Editing Terry Jones (section)

== Career history ==

=== Before Python and early Python ===
Jones appeared in ''[[Twice a Fortnight]]'' with Michael Palin, [[Graeme Garden]], [[Bill Oddie]] and [[Jonathan Lynn]], as well as the television series ''[[The Complete and Utter History of Britain]]'' (1969). He appeared in ''[[Do Not Adjust Your Set]]'' (1967–69) with Palin, [[Eric Idle]] and [[David Jason]]. He wrote for ''[[The Frost Report]]'' and several other [[David Frost]] programmes on British television.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/thefrostreport/|title=The Frost Report|publisher=BBC|access-date=9 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/07/08/jimmy-gilbert-bbc-producer-who-presided-over-a-golden-age-of-lig/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/07/08/jimmy-gilbert-bbc-producer-who-presided-over-a-golden-age-of-lig/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Jimmy Gilbert, BBC producer who presided over a golden age of light entertainment – obituary|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=8 June 2016|access-date=9 July 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Of Jones' contributions as a performer to ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', his depictions of middle-aged women (or "ratbag old women" as termed by the BBC, also known as "pepper-pots" or "grannies from hell") are among the most memorable.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/montypython/ |access-date=24 August 2019 |work=BBC}}</ref>

=== Directorial work ===
Jones co-directed ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' with [[Terry Gilliam]], and was sole director on two further Monty Python movies, ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian|Life of Brian]]'' and ''[[Monty Python's The Meaning of Life]]''. As a film director, Jones finally gained fuller control of the projects and devised a distinct, signature style that relied on visual comedy and surreal touches to complement the jokes. He would repeatedly abandon punchlines and create fragmented, [[Non sequitur (literary device)|non-sequitur]] story arcs to bring out the deadpan  humour.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30116194#:~:text=His%20style%20of%20visual%20comedy,on%20ancient%20and%20medieval%20history.|title = Monty Python's Terry Jones: Master of the absurd|work = BBC News|date = 22 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/a08cabbc-3d3c-11ea-a01a-bae547046735 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/a08cabbc-3d3c-11ea-a01a-bae547046735 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|title = Terry Jones, actor, writer and director, 1942–2020|newspaper = Financial Times|date = 23 January 2020|last1 = Andrews|first1 = Nigel}}</ref> His later films include ''[[Erik the Viking]]'' (1989) and ''[[The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)|The Wind in the Willows]]'' (1996). In 2008, Jones wrote the libretto for and directed the opera ''Evil Machines''.<ref>{{Cite news | first = Francesca |  last = Martin |url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/jan/16/theatre3| title = Ex-Python's opera rings the changes | newspaper=The Guardian| location = London| date = 16 January 2008 |access-date = 11 September 2018}}</ref> In 2011, he was commissioned to direct and write the libretto for another opera, entitled ''The Doctor's Tale''.<ref>{{Cite news | first = Holly | last = Williams | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/heads-up-operashots-2226603.html | title = Heads Up: Operashots | newspaper = The Independent | location = London | date = 27 February 2011 | access-date = 11 September 2018 | archive-date = 17 August 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180817193515/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/heads-up-operashots-2226603.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Three of the films which Jones directed—''The Meaning of Life'', ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' and ''[[Personal Services]]''—were banned in Ireland.<ref>{{cite book|title=Moralism: A Study of a Vice|first=Craig|last=Taylor|page=171|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-54771-6}}</ref>

