Don't Skimp On the Paté

I first became aware of Monty Python through Terry Gilliam. Since I knew his work, I always wondered why he did not direct The Meaning Of Life or Life Of Brian. As a director, Terry Gilliam's CV is far more impressive than Terry Jones'. I suppose, in some small way, I resented Terry Jones for taking what I thought should have been Terry Gilliam's job. Then I watched Monty Python's Flying Circus. Terry Jones' importance on that show cannot be exaggerated. Without John Cleese in the last season, the show suffered. Without Terry Jones, there could have been no show.

Dementia is always a horrible way to die, and particularly sad in Terry Jones' case. His comedy came from intellect, not from toilet jokes and excessive profanity. Outside of film and TV, Jones was known for a wide range of intellectual pursuits. For someone like him to lose the ability to process language is tragic.

As a writer, Terry Jones is mostly known for Monty Python, but he wrote more than a few books.


Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls, written with Michael Palin (1974)
Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary (1980)
Fairy Tales (1981)
The Saga of Erik the Viking (1983)
Nicobobinus (1985)
Goblins of the Labyrinth (1986)
The Curse of the Vampire's Socks and Other Doggerel (1988)
Fantastic Stories (1992)
The Beast with a Thousand Teeth (1993)
A Fish of the World (1993)
The Sea Tiger (1994)
The Fly-by-Night (1994)
Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book (1994)
Crusades, written with Alan Ereira (1994)
Strange Stains and Mysterious Smells: Quentin Cottington's Journal of Faery Research (1996)
The Knight and the Squire (1997)
Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic: A Novel (1997)
Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Journal (1998)
The Lady and the Squire (2000)
Bedtime Stories, written with Nanette Newman (2002)
Lady Cottington's Fairy Album (2002)
Who Murdered Chaucer?: A Medieval Mystery, Terry Jones et al (2003)
Medieval Lives, written with Alan Ereira (2004)
War on the War on Terror (2005)
Barbarians, written with Alan Ereira (2006)
Animal Tales (2011)
Evil Machines (2011)
Trouble On The Heath (2011)
The Tyrant and the Squire (2018)


The Frost Report
created by David Frost
written by Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett, Marty Feldman, Barry Cryer, Bill Oddie, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and others
starring David Frost, Ronnie Corbett, Ronnie Barker, John Cleese, Sheila Steafel

Twice a Fortnight
created by Tony Palmer
written by and starring Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, Michael Palin, Terry Jones

Do Not Adjust Your Set
written by Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Denise Coffey, David Jason, Terry Gilliam
starring Denise Coffey, Eric Idle, David Jason, Michael Palin, Terry Jones

Broaden Your Mind
created by Graeme Garden & Tim Brooke-Taylor
written by Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie, Marty Feldman, Barry Cryer, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
starring Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Jo Kendall, Bill Oddie

The Complete and Utter History of Britain
created & written by Michael Palin & Terry Jones
starring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Diana Quick, Colin Gordon

Marty
written by Marty Feldman, Barry Took, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, John Junkin
starring Marty Feldman, Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Junkin

Monty Python's Flying Circus
conceived, written & performed by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam

And Now for Something Completely Different
directed by Ian MacNaughton
written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth

The Two Ronnies
created by Bill Cotton
written by Ronnie Barker, Spike Mullins, Barry Cryer, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, John Cleese
starring Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
directed by Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones
written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth, Neil Innes

Ripping Yarns
created & written by Michael Palin & Terry Jones
starring Michael Palin, Charles McKeown

Jabberwocky
directed by Terry Gilliam
written by Terry Gilliam & Charles Alverson
starring Michael Palin, Harry Corbett, John Le Mesurier, Annette Badland, Neil Innes, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam

Life of Brian
directed by Terry Jones
written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Sue Jones-Davies, Carol Cleveland, Spike Milligan, George Harrison

The Meaning of Life
directed by Terry Jones
written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Carol Cleveland, Simon Jones

