born Oct. 27, 1939, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, Eng.
British actor and screenwriter.
He wrote and performed comedy material for British television in the 1960s before helping create the popular comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–74), which later won a large U.S. following with its surreal brand of humour. He cowrote and acted in the television series Fawlty Towers and collaborated with the rest of the Monty Python troupe on films such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), The Life of Brian (1979), and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983). His other films include Silverado (1985) and A Fish Called Wanda (1988).