Calcium Made Interesting: Sketches, Letters, Essays & Gondolas

Graham Chapman was more than a professional jokester. Like those other outstanding comics Spike Milligan and Peter Cook he had an innate belief in absurdity as a way of life-his humour and sheer joy in madness for its own sake was as likely to find its outlet on the street as on the stage. The other Pythons often said that just listening to Graham tell them about one of his wild evenings out was fodder for a dozen sketches. He was inventive, fearless, and willing to take chances. Openly gay, capable of outrageous alcohol-fueled behaviour, Graham Chapman lived an untidy life, and in some respects this book mirrors that. Inside is everything from television scripts and sketches to humorous essays on serious topics, comic flights of fancy that serve no purpose except to elicit a laugh, letters to friends and fellow hellraisers like Keith Moon and Ringo Starr, his behind-the-scenes account of the filming of Life of Brian, his views on fellow Pythons, letters to God, and much more. Most of the material has never before been published and offers unique insights into Chapman+s life as well as his lasting impact on British comedy. With an introduction by Jim Yoakum, archivist of the Chapman estate, Calcium Made Interesting is a celebration of the best of Chapman+s work, and is as funny, innovative and surreal as any Python sketch.

Biographies & Memoirs

CHAPMAN, Graham

Yoakum, Jim

Arts & Literature

Macmillan, UK

Over thirty years ago, a group of five Englishmen and one wayward American, re-wrote the rules of comedy. Monty Python's Flying Circus, an unheralded, previously unseen and practically unprogrammed half hour of sketches, hilarities, inanities and animations first appeared on the BBC late one night in 1969. Its impact on the world has been felt ever since.
From its humble beginnings as late night entertainment on a British TV channel that went off the air before midnight, it blossomed into arguably the most influential movement in modern comedy. They found the Holy Grail, they detailed the life of the Savior-also-ran Brian, and when we were lost, they explained The Meaning of Life.
Now, those purveyors of dead parrots and silly walks are going to tell us something more: Their story. In their own, intimate, never before heard words.
The Pythons by The Pythons is the definitive word on all things Pythonesque (the only word invented by a modern comedian which is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary.) 30 years of insight, hindsight, and bad sight - now told for the first time. Stuff they're never remembered before alongside stories they'd forgotten to say, coupled with things they couldn't say then and even more things they can't pronounce now (with a healthy dollop of things they would never have said in the first place if any others had been in the room at the time.)
The Pythons by The Pythons is a unique look at arguably the most important comic team of the modern age, lavishly illustrated with 1000 photographs and illustrations, many culled from the teams' own personal collections, many seen here for the first time. A tome, a tombstone, the definitive word on all things Python, as told by all things Python - do you want Spam with that?

The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons

Jones, Terry

PALIN, Michael

CLEESE, John

Gilliam, Terry

IDLE, ERIC

Thomas Dunne Books

The Pythons

St. Martin's: Griffin

Available for the first time in paperback, Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Bits includes every script from every episode of the innovative, hilarious, and absurd series--one of the most influential of all time--plus hundreds of annotations, behind-the-scenes stories, profiles, and more, as well as photographs, drawings, and Terry Gilliam's iconic artwork. Monty Python's Flying Circus is one of the most popular, important and oft-quoted comedy series of all time. Python's influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. This landmark work collects the complete scripts for every one of the 45 episodes of Flying Circus: every silly setup, every clever conceit, every snide insult, and ever saucy aside from these classic skits, including "The Ministry of Silly Walks," "The Dead Parrot," "Banter in the Cheese Shop," "Spam, the Funniest Joke in the World," "The Spanish Inquisition," "The Argument Clinic," "The Fish-Slapping Dance," "The Lumberjack Song," and all the rest. Every script is thoroughly annotated with notes that cover the plethora of cultural, historical, and topical references touched upon in each sketch. Sidebars and commentary throughout include profiles of the principles -- Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, and John Cleese -- fascinating facts about technical concerns, set design, and shooting locations; insider stores from on and off the set, including arguments, accidents, and practical jokes; goofs and gaffes; and much more. Also included are thousands of stills and artwork from the shows.

Monty Python's Flying Circus: Complete and Annotated . . . All the Bits

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Black Dog Leventhal

The late Graham Chapman was Monty Python's one true anarchist. The man who portrayed the mistaken messiah in Life of Brian lived his life, on and off the stage, with a sheer delight in madness. In the spirit of the man himself, this marvelous anthology collects everything from unpublished sketches, transcripts of his lecture tours, and letters to his bank manager ("Please stop writing these abusive letters about my overdraft. I consider it to be quite a nice one…"), to serious articles on gay rights and reflections on his fellow Pythons—all offering a unique insight into the real Dr. Chapman. Funny and surreal, Calcium Made Interesting captures the eclectic spirit of a true comic genius and his enduring impact on comedy.

Pan/Macmillan

Provides a humorous look at the stages of life from birth to death and satirizes society, religion, and the military

Monty Python's the Meaning of Life

Movies

Grove Pr

NY 1980 first edition. Methuen. Hardcover octavo. Drawings by Jonathan Hills. 240p. Near Fine in Good plus dj, no tears on dj, price not clipped, but dj wrinkled.

A Liar's Autobiography: Volume VI

See Description

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life - paperback

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

METHUEN

Shipped from UK, please allow 10 to 21 business days for arrival. clean and tight, strong tanning on pages

Monty Python's Flying Circus, Vol. 1

Palin

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by CHAPMAN, Graham. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by CHAPMAN, Graham

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by CHAPMAN, Graham. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Calcium Made Interesting: Sketches, Letters, Essays & Gondolas

The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons

The Pythons

The Pythons

Monty Python's Flying Circus: Complete and Annotated . . . All the Bits

Calcium Made Interesting: Sketches, Letters, Essays & Gondolas

Monty Python's the Meaning of Life

A Liar's Autobiography: Volume VI

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

Monty Python's Flying Circus, Vol. 1