John Cleese & Michael Palin Talking Balls!

John Cleese and Michael Palin of Monty Python being interviewed in June 1979 about the upcoming Amnesty International gala "The Secret Policeman's Ball". Topics include plans for the show, recollections of the previous Amnesty gala "A Poke In The Eye", their admiration for the "Beyond The Fringe" troupe and the origin of the "Secret Policeman's Ball" title.

[@CCNuck]

I love that John is totally accepting of Michael teasing him.

[@monicascheer2107]

What a wonderful interview! To see that they like each other so much. As a Swedish subtitler I discovered them in 1971, wrote an enthusiatic fan letter to BBC. And the lovely John Cleese answered and invited me to his home for dinner! So nice! I kept pinching my arm... I translated all the sketches, sheer pleasure. Just my kind of humour. The highlight of my career and of my life. Monica Scheer,78

[@bennybar]

Godt arbejde!

[@EresirThe1st]

I thought for sure this comment was going to go into being bitten by a moose lol but great story

[@twice14days32o]

John Cleese has said in interviews that him & Michael palin are actually friends in real life. "We've always got on" was what he said. Have a lovely night 😊

[@maybetomorrow11217]

Both of them are so attractive here.

[@Amalthea16]

They have such a playful relationship. I love how John is totally unfazed by Michael's "slap" on his cheek. So cute

[@lpsp442]

Michael Palin is very assertive in this interview, full of beans and strength. John in turn is magnificently composed, as unflappable as steel in silk.

[@dropdatabase8224]

Hahaha, that slap, John just carrying on talking afterwards then stopping to give Mike a look and then continuing was just 100% Python.

[@morlokkurak4763]

That slap was Michael's way of getting back at Cleese for the fish slapping dance skit. 😂😂😂

[@EpicStopMotions72]

Love this. Michael looks stunning here. ^-^

[@sares4564]

He still does

[@Wickerwoman-lh3vn]

Hot as hell, OMG.

[@sares4564]

Still is

[@gittebjerrebraae8382]

Always does!!

[@musicswimsbacktome6201]

When was he not stunning? 😂

[@annabelSPNlover]

Love how Michael just slaps John when he feels like it, he's like an annoying kid, lol

[@gregregalado4297]

Well, Michael is the baby of the pythons.

[@isammolina4842]

@@gregregalado4297 😆👍💐🌹🍃

[@astronaut4389]

John would surely get back at him after the interview

[@briancordova1299]

@@astronaut4389 he would slap Michael back with the big fish.

[@mortemoccasus2412]

This is folks called friendship!

[@ScoopexUs]

Two actors at the top of their game looking very at ease and enjoying each other's company :)

[@deanronson6331]

A little-known fact: After the show, Cleese whipped out a huge fish and slapped Palin unconscious.

[@viewtiful1doubleokamihand253]

THAT SLAP !!!)))) I Can't stop laughing :)))))

[@AURON2401]

Stwike him centuwion, vewy Woughly!

[@liamwilson7549]

Ahhh how time passes, one of the few joys in life is knowing that historic moments like this are saved for future generations.

[@tanya.24]

Aww, that's an unexpectedly pleasant thought!! I usually always see comments below Monty python videos that are along the lines of pitying the newer generations haha

[@irishelk3]

Excellent comedians, the cream of comedy.

[@muhhest]

These two guys are bloody awesome. Palin.. my absolute fav.

[@-Vuce]

I've watched this interview many times and it always amazes me at how so utterly professional the Pythons are and how clearly close they are as friends, dare I say brothers. That slap speaks volumes. The fact that Palin slaps Cleese on TV with such forethought, like a cat jabbing at a moth and Cleese just continues his conversation without any waver just goes to show this kind of stuff happened all the time when they were producing their work and lived together. Only true professionals in their field of work can get away with such contrasting actions and reactions without a second thought. These guys are not only work colleagues, they are friends, confidants, and family. They probably know more about each other than their own wife's, or in Cleese case wives. =D

[@sjuns5159]

Ammo Actually they've said in interviews that they were never really close at all. For example, they were all very late in realising that Graham Chapman was an alcoholic.