Jones directed the 2015 comedy film ''[[Absolutely Anything]]'', about a disillusioned schoolteacher who is given the chance to do anything he wishes by a group of aliens watching from space.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Michael|last=Gioia|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/188150-Monty-Python-Members-Eddie-Izzard-Robin-Williams-and-More-Among-Cast-of-Absolutely-Anything-Film?tsrc=nx|title=Monty Python Members, Eddie Izzard, Robin Williams and More Among Cast of ''Absolutely Anything'' Film|magazine=Playbill|publisher=Playbill, Inc.|date=27 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302220515/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/188150-Monty-Python-Members-Eddie-Izzard-Robin-Williams-and-More-Among-Cast-of-Absolutely-Anything-Film?tsrc=nx |archive-date=2 March 2014 }}</ref> The film features [[Simon Pegg]], [[Kate Beckinsale]], [[Robin Williams]] and the voices of the five remaining members of Monty Python. It was filmed in London during a six-week shoot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmdoctor.co.uk/2015/04/15/in-conversation-terry-jones-director-absolutely-anything-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-life-of-brian-wind-in-the-willows/|title=In Conversation: Terry Jones (Director – Absolutely Anything, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Wind in the Willows)|magazine=Film Doctor|date=15 April 2015|access-date=11 September 2018|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225090841/http://filmdoctor.co.uk/2015/04/15/in-conversation-terry-jones-director-absolutely-anything-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-life-of-brian-wind-in-the-willows/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2016, Jones directed ''Jeepers Creepers'', a West End play about the life of comic [[Marty Feldman]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/marty-feldman-and-jeepers-creepers-why-terry-jones-is-celebrating-the-comic-on-stage-a6807896.html  |first=Terry|last=Jones |title=Marty Feldman and 'Jeepers Creepers': Why Terry Jones is celebrating the comic on stage|newspaper=The Independent}}</ref> It was his last directing work before his death.

=== Writer and brewer ===
Jones wrote many books and screenplays, including comic works and more serious writing on medieval history.<ref>{{cite web |title=Terry Jones |url=https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Terry+Jones&dblist=638&fq=ap%3A%22jones%2C+terry%22&qt=facet_ap%3A#x0%253Abook-%2C%2528x0%253Abook%2Bx4%253Aprintbook%2529%2C%2528x0%253Abook%2Bx4%253Adigital%2529%2C%2528x0%253Abook%2Bx4%253Athsis%2529%2C%2528x0%253Abook%2Bx4%253Alargeprint%2529%2C%2528x0%253Abook%2Bx4%253Amic%2529%2C%2528x0%253Abook%2Bx4%253Abraille%2529%2C%2528x0%253Abook%2Bx4%253Amss%2529format |publisher=WorldCat |access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="St Edmund Hall" />

He also had an interest in [[real ale]], and was a member of the [[Campaign for Real Ale]]. In 1977 he co-founded the Penrhos Brewery, a [[microbrewery]] at [[Penrhos Court]] at [[Penrhos, Herefordshire]], which ran until 1983. The former brewery has now become a pub called The Python's Arms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2008/09/11/A-pint-with-Terry-Jones|title=A pint with Terry Jones|website=morningadvertiser.co.uk|date=10 September 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/10906130/12-things-you-didnt-know-about-British-beer.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/10906130/12-things-you-didnt-know-about-British-beer.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=12 things you didn't know about British beer|first=Jessica|last=Boak|date=19 June 2014|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==== Comedy ====
Jones co-wrote ''[[Ripping Yarns]]'' with Palin. They also wrote a play, ''Underwood's Finest Hour'', which was staged at the [[Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith]] in 1981, about an obstetrician distracted during a birth by the radio broadcast of a [[Test cricket|Test match]].<ref>[[Christopher Martin-Jenkins]], "Bookshelf", ''[[The Cricketer]]'', January 1982, p. 35.</ref> Jones also wrote numerous works for children, including ''Fantastic Stories'', ''The Beast with a Thousand Teeth'' and a collection of comic verse called ''The Curse of the Vampire's Socks''.<ref name="Writers of Wales">{{cite web |title=Terry Jones |url=http://welshwriters.co.uk/terry-jones/ |website=Writers of Wales |access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="Fantastic Fiction">{{cite web |title=Terry Jones |url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/terry-jones/ |website=Fantastic Fiction |access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref>

Jones was the co-creator (with [[Gavin Scott]]) of the [[animated]] TV series ''[[Blazing Dragons]]'' (1996–1998), which parodied the [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] legends and [[Middle Ages]] periods. Reversing a common story convention, the series' [[protagonists]] are [[anthropomorphic]] [[dragon]]s beset by evil humans.<ref name="Writers of Wales" /><ref name="Fantastic Fiction" />

==== Screenplays ====
Jones wrote the screenplay for ''[[Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth]]'' (1986), although his draft went through several rewrites and several other writers before being filmed; consequently, much of the finished film was not actually written by Jones.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/la2/withinyourheart/monty.html|title=The Terry Jones Labyrinth Interview|website=[[Angelfire]]}}</ref>