The Crimson Permanent Assurance
directed & written by Terry Gilliam
starring Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Matt Frewer, Myrtle Devenish

Personal Services
directed by Terry Jones
written by David Leland
starring Julie Walters, Shirley Stelfox, Alec McCowen

Erik the Viking
directed & written by Terry Jones
music by Neil Innes
starring Tim Robbins, Mickey Rooney, Eartha Kitt, Terry Jones, Imogen Stubbs, John Cleese, Charles McKeown, Samantha Bond, Jim Broadbent, Neil Innes

LA Story
directed by Mick Jackson
written by Steve Martin
starring Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard Grant, Marilu Henner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kevin Pollak, Patrick Stewart, Rick Moranis, Terry Jones

Crusades
directed by Alan Ereira
written by Terry Jones & Alan Ereira
starring Terry Jones

Blazing Dragons
created by Terry Jones & Gavin Scott
written by Terry Jones, Gavin Scott, Erika Strobel
starring Aron Tager, Stephanie Morgenstern, Richard Waugh, Suzanne Coy

The Wind in the Willows
directed & written by Terry Jones
starring Steve Coogan, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Nicol Williamson, Michael Palin, Stephen Fry, John Cleese

Ancient Inventions
directed by Daniel Percival & Phil Grabsky
written by Daniel Percival & Terry Jones
starring Terry Jones

Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar
directed by Claude Zidi
starring Christian Clavier, Gérard Depardieu, Olaf Wijnants, Terry Jones

The Creator
directed by Albert Dupontel
written by Albert Dupontel & Gilles Laurent
starring Albert Dupontel, Claude Perron, Terry Jones

Help! I'm a Fish
directed by Stefan Fjeldmark & Michael Hegner
starring Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Terry Jones

The Surprising History of Egypt
directed & produced by Phil Grabsky
written by Terry Jones, Phil Grabsky, Alan Ereira
starring Terry Jones

The Surprising History of Rome
directed & produced by Phil Grabsky
written by Terry Jones & Phil Grabsky
starring Terry Jones

The Surprising History of Sex and Love
directed by Phil Grabsky & Alan Ereira
written by Terry Jones, Phil Grabsky, Alan Ereira
starring Terry Jones

Dinotopia
directed by Marco Brambilla
starring David Thewlis, Alice Krige, Terry Jones, Geraldine Chaplin

Medieval Lives
directed by Nigel Miller & Lucy Cooke
written by Terry Jones
starring Terry Jones

The Story of 1
directed by Nick Murphy
starring Terry Jones

Barbarians
directed by Rob Coldstream
written by Terry Jones & Alan Ereira
starring Terry Jones, Monika Miles

Locked Out
directed by Albert Dupontel
written by Albert Dupontel & Guillaume Laurant
starring Albert Dupontel, Claude Perron, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones

Anna and the Moods
directed by Gunnar Karlsson
written by Sjón
starring Terry Jones, Björk, Sjón

Great Map Mystery
directed, written & produced by Alan Ereira
starring Terry Jones

King Guillaume
directed by Pierre-François Martin-Laval
written by Pierre-François Martin-Laval & Jean-Paul Bathany
starring Florence Foresti, Pierre-François Martin-Laval, Terry Jones

The Legend of Dick and Dom
directed by Dez McCarthy & Julian Kemp
written by Tony Cooke, Carl Carter, Julian Kemp
starring Terry Jones, Richard McCourt, Dominic Wood, Steve Furst, Chloe Bale

A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
directed by Bill Jones, Ben Timlett, Jeff Simpson
written by David Sherlock
starring Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Carol Cleveland, Stephen Fry

Boom Bust Boom
directed by Terry Jones, Bill Jones, Ben Timlett
written by Terry Jones & Theo Kocken
starring Terry Jones

Absolutely Anything
directed by Terry Jones
written by Terry Jones & Gavin Scott
starring Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Robin Williams