[@VambeefcoHorzey]

That's just a jokey dismissive thing they've often said in interviews for a laugh. A cursory look through Palin's published diaries shows that the Pythons were always meeting up outside work over the decades. Plus - alcoholics are legendarily good at hiding their addiction from people.

[@MrDaiseymay]

@@sjuns5159 AND GAY

[@sjuns5159]

Yes, @@MrDaiseymay, and gay.

[@jacksonlady69]

My God, John is so bloody sweet :)

[@duedl]

aficionado of formaggio comedy!!

[@odinvik7821]

Palin was always the handsome one

[@Pow3llMorgan]

Still is. Only one of them that hasn't gone fat :P

[@vinnyreed723]

Povl Besser What about Graham? He’s been thin for decades

[@lpsp442]

John got all the groupies back in the day (well, they all did, but y'know) Also lol at Vinny, Graham likes that kind of humour

[@gretagreebling]

Graham was beautiful.

[@MrDaiseymay]

@@vinnyreed723 NAUGHTY---BUT FUNNY.

[@aryehfinklestein9041]

I'm very glad to see that Michael heaps praises on The Cheese Shop sketch. To my mind, it's better than the more famous and ubiquitous Parrot Sketch. So am most grateful for this affirmation from the source!

[@christineharrelson4831]

I too love the Cheese Shop :D

[@writeract2]

i love the intelligence of the exchange and they were speaking in the beautiful intonations of voice of the time.

[@MrDaiseymay]

YES---NOTED

[@edwardu5558]

The ending. Perfect

[@kilroy1963]

nice to see them so friendly with each other .

[@voiceguy3635]

Palin had the most mischievous eyes back in those days--not in older age.Cleese had a more playful look.Both are extremely quick and intelligent off the cuff.Great natural entertainers.

[@silnetofsn]

´such beautiful minds..! Love everything from MP!

[@user-ce7es2sv3e]

I love both of them, but this reminds me of dogs behavior. You know, Cleese is like big thoroughbred and educated dog which pays no attention on attempts to hurt him, and Palin is like ill-bred cur, which tries to hurt the big one.

[@isammolina4842]

Рэй Кайн 😆😆😆😆😆😆

[@CT2507]

very nice interview :)

[@andiejanefisher]

0:33 funniest slap ever

[@isammolina4842]

Me encanta esta entrevista. Mike esta churrisimo 😈lástima no subs.spanish. Es notable la confianza y la química que se había generado entre Cleese y Palin. John se comporta como si Mike fuera un hermano.con los demás no era así. Palin es un nene travieso.y hermoso.😆😆💖💖💖💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝

[@isammolina4842]

Mike is one a Diva😀

[@SynthesaurusRex]

There are 8 downvotes by the time I'm watching this. Who downvotes that? Gumbys?

[@synthonaplinth5980]

Benny Hill fans.

[@themadplotter]

eric bloody idle

[@utkarshad5389]

Let them be. Their brain hurts. 😂

[@AntonDoesMusic]

Cheese Shop sketch is so underrated.

[@george4ever26101]

LOL Michael smacked John.

[@leftyzappa]

I'm actually with them on the Cheese Shop.

[@aryehfinklestein9041]

Exactly!!!

[@lpsp442]

Love the Parrot Sketch, which was an evolution of the earlier broken car sketch (from How to Irritate People) - Cheese Shop is a further evolution, an iteration on the absurdity

[@frithar]

"Favorite"d because I think Cleese deserves a good smack, now and then...

[@utkarshad5389]

Hahaha! Totally agree!

[@isammolina4842]

se ve que eran muy amigos.y Cleese es un buenazo.Mike le hace lo que quiere. 😀niños!...😆

[@andreasegde]

They never did the pet shop sketch live that they did on one of the Python LPs. It was fantastic.