==== History ====
{{Quote box|width=29%|align=right|quote="[you] speak to him on subjects as diverse as [[fossil fuel]]s, or [[Rupert Bear]], or mercenaries in the [[Middle Ages]] or Modern China&nbsp;... in a moment you will find yourself hopelessly out of your depth, floored by his knowledge."|source=—Python biographer George Perry on Jones<ref>Perry, George (2007). ''The Life of Python''. p. 40. Pavilion</ref>}}
Jones wrote books and presented television documentaries on [[Middle Ages|medieval]] and [[Classical antiquity|ancient history]]. His first book was ''Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary'' (1980), which offers an alternative take on [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Knight's Tale]]''. Chaucer's knight is often interpreted as a paragon of [[Seven virtues|Christian virtue]], but Jones asserts that if one studies historical accounts of the battles the knight claims he was involved in, he can be interpreted as a typical [[mercenary]] and a potentially cold-blooded killer.<ref name="Conversation">{{cite web |last1=Turner |first1=Marion |title=Terry Jones: professional comic, amateur historian, accomplished human being |url=https://theconversation.com/terry-jones-professional-comic-amateur-historian-accomplished-human-being-130514? |website=The Conversation |publisher=The Conversation UK |access-date=20 March 2023 |date=24 January 2020}}</ref> He also co-wrote ''Who Murdered Chaucer?'' (2003) in which he argues that Chaucer was close to [[King Richard II]], and that after Richard was deposed, Chaucer was persecuted to death by [[Thomas Arundel]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Jonathan|last=Myerson|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/nov/15/classics.highereducation|title=Review: Who Murdered Chaucer?|newspaper=The Guardian|date=15 November 2003|access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref>

Jones' TV series also frequently challenged popular views of history. For example, in ''[[Terry Jones' Medieval Lives]]'' (2004; for which he received a 2004 [[Emmy]] nomination for "Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming")<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/terry-jones-medieval-lives|title=Terry Jones' Medieval Lives|website=emmys.com|access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref> he argues that the Middle Ages was a more sophisticated period than is popularly thought,<ref name=tjml>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3507439.stm|title=Python slams 'overrated' Renaissance|work=BBC News|date=23 February 2004|access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref> and ''[[Terry Jones' Barbarians]]'' (2006) presents the cultural achievements of peoples conquered by the [[Roman Empire]] in a more positive light than Roman historians typically have, attributing the [[Sack of Rome (410)|Sack of Rome]] in AD 410 to propaganda.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00791rm|title=BBC One – Terry Jones's Barbarians|website=BBC}}</ref>

==== Column writing ====
Jones wrote numerous columns for ''[[The Guardian]], [[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and ''[[The Observer]]'' condemning the [[Iraq War]]. Many of these editorials were published in a paperback collection titled ''Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror''.<ref name="St Edmund Hall">{{cite web |title=Terry Jones {{!}} Honorary Fellow |url=https://www.seh.ox.ac.uk/people/terry-jones |website=St Edmund Hall |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013050910/https://www.seh.ox.ac.uk/people/terry-jones |archive-date=13 October 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Python gets serious |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/04/12/terry.jones/ |access-date=22 January 2020 |agency=CNN |archive-date=23 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123094847/https://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/04/12/terry.jones/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In November 2011, his book ''[[Evil Machines]]'' was launched by the online publishing house [[Unbound (publisher)|Unbound]] at the Adam Street Club in London. It was the first book to be published by a [[crowdfunding]] website dedicated solely to books.<ref>{{cite news|first=Terry|last=Jones|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/11/terry-jones-publishing-evil-machines|title=How a new online venture helped to publish Evil Machines|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 November 2011|access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref> Jones provided significant support to Unbound as they developed their publishing concept. In February 2018, Jones released ''The Tyrant and the Squire'', also with Unbound.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Neill |first1=Graeme |title=Terry Jones first Unbound author {{!}} The Bookseller |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/terry-jones-first-unbound-author# |website=The Bookseller |access-date=22 January 2020 |date=19 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Terry Jones |url=https://unbound.com/authors/terry-jones |website=Unbound |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930231153/https://unbound.com/authors/terry-jones |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Poetry ====
Jones was a member of the [[Poetry Society]], and his poems have appeared in ''[[Poetry Review]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Yorkshire Post video interview: Python Terry Jones |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/the-yorkshire-post-video-interview-python-terry-jones-1-2341143 |access-date=22 January 2020 |work=yorkshirepost.co.uk |date=3 April 2009 |archive-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202431/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/the-yorkshire-post-video-interview-python-terry-jones-1-2341143 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Work with musicians ===
Jones performed with the [[The Carnival Band (folk group)|Carnival Band]] and appears on their 2007 CD ''Ringing the Changes''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/dec/14/worldmusic.shopping2 |title=CD: Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band, Ringing the Changes |first=Robin|last=Denselow |date=14 December 2007 |website=theguardian.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Maddy-Prior-The-Carnival-Band-Ringing-The-Changes/release/1511924|title=Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band – Ringing The Changes|website=Discogs|date=10 December 2007 }}</ref>

