Monty Python Connections
by William Brown

Monty Python Connections

This is in light of the upcoming 40th anniversary of both the debut of Monty Python's Flying Circus (which premiered on October 5, 1969) and the start of Benny Hill's two-decade-long association with Thames Television (his first special for them, which originally aired November 19, 1969, fell one month and two weeks to the day after Python's debut). Over the years, certain on-screen and off-screen people had connections not only with The Benny Hill Show and Python, but also extending to both predecessors of Python and various spin-offs and projects (both TV and film) from individual Python members. This is a look (alas one which may only scratch the surface) at the convoluted family tree, whatever the differences between Mr. Hill's music-hall background and the combined Oxford/Cambridge educational background of the Pythons.

At Last the 1948 Show (1967)

The first major show to feature the comedic talents of John Cleese and Graham Chapman, plus Tim Brooke-Taylor who later became one-third of The Goodies. One of the "showgirls" who appeared was Christine Rodgers, who played Jackie Wright's wife in the first "Hotel Sordide" sketch from Mr. Hill's February 4, 1970 special. Another At Last the 1948 Show regular, Aimi MacDonald, never appeared on TBHS herself, but her daughter, Lisa Mulidore, was a Hill's Angel on the January 16, 1984 edition, as well as appearing in the History Lesson filmed sketch of the January 2, 1985 special.

Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967-1969)

The only known Benny Hill connection here was strictly behind-the-scenes; in the first series (produced in 1967-68 by Rediffusion London), one of the lighting directors was David Motture. Mr. Motture subsequently served as lighting director of two TBHS editions, February 23, 1977 and March 12, 1986. The second series (1969), of course, was produced by Thames TV itself; after that series ended, Thames expressed interest in a third DNAYS series, but that came at the same time that the company first signed Mr. Hill, and four of the DNAYS participants - Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and American-born animator Terry Gilliam - ultimately went to the BBC where, with John Cleese and Graham Chapman, they came together as Monty Python's Flying Circus.

No, That's Me Over Here! (1967-1970)

This sitcom, which starred Ronnie Corbett (later one-half of The Two Ronnies), had a few connections to both Python and The Benny Hill Show both in front of and behind the camera. From Mr. Hill's end, one of the supporting players (as Mr. Corbett's pompous neighbor) was Henry McGee, and among the directors were two future TBHS producer/directors, Mark Stuart and Ronald Fouracre. On the Python side, it was strictly behind-the-scenes, with future Pythons Graham Chapman and Eric Idle being among the writers..

We Have Ways of Making You Laugh (1968)

The first programme ever produced and aired by London Weekend Television, future MPFC animator Terry Gilliam made his first major British TV show appearance, as the resident animator, and Eric Idle was one of the writers. The TBHS connection came in the form of Trisha Noble, who appeared on Mr. Hill's show in both its BBC and Thames runs; on WHWOMYL, she appeared in sketches.

According to Dora (1968)

The Hill and Python connections on this short-lived comedy series starring Dora Bryan were strictly on the writing end; among the writers were Python's Eric Idle, and actress/singer/writer Jan Butlin who was in three editions of The Benny Hill Show including the first Thames edition of November 19, 1969, as well as Mr. Hill's short film The Waiters and his 1971 music video for Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) that aired on that year's Christmas edition of Top of the Pops.

Horne A'Plenty (1968)

As with According to Dora , the extent of the TBHS / MPFC connections for this equally short-lived vehicle for Kenneth Horne were largely confined to the writing end, with the aforementioned Jan Butlin and future Pythons Michael Palin and Terry Jones. As a side note, the director was Peter Frazer-Jones whose lone TBHS credit was the March 29, 1973 edition.

The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968)

This film which starred Shirley MacLaine had future Python John Cleese in a supporting role as a "Post Office Clerk," and a frequent TBHS co-star from BBC days, Ronnie Brody (whose only Thames TV-era appearance was on December 22, 1971), as a "Security Guard."