[@kluangh1tam]

Love it when they really put their predecessors up high by calling Peter Cook and 'Beyond the Fringe' crew as comedy's heavyweights because for me they were at the same level.

[@isammolina4842]

Mike ...Qué churro!!😘😙😚

[@MasterofPuberty]

Ha, Palin's a hitter.

[@RageOfTheTiger]

The cheese shop, parrot sketch and disturbing (crazy guy breaking dishes) are among my favorites. But John Cleese's Faulty Towers is also worth watching to!

[@SiriusMined]

I love cheese shop!

[@aarondunn6759]

So did Graham, the story went that during rehearsal John kept on turning to John is asking "Are you sure this is funny"? by which the answer from Graham was indubiously "Yes, keep going". I think I read that it the Monty Python Pop Up Book - Just Add Water.

[@welks821]

SERIOUS crush on Michael.

[@1silvervespa]

We need to see some of the stuff they dropped and cut over the years. Lost forever .

[@iwaisman]

Thanks

[@seanmatyas3938]

Cheese Shop is my favourite Python sketch of all time :)

[@isammolina4842]

Aki se aprecia los diferentes caracteres. John sobrio.Cambridge. Y Mike ...Oxford...histrionico 😆😁😀😃y mano larga 😚😘😜

[@daveg6839]

Two more thumbs up and we can get to the 100-1 standard that we need for a truly great vid!

[@DarkRubberDucky]

Cheese Shoppe is one of my favorites. I have it on my iPod.

[@1MysteryZ1967]

When Michael said “Aficionados,” he sounded EXACTLY like Storm Thorgerson, of Hipgnosis!

[@chrisv73]

Palin and Cleese were great at playing off one another!!

[@isammolina4842]

Oh! !!Mike! !!😆😈😉😘😜

[@krisscanlon4051]

Fantastic! By the way this is the epitome of British chat shows

[@etrisb]

This is the first time I've seen this interview, and it's especially interesting to me because I attended the opening night of the Secret Policeman's Ball that month. It ended very late at night, and when I walked out onto the sidewalk, I saw Cleese chatting with a couple of people a few yards away. When the other people left, I could have walked up to him, but I thought, no, I'm not going to be the pushy American, so I didn't.

[@MrDaiseymay]

REGRETS ?

[@etrisb]

@@MrDaiseymay Maybe a little but, overall, not really. I'm not sure what I would have said that wouldn't have been annoying to him on a London sidewalk in the middle of the night.

[@isammolina4842]

Me hace acordar un dibujo animado de la MGM.Un perrazo encuentra un gatito. Al principio le ladra .luego lo adora.y el gatito se le sube al lomo.y afila su uñas allí. El perrazo sufre...pero queda encantado al ver a gatito hecho un ovillo durmiendo en su lomo.Esto es muy parecido. 😆😆🐶🐈

[@isammolina6886]

Debe ser del 76'.Cuando empezaban funciones a beneficio de Amnesty International. Se ven jóvenes. En 79'cuando filmaron Lífe of Brian se los ve mas "maduritos "😃🌹🍃🌹🍃🌹💕

[@DXhardy831]

dude. yes.

[@blenderpanzi]

I like the cheese shop sketch very much!

[@bluesque9687]

They are all so likeable and witty... but Palin is the coolest... and the finest actor of the pythons!

[@AwakeningtheHeart-tv1it]

= Eric Idle.

[@romeaffair]

Both very beautiful here.

[@samford4829]

Good to see Cleese appreciates Peter Cook. He's a ledge!

[@aceofbass95]

Thank you! Cheese shop is way better than the parrot sketch

[@gorthorki]

john has a frickin awesom belly.

[@isammolina6886]

Además se mueve todo el niño...La verdad me da curiosidad pensar que pasaba por esa cabeza loca😆😂😃😲

[@ken131]

This video is giving me slashy thoughts. Nooo!

