Profiles in Pipes –– Graham Chapman
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Graham Chapman (1/8/1941 – 10/4/1989) was the leading actor and one of the founding members of the influential comedy group Monty Python. He played starring roles in the Pythons’ most successful feature films Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) in addition to numerous characters in the television series, and later stage production, Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Chapman was born in Leicester in 1941. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was a police officer, and though he grew up in relative poverty, the young Chapman excelled in various fields such as sports, science, and theater. Indeed, it was while studying at medical school at Emmanuel College that he met and began collaborating with future Python, John Cleese. The pair worked together on and off for various programs for the BBC throughout the early to mid-sixties. Then, in 1969, Chapman and Cleese joined forces with Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, and an American animator named Terry Gilliam to form Monty Python.
From the outset, Monty Python employed a brand of surrealist humor that was shocking, unique, and incredibly successful. The group considered Chapman the best actor among them, and cast Chapman to play the lead in Holy Grail as King Arthur and again as Brian Cohen in Life of Brian. Cleese in particular credited Chapman for having a near-perfect understanding of humor and used him as a sounding board for famous Python bits –– such as the Cheese Shop Sketch. Chapman would also often play the “straight man” to the other Python’s silly on-stage antics –– sometimes even employing his own pipe to embody a “stuffy” character. In his personal life, Chapman smoked pipes regularly –– on and off set. He began smoking as a teenager and continued throughout his life. Chapman was known to prefer classic English pipe shapes like Billiards and Pots.
Despite his success with Monty Python, Chapman was a severe alcoholic for many years. His drinking became so excessive that he would struggle to remember lines while filming and would miss cues during live performances. Chapman estimated that at the height of his alcoholism, he would drink around 4 pints of gin per day. He stopped drinking in 1977 in order to perform in Life of Brian and remained sober for the rest of his life.
Chapman was also a staunch advocate for gay rights and was one of the first celebrities to come out as gay. He lived with his long-term partner David Sherlock and the two adopted a child together in 1971.
Outside of Monty Python, Chapman continued to work in television and film, and he wrote a memoir titled A Liar’s Autobiography in 1980.
In 1989, Chapman was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died at age 48. At his service, John Cleese used the eulogy as an opportunity to become the first person at a televised British memorial service to say “fuck” in tribute to Chapman. Eric Idle ended the ceremony by leading the congregation in a rendition of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”
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