Monty Python's 50th Anniversary

Today marks the 50th ANNIVERSARY of MONTY PYTHON! "Monty Python's Flying Circus" debuted on British television BBC-1 on Oct. 5, 1969. I was introduced to the Pythons early on, well before they hit America. A forward-thinking radio DJ in Boston named David Letterman (no, not THAT David Letterman) introduced me and my friends to the Python record albums which he had obtained as imports. I thought the Pythons were only a recording act until the theater I worked at, the Orson Welles Cinema, ran the first Python movie "And Now For Something Completely Different" as part of a Boston film festival. Subsequently, by the time PBS started airing the TV series in the US, and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was released, I was already a die-hard Python fan. When I first arrived in LA, I was lucky enough to see ALL of the Pythons (along with Python regulars Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland) live at the HOLLYWOOD BOWL! Yes, I was there for that historic concert. That was a night to remember! I've since had the pleasure of meeting TERRY JONES, ERIC IDLE, and MICHAEL PALIN in person, and I've seen IDLE and JOHN CLEESE perform live on stage. I've been steeped in Python zaniness for close to five decades, and I thank them for filling my life with their brilliant humor!