1979)
Saturday Night Live (January 27, 1979; host)
Good Morning America (May 11, 1979)
Saturday Night Live (May 12, 1979; host)
Tom Snyder Show (September 1979, with Jones and Cleese)
Friday Night, Saturday Morning (November 1979; with Cleese)
Saturday Night Live (March 15, 1980; special appearance on the 100th episode of SNL)
Great Railway Journeys: Confessions of A Trainspotter (November 1980)
TISWAS (Spring, 1981; appears in several sketches on one episode of this UK children's Saturday morning show)
The Innes Book of Records (September 1981; guest appearance)
Saturday Night Live (October 30, 1982; guest appearance)
Late Night With David Letterman (November 1982 and April 1983)
Comic Roots (August 1983)
Saturday Night Live (January 21, 1984; host with his mother Mary)
The Dress (1984)
Hot Properties (March 1985)
20 Years Of Monty Python (AKA "Life of Python"; September 1989; with Cleese, Chapman, Idle, Jones and Gilliam)
Around The World In 80 Days (1989)
GBH (1991)
Pole To Pole (1992)
Great Railway Journeys: From Derry To Kerry (1994)
Palin's Column (1994)
Full Circle (1997)
Live At Aspen (March 1998; with Cleese, Idle, Jones and Gilliam)
Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (1999)
Python Night (BBC2, October 1999; 30th Anniversary Special with Cleese, Idle, Jones, Gilliam and Cleveland)
Late Night With Conan O'Brian (April 2000)
The Human Face (2001; with Cleese)
Sahara (2002)
Himalaya (2004)
Films (most titles can be purchased - follow links to IMDB entries)
And Now For Something Completely Different (1971; filmed north of London in October-November 1970; with Pythons and Carol Cleveland)
Monty Python & The Holy Grail (1975; filmed in Scotland in mid-1974; with Pythons, Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland)
Jabberwocky (1977; filmed mostly at Shepperton Studios, UK, in July-September 1976; with Gilliam and Jones)
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979; filmed in Tunisia in September - November 1978; with Pythons, Carol Cleveland and George Harrison)
Time Bandits (1981; filmed summer 1980)
The Missionary (1982)
Monty Python Life At The Hollywood Bowl (1982; film of Python performance of late September, 1980; with Pythons, Carol Cleveland and Neil Innes)
Monty Python's Meaning of Life (1983; filmed in summer 1982; with Pythons and Carol Cleveland)
A Private Function (1984)
Brazil (1985)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988; with Cleese)
American Friends (1991; with Connie Booth)
Wind in the Willows (1996; with Cleese, Idle, and Jones)
Fierce Creatures (1997; filmed in 1995 and 1996; with Cleese)
Books
Monty Python's Big Red Book (Methuen, 1971) - with the other Pythons
The Brand New Monty Python Bok (Methuen, 1973) - with the other Pythons
Bert Fegg's Nasty Book For Boys and Girls (Methuen, 1974) - with Terry Jones
Bert Fegg's Nasty Book of Knowledge (1976) -reprint of above book
The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book (1976) - contributes a column for book by Eric Idle
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Book) (Methuen, 1977) - with the other Pythons
Ripping Yarns (1978) - with Terry Jones
More Ripping Yarns (1978) - with Terry Jones
Great Railway Journeys of The World (1981) - contributes a section entitled "Confessions of a Train Spotter"
Time Bandits: A Screenplay (1981) - with Terry Gilliam
Small Harry and the Toothache Pills (1982)
The Missionary (1982, 1983)
Dr. Fegg's Encyclopedia of All-World Knowledge (1985) - with Terry Jones
Limericks (1985, 1986)
Cyril and the House of Commons (1986)
Cyril and the Dinner Party (1986)
The Mirrorstone (1986)
Happy Holidays: The Golden Age of Railway Posters (1987) - contributes introductory text
Around The World In 80 Days (1989)
Pole To Pole (1992)
The Weekend (1994)
Great Railway Journeys (1994) - contributes one chapter, "From Derry to Kerry"
Hemingway's Chair (1995)
Full Circle (1997)
Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (1999)
Sahara (2002)
Himalaya (2004)
Recordings
Further Reading
Now obviously, neither the biography nor the Palinography is 100% complete. There's just so much you can list on a puny little webpage such as this. However, there are quite a few additional resources which make for excellent reference material. Here is just a short list of them:
Michael Palin: A Biography by Jonathan Margolis (1997) - nice, thorough bio on Michael, with a few photos.
Life of Michael by Jeremy Novick (2001) - essentially the same as the above book in terms of information, but contains LOTS of nice color photos.
PythOnline's Daily Llama Michael's bio, along with a list of books he has contributed to, as well as television appearances (ditto for the other Pythons). Wonderful resource.
The Michael Palin Unofficial Appreciation Page Great site devoted to Michael, with a bio, pics and information.
And, of course, Michael's own website, mentioned above in the Bio.
If you would like any further information on any of the material listed here (such as availability), please email me.