
Michael Palin
Department: Acting
Biography
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS (born 5 May 1943) is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries. Palin wrote most of his comedic material with Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows such as The Ken Dodd Show, The Frost Report and Do Not Adjust Your Set. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "Argument Clinic", "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", and "The Spanish Inquisition". Palin continued to work with Jones after Python, co-writing Ripping Yarns. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as A Fish Called Wanda, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted the 30th favourite by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. After Python, he began a new career as a travel writer and travel documentarian. His journeys have taken him across the world, including the North and South Poles, the Sahara desert, the Himalayas and, most recently, Eastern Europe. In 2000 Palin was honoured as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to television.
Known For

Brazil
1985

Life of Brian
1979

A Fish Called Wanda
1988

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
1975

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
1983

Monty Python & the Holy Grail Location Report
1974

Jabberwocky
1977

Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
1982

Fierce Creatures
1997

And Now for Something Completely Different
1971

Life Of Brian Screenplay
2008

Monty Python's Flying Circus—Graham Chapman's Personal Best
2006

Rik Mayall: Lord of Misrule
2014

Time Bandits
1981

Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
2004

50 Films to See Before You Die
2006

The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash
1978

Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)
2010

The Wind in the Willows
1996

Inside Shabby Road: The Music of 'The Rutles'
2008

Hitler: The Comedy Years
2007

Get Up and Go: The Making of 'The Rutles'
2008

How to Irritate People
1969

Arthur Christmas
2011

Around the World in 20 Years
2008

Is This a Record?
1973

The Missionary
1982

American Friends
1991

A Private Function
1984

The Secret Policeman's Ball
1979

Pleasure at Her Majesty's
1976

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
1982

The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball
1989

Three Men in a Boat
1975

Absolutely Anything
2015

The Pythons: Somewhere in Tunisia, Circa A.D. 1979
1979

The Wind in the Willows
1995

The Willows in Winter
1996

Close-Up Toothpaste Relaunch
—

Ending It All
1970

A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
2012

Palin on Redpath
1997

Frost on Sketch Shows
2013

Anatomy of a Liar
2012

The Wipers Times
2013

The Quest for the Holy Grail Locations
2001

The Seventh Python
2008

Life of Python
1990

The Box
1981

The Secret Policeman's Ball
2012

Parrot Sketch Not Included: Twenty Years of Monty Python
1989

The Movie Life of George
1989

Monty Python Live (Mostly)
2014

The Crimson Permanent Assurance
1983

The Fringe, Fame and Me
2022

50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
2014

Euroshow '71: May Day Special
1971

Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
2009

Monty Python: The Meaning of Live
2014

Fawlty Towers: 50 Years of Laughs
2023

Attenborough at 90
2016

The Meaning of Making 'The Meaning of Life'
2003

Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace
2014

Marty Feldman: Six Degrees of Separation
2008

Generation '66
2016

Spike Milligan I told you I was ill... A live tribute
2002

Tracey Ullman: A Class Act
1993

Michael Palin & the Mystery of Hammershøi
2005

The Grand Knockout Tournament
1987

The Magic Faraway Tree
2026

Michael Palin and the Ladies Who Loved Matisse
2003

The Death of Stalin
2017

Timewatch: The Last Day of World War One
2008

Monty Python in Aberystwyth
2009

Not The Messiah: The Road To Albert Hall
2010

The New Incomplete And Utter History Of Everything
2014

Tomkinson's Schooldays
1976

The Testing of Eric Olthwaite
1977

Comic Roots: Michael Palin
1983

Making Qi
2011

Murder at Moorstones Manor
1977

Across the Andes by Frog
1977

Escape from Stalag Luft 112B
1977

The Curse of the Claw
1977

Whinfrey's Last Case
1979

Roger of the Raj
1979

Golden Gordon
1979

Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
1966

The Art Of Travel With Michael Palin
1989

Alexander Armstrong's Real Ripping Yarns
2014

The Broken Bottle
1977

Comedians Do It On Stage
1986

The Roots of Monty Python
2005

Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind
2007

Monty Python In The Netherlands
1973

Michael Palin's Quest for Artemisia
2015

What the Pythons Did Next...
2007

Henry Cleans Up
1974

Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
2004

The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus Volume 2
2004

The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus Volume 1
2004

The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus Volume 3
2004

The Meaning of Monty Python
2013

Monty Python: 30th Anniversary Sketches
1999

Monty Python: Pythonland
1999

The Monty Python Story
1999

Monty Python: From Spam to Sperm
1999

Michael Palin: A Life on Screen
2018

Monty Python: Before the Flying Circus
2008

What Is Brazil?
2008

Monty Python Conquers America
2008

Michael Palin In Wyