Monty Python Reunion - Pollstar News

The surviving members of Monty Python are reportedly going to fly the circus one more time. John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Michael Palin are expected to make it official during a press conference later this week.

Photo: AP Photo/Peter Kramer, File

(from left), Michael Palin, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle in New York.

The Pythons are scheduled to talk to the media on Thursday. London’s Telegraph reports that the comedy troupe have been talking secretly for months about getting back together for a new stage show.

Expect a “fully-fledged reunion,” according to The Sun newspaper.

But it won’t be a complete reunion. Graham Chapman succumbed to cancer in 1989.

Eric Idle has been using Twitter to talk up Thursday’s press conference. On Monday he tweeted, “Make sure Python fans are alerted to the big forthcoming news event.” Today he said the Pythons were meeting in the morning and that the press conference will be carried live by Sky News.

Idle isn’t the only Python talking about the reunion. Today Jones told the BBC that he’s excited about the reunion and that he hopes to profit enough from it to pay off his mortgage.

There’s no denying the Pythons’ immense impact on pop culture. Through their BBC TV program “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” as well as movies like “Monty Python & The Holy Grail,” “Life Of Brian” and “Meaning Of Life,” they gave the world catch phrases that are still referred to today, such as “We are the knights who say ‘ni’,” “It’s only a flesh wound” and “I fart in your general direction.” That is, when people aren’t singing “The Lumberjack Song” or “Always Look On The Bright Side of Life.”

And then there’s the “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” sketch about a restaurant with a somewhat limited menu. It’s why we call junk email “spam” today.