The Complete and Utter History of Britain (1969)

A complete and utter failure, lasting only six shows, written by and co-starring Michael Palin and Terry Jones, one of the supporting players was the diminutive Johnny Vyvyan whose association with Benny Hill dated back to BBC days in 1957 and who appeared on Mr. Hill's December 26, 1978 special and the filmed sequences of the March 14, 1979 and April 25, 1979 shows.

Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-1974)

Of all the programmes where the two worlds combined, this was the Holy Grail (no pun intended, but more on that later). This show had supporting actors from all three venues where Benny Hill hosted shows bearing his name over his long TV career, plus having quite a few behind-the-scenes crew members in common. Starting with the acting end, there was Donna Reading, who appeared in the "You're No Fun Anymore" episode of Python from November 30, 1969; then a young sexpot type, Ms. Reading had been in two of Mr. Hill's 1968 BBC specials, on April 20, 1968 and November 20, 1968. Going back a few years, there was Caron Gardner, who was in two episodes of Benny's 1962-1963 sitcom anthology Benny Hill ("The Secret of Planet Seven," December 26, 1962, and "The Vanishing Man," January 11, 1963). Ten years and one week to the day of the last of those two episodes, on January 18, 1973, Ms. Gardner appeared as "Mary" in the infamous Dirty Vicar sketch of the MPFC episode "The British Showbiz Awards" (also known as "Grandstand" and "The British Royal Awards Programme"). One of the many uncredited bit players who appeared on Python over its five-year run was Hilary Martyn; her history with Mr. Hill went way back, to his 1960 series for ATV. But a few performers who appeared on The Benny Hill Show during its Thames years also showed up on Python, as well. The only person to receive screen credit on both shows was veteran stuntman Nosher Powell; he appeared in the original Undercover Sanitary Inspector sketch of Benny's third and final B&W edition of February 24, 1971, doubling at different points for Mr. Hill, Bob Todd and Lesley Goldie in the fight sequence, and nearly two years later, on January 4, 1973, played boxer "Jack Bodell" in the opening moments of the Python episode "Dennis Moore." Going back to January 18, 1973, this particular Python episode opened with the famous "Thames Fanfare" animated opening ident and an uncredited cameo by David Hamilton promising "an action-packed evening for you tonight on Thames, but right now here's a rotten old BBC programme." Mr. Hamilton, of course, was the introductory announcer of the December 25, 1969 and March 11, 1970 episodes of TBHS, and appeared on-camera on February 4, 1970 (introducing Eira Heath's "Carnival" musical number and the "Tommy Tupper in Tupper-Time" sketch) and February 7, 1974 (as emcee of the "Mr. TV Times" contest). The November 17, 1970 MPFC episode "Archaeology Today" featured an uncredited appearance by Barbara Lindley who played a bride in the "wife-swapping" sketch; Ms. Lindley had been a patient and one of the operating surgeons in the Lower Tidmarsh Hospital Service sketch of Mr. Hill's debut Thames special of November 19, 1969, and had an uncredited bit role as a nurse in Benny's very first project for Thames, the half-hour silent Eddie in August, which later aired on June 4, 1970. On the other side of the coin - credited on Python but not the Hill show - was early 1970's bit actress and fashion model Flanagan (full name Maureen Flanagan), who appeared in several early Python episodes but was credited in two: "The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Goes to the Bathroom" (December 28, 1969) where she played "Anona Winn" in the drawing-room sketch, and "The Naked Ant" (January 4, 1970) where she proclaimed (albeit with a male voice dubbed in), "I think that's in extremely poor taste"; she later was one of the many uncredited extras who appeared in Mr. Hill's mammoth October 25, 1972 Woodstick sketch. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, let's start with film cameraman James Balfour, who lensed the filmed inserts for Mr. Hill's shows within the last four years (1964-1968) of his run with the BBC and then went on to do the same for Python in 24 of its first 26 episodes. Another crew member involved with both shows was production designer Ian Watson, who worked on three editions of MPFC ("Blood, Devastation, Death, War and Horror," November 9, 1972; "The War Against Pornography," November 23, 1972; and the infamous "Salad Days," November 30, 1972), and later shared designer's credit with Bill Laslett on the April 16, 1980 edition of TBHS

The Magic Christian (1969)

This all-star extravaganza, fronted by Peter Sellers and soon-to-be former Beatle Ringo Starr, featured Pythons John Cleese and Graham Chapman in small supporting roles (the latter of whom was uncredited), as well as frequent Benny Hill Show supporting performer Rita Webb.

The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970)

Co-written by John Cleese, who had a supporting role as "Pumer," appearing as a "Girl in Commercial" was Marilyn Rickard who was among the players in the November 24, 1971 edition of The Benny Hill Show.

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971)

Monty Python and Benny Hill connections abound in this film. From Python's end was Graham Chapman, who co-wrote the "Gluttony" and "Wrath" segments; quite a few supporing Hill players acted in the picture, including June Whitfield (who appeared with him on the BBC in 1961 and in three of his final four shows for them in 1968), the aforementioned Ronnie Brody, and Thames-era players Sue Bond, Yvonne Paul and one-time-only guest (from March 12, 1975) Patrick Newell. In addition, Mr. Hill's former writing and performing partner, Dave Freeman, scripted the "Envy" segment.

The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine (1971-1972)

A variety series aired in Britain but geared towards (and later shown in) America, fronted by the reverse cross-eyed comic. Monty Python animator Terry Gilliam handled the opening and closing segments of each show; from Mr. Hill's end came longtime series regular Bob Todd, one-time-only guest Clovissa Newcombe (from the December 22, 1971 TBHS), Hugh Paddick (who went on to appear in Benny's October 25, 1972 special, one of only two shows not to feature either Henry McGee or Nicholas Parsons) and director John Robins (whose work on this show led to Mr. Hill's first two shows of the 1971-1972 series being produced and directed by David Bell).

The Two Ronnies (1971-1987)

In the early years of this long-running sketch-comedy series hosted by Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the five writer/performers of Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin) contributed individual sketches; Cleese acted in some sketches in the first Two Ronnies series in 1971, and a few episodes featured The Fred Tomlinson Singers who were to Python what The Ladybirds were to Mr. Hill. A cornucopia of performers associated over the years with The Benny Hill Show appeared on The Two Ronnies over its 16 years on the air, including Dilys Watling, Cherri Gilham, Jerold Wells, Ken Sedd, Brian Nolan, Albert Moses, David Prowse, Rikki Howard (who made an uncredited TBHS appearance on February 4, 1970), Penny Irving (another uncredited Woodstick extra), Jo Peters (who was one of the escorts in the March 13, 1974 Scuttle's Escort Service sketch), Candy Davis (who appeared, uncredited, in the March 16, 1983 Holiday sketch), David Waterman and Dennis Plenty (two of the bit players from the November 24, 1971 edition), the musical group Design (who appeared on February 7, 1974), and the late Stephanie Lawrence (whose lone Hill appearance was December 26, 1978). Also, between 1973 and 1974, the original Pan's People made frequent appearances on the show; their then-choreographer, Flick Colby, staged the Love Machine's Dancing in the Nude number of Benny's April 21, 1976 special (albeit credited as "Froggy"). In addition, a few performers from Benny's BBC days appeared on The Two Ronnies, among them Michael Stainton, Priscilla Morgan and Donna Reading.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)

The first film proper from the Python troupe (not counting And Now for Something Completely Different where they filmed new versions of sketches from their TV series) listed among the makeup artists Pearl Rashbass, who later worked in that same capacity on the 1985 series of The Benny Hill Show and his next-to-last special for Thames on April 5, 1989.

Fawlty Towers (1975-1979)

This is perhaps the most famous work outside of Python from John Cleese. Two guests in some of the 12 episodes had been or would be on TBHS over its nearly 20-year Thames TV run. They were Diana King, who had been on Mr. Hill's December 27, 1972 edition, and then played "Mrs. Rachel Lloyd" in the October 3, 1975 FT episode "The Wedding Party"; and veteran character actor Derek Royle, who had played the "corpse" ("Mr. Leeman") in the March 12, 1979 Fawlty episode "The Kipper and the Corpse," then made two appearances on Benny's show, on January 2, 1985 and May 27, 1985 (the latter uncredited). The producer of the first series of Fawlty Towers (as well as of the first four episodes of Python) was John Howard Davies - the same gent who, as Thames' Head of Light Entertainment, brought the curtain down on Mr. Hill's television career in 1989.

Rutland Weekend Television (1975-1976)

The first post-Python project from Eric Idle, which later became famous as the birth of the mock rock group The Rutles, had performers from Mr. Hill's BBC and Thames eras among its regulars. From the BBC side was Bridget Armstrong, who had appeared on Benny's November 27, 1965 special; and from Thames, appearing as a Russian guard in The Russian Zone sketch of Benny's first Thames special of November 18, 1969, was David Battley (who, on RWT, was the original "Stig O'Hara" in the prototypical "Rutles" sketch that was later expanded on in the 1978 TV-movie The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash).

Ripping Yarns (1976-1979)

After Python's end, Michael Palin and Terry Jones collaborated on a series of stories that parodied pre-war tales of derring-do. Three known TBHS-connected performers from the Thames era appeared in individual episodes: Chai-Lee (from Mr. Hill's February 22, 1973 and March 29, 1973 editions) who played "Suki" in the pilot, "Tomkinson's Schooldays" which originally aired January 7, 1976; Brian Nolan (a supporting TBHS player from the 1970-1974 period), who played the "Second Private" in the October 18, 1977 episode "Across the Andes by Frog"; and Michael Sharvell-Martin (a regular on Mr. Hill's first Thames series in 1969-1970) who played a "Smooth German" in the October 10, 1979 episode "Whinfrey's Last Case." In addition, Roger Avon, who appeared in some of Benny's late 1950's and early 1960's specials for the BBC, played a "Chauffeur" in the September 27, 1977 episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite"; and the aforementioned Bridget Armstrong was in the October 25, 1977 episode "The Curse of the Claw," which also featured Michael Stainton who appeared in a few episodes of the 1962-1963 sitcom/anthology Benny Hill. Mr. Stainton was also in the very last RY episode, "Roger of the Raj," which originally aired on October 24, 1979.

Time Bandits (1981)

This fantasy adventure film, directed by Terry Gilliam, written by Gilliam and Michael Palin, and co-starring Palin and John Cleese, had two TBHS supporting players among the cast, Derek Deadman (who was part of the last two Thames series in 1988 and 1989, plus the independently-produced Benny Hill's World Tour: New York! special) and Jerold Wells (who made on-and-off appearances on Mr. Hill's show from 1971 to 1989).

Yellowbeard (1983)

This trouble-plagued production (marked by the death of Marty Feldman in 1982 during production), written by and starring Graham Chapman and co-starring Eric Idle and John Cleese, had an actress whose involvement with Benny Hill dated way back: Beryl Reid, who had been a regular the very first series of The Benny Hill Show on the BBC in 1955.

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

The last feature film of new material from the troupe. Two of the musical numbers, Every Sperm Is Sacred and Christmas in Heaven, featured among the dancers former Love Machine dancer Jane Eve (Colthorpe) (credited in the picture as Jane Newman) and then soon-to-be, albeit all too brief, Hill's Angel Jane Leeves; former Love Machine choreographer Arlene Phillips handled those duties for this movie. Also, the "Crimson Permanent Assurance" segment featured Sydney Arnold, who was in two of Mr. Hill's 1986 specials.

Brazil (1985)

This comedy-drama from Terry Gilliam also featured Derek Deadman in a supporting role. In addiiton, there was a very peripheral Benny Hill connection, because another supporting player was Oscar Quitak who was married to three-time TBHS guest Andree Melly.

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Along with Fawlty Towers, probably John Cleese's other most famous work outside of Monty Python, and the last to be directed by Charles Crichton. Appearing in the film as "Mrs. Coady" (the elderly lady with the dogs who were later crushed to death) was veteran character actress Patricia Hayes, whose working relationship with Benny Hill spanned 22 years (1957-1979) and all three of the places where he (co-)wrote, mounted and hosted his own shows.

And there, in a nutshell, is a partial look at the connections between the worlds of Benny Hill and Monty Python.