In January 2008, the [[Teatro São Luiz]], in [[Lisbon]], Portugal, premiered ''Evil Machines'' – a musical play, written by Jones (based on his book), with original music by Portuguese composer Luis Tinoco. Jones was invited by the Teatro São Luiz to write and direct the play, after a successful run of ''Contos Fantásticos'', a short play based on Jones' ''Fantastic Stories'', also with music by Tinoco.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-Monty Python star Terry Jones blends machines, opera in new show |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2008/jan/10/ex-monty-python-star-terry-jones-blends-machines/ |access-date=22 January 2020 |work=The Spokesman Review}}</ref>

In January 2012 Jones announced that he was working with songwriter/producer [[Jim Steinman]] on a heavy metal version of ''[[The Nutcracker]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Website featuring Canadian doctor, Monty Python pal blends humour, health advice |date=19 January 2012 |work=ca.news.yahoo.com |url=http://ca.news.yahoo.com/website-featuring-canadian-doctor-monty-python-pal-blends-215901908.html |access-date=23 January 2012}}{{dead link|date=September 2016}}</ref>

=== As performer ===
[[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 10 45 45 (14621992853).jpg|thumb|Jones performing in 2014]]
[[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 13 05 04 (14415402659).jpg|thumb|Jones (right) behind the counter during the "[[Spam (Monty Python)|Spam sketch]]" at ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]'' in 2014. He plays a waitress who recites a menu in which nearly every dish contains [[Spam (food)|Spam]]]]
Apart from a cameo in [[Terry Gilliam]]'s ''[[Jabberwocky (film)|Jabberwocky]]'' and a minor role as a drunken vicar in the BBC sitcom ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]'', Jones rarely appeared in work outside his own projects. From 2009 to 2011, however, he provided narration for ''[[The Legend of Dick and Dom]]'', a [[CBBC (TV channel)|CBBC]] fantasy series set in the Middle Ages. He also appears in two French films by [[Albert Dupontel]]: ''[[The Creator (1999 film)|Le Créateur]]'' (1999) and ''[[Enfermés dehors]]'' (2006).<ref>{{cite web |title=Enfermés Dehors (2006) |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8b60b7fd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028005230/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8b60b7fd |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 October 2020 |website=BFI |access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Le Créateur (1999)|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b817aaec9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505174449/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b817aaec9 |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 May 2019 |website=BFI |access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref>

In 2009, Jones took part in the [[BBC Wales]] programme ''[[Coming Home (UK TV series)|Coming Home]]'' about his Welsh family history. In July 2014, Jones reunited with the other four living Pythons to perform at ten dates (''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]'') at [[The O2 Arena|the O<sub>2</sub> Arena]] in London. This was Jones' last performance with the group prior to his [[aphasia]] diagnosis.<ref>{{cite news|title=Monty Python live (mostly), review: poignant and predictable, but tremendous fun|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/10975695/Monty-Python-live-mostly-review-poignant-and-predictable-but-tremendous-fun.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/10975695/Monty-Python-live-mostly-review-poignant-and-predictable-but-tremendous-fun.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=21 July 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=John Cleese and Mick Jagger are wrong – Monty Python's silly walks are still hilarious |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jul/01/john-cleese-mick-jagger-monty-python-silly-walks-funny |access-date=22 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

In October 2016, Jones received a standing ovation at the [[BAFTA Cymru]] Awards when he received a Lifetime Achievement award for his outstanding contribution to television and film.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/video/2016/oct/03/monty-python-star-terry-jones-and-son-tearful-at-bafta-ceremony-video |title=Monty Python star Terry Jones and son tearful at Bafta ceremony – video |date=3 October 2016 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-wales-37537212/bafta-cymru-award-an-honour-for-terry-jones-says-son|title=Bafta award an 'honour' for Terry Jones|date=3 October 2016|publisher=BBC}}</ref>