[@herauthon]

Cheese shop sketch is funny and very informative. Teenagers tape, copy, and pasted it onto small quick cards. Very handy when visiting the French territories under suspicious conditions of hard survival not knowing any.. real French words that might improve your really dramatic state of physical decline to due prolonged hiding in a French Sherwood forest. You pop out and sneak into the shop - point the item with your muddy fingers and utter "oui? oui?"

[@benerjy]

Cheese shop is a vintage one Heh

[@vinayseth1114]

Michael had a very debonair look here! Wow.

[@bfkc111]

No u.

[@Maundervision]

Very nice interview. Michael Billington in the chair, the great & respected Guardian theatre critic of 40-odd years standing. What show was this, incidentally? Line-Up?

[@isammolina6886]

Estuve investigando; el lenguaje corporal de Palin no sólo revela inseguridad;según dice un informe, cuando alguien "toca con insiste ncia partes sensibles de su cuerpo(rostro,cuello,pecho, nuca)esta mintiendo u ocultando algo".😲Demás esta decir que en ninguna entrevista -compartida,al menos -demostró en todo su esplendor tanta expresividad.Y muy loable el profesionalismo de Cleese.El mundo puede venirse abajo...Pero todo bien. 😆😃😜

[@diananaomi9452]

IsaM Molina y John se tocaba mucho la nariz ..También son como cosas que hace la gente cuando miente 0.0

[@isammolina6886]

@@diananaomi9452 ecco. E vero. Si.es raro hallar en tan poco tiempo tanto lenguaje "no voluntario"...Ademas,como dije por ahí, (porke varias veces comenté cosas sobre estos chicos)John parece tranki Hasta que el entrevistador menciona la palabra 'sexual'...entonces se cruza de brazos,etcétera.Bueno;supongo que todos somos un misterio. 🌋❗❗❗🌠🌋🌠🌋🌠🌋🌠

[@diananaomi9452]

IsaM Molina si es verdad , no me había dado cuenta jaja. Pero michael es el que mas movimientos o gestos hace

[@isammolina4842]

Es encantador el lenguaje corporal de Mike...asegura que todo lo que dice John es cierto...😈😈😈😈es obvio que estaban en el mejor momento del romance 💖

[@diananaomi9452]

IsaM Molina es muy notable lo que hay entre ellos , no se nada de psicología o expresiones corporales , pero ambos (y más michael) se mueven raro , miran de una forma diferente ...No se es difícil de explicar

[@isammolina4842]

@@diananaomi9452 Hola.recien veo estas lineas.Es muy cierto.Hay algo desconcertante en las reacciones de ambos.!Muuchoo mas en el caso de Mike!Casi todo el lenguaje físico de los dos muestra incomodidad...y en ciertos momentos -el "manoseo"de Palin a el rostro de Cleese-una especie de descontrol ;desconcertante pues no se trata de novatos sino de "boys" con Muchas tablas...enfin.He visto y comentado esto varias veces ,y no deja de intrigarme.Un divan para dos por akiii!! 😆👀😲🎭🎪🎡🎢📺🎤🎬

[@diananaomi9452]

@@isammolina4842 completamente jajaja , hasta le llega a tocar la cara a john. Es muy raro , pero me gusta jaja ♡

[@isammolina4842]

Si.Raro.Pero siempre es bueno verlos.Aun con sus "TOC"-trastorno obsesivo compulsivo-Jojo.😆🎄🎀🎄🎀🎄Felicidades

[@bluedragon7925]

The age of freedom and funniness...long since sadly gone!

[@TheAlmightyAss]

Really? People seem quite free and funny now.

[@bluedragon7925]

@@TheAlmightyAss You must be joking!

[@Canyon2023]

I *love* Cheese Shop & the Dead Parrot~!!!!

[@LordMarlle]

There's a audio-only version of the cheesehop on one of their albums thats imo even better than the one in the flying circus

[@michaeldavid6284]

Agreed. Their albums are gold but overlooked for some ungodly reason. The first time I ever saw the show was on PBS when I was in jr high, around 1975. It was only broadcast about once a month very late at night, and after I'd seen a couple of shows I found their albums, which I played as endlessly as any of my rock favorites, and I still have. The recordings are brilliant theater of the mind, and are a must for any fan or student of comedy.

[@BlackSabbath86]

"Sorry, squire! I scratched the record!" The infinite loop at the end of the album was genius.

[@TimothyJonSarris]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 best exit!

[@paulmorphy6187]

Arn't moustaches weird when you really look at them?

Paul Morphy Man you made me think

[@mikaboman1308]

Paul Morphy interesting thought

[@poopmcstuffins4417]

I often think the same thing

[@lpsp442]

Magnificent and alluring

[@BritishComedyUK69]

Balls LOL

[@isammolina4842]

Hummmmm Mike😆😈😉

[@jacksonlady69]

Agreed

[@isammolina4842]

Shuuuu Shuuuu Shuuuu. ..😆😂😃jo jo

[@xIegionx]

i know. actually the video debunks "killcrackafortravyon"

[@renderizer01]

It's actually the Cleese Shop sketch...

[@SarahRT92]

Do you mean here in this clip, or here in 2013? Even if he is 70 now, he's still fine.

[@xn0gaming]

This is great. They act like an old married couple, with Michael being he overbearing and abusive wife.

[@NxDoyle]

Cheese Shop is up there with the best.

[@tillitfade]

0:46 shh, shhhu, ssht, o i'm so sorry did i say shush? i mean, shut

[@norisclub1]

i love cheese shop!

[@MrDaiseymay]

'SHOW MORE' eg. WHO WAS THE INTERVIEWER ' ?

[@JamieAndSassenach]

HI-LA-RI-OUS!

[@81kentboy]

I don't think you could piss those people off if you tried your very best. They are pure comedy.

[@chrisarcher6972]

Apparently, it is possible to piss Michael Palin off - it just takes about four years of non-stop effort.

[@isammolina4842]

Mike debió ser un chico complicado de soportar. ..Tan bello ...sexy...talentoso y malcriado 😈😈😈😈😈

[@casualagent7250]

I missed the part about the talking balls, they must have been over there, in a box 📦 “I want to buy some cheese 🧀” “What would you like Sir”

[@bigcretin]

What does he say right at the start? "So The Dead Parrot sketch lives, but not like everbyamnestygala"??

[@LimeGrover]

The interviewer speaks rather swiftly and slightly swallows his words - but what he says is: "So the 'Dead Parrot' sketch lives - but not I gather - in the Amnesty gala..." Meaning that the interviewer had been informed that that skit would not be included in the upcoming Amnesty benefit show.

[@DXhardy831]

what was the 6:17 smack for?

[@drtmuir]

It was for getting knocked into the canal in the Fish Slapping Dance

[@LuisGarciaLFC]

cleese looks like malkmus with mustache

[@isammolina4842]

Cuando una persona se toca el cuerpo ,con insistencia. ..mientras le preguntan algo...Es porque no está cómoda. ..o no kiere decir o reconocer algo.Es lenguaje físico. No miente. 😀😈😇

[@isammolina4842]

Si no estaba ensayado...Las reacciones de Mike son para un psicólogo 😆😇😈

[@isammolina6886]

Debe ser de 1976'.Por entonces comenzaron funciones a beneficio de Amnesty International .Ademas es cuestión de comparar el aspecto de Cleese y Palin en esta entrevista y el que tenían en 1979'en ocasión de salir en defensa de la libertad de expresión, luego del escándalo y polémica suscitados por el film Life of Brian.(En realidad nacidos de la intolerancia de gentes soberbias)Allí se los ve a John y Mike algo más. ..maduritos 😆👀🔷🔆🔷🔆🔷🔆🔷🔆🔷🔆🔷🔆🔷🔆🔷

[@isammolina4842]

Mike siempre fue considerado el Python "amable"...humm. Mi madre hubiera dicho:Mano larga! Y...Juego de manos ,juego de villanos!...😆😈😈😈

[@douglasanderson8636]

Cheese shop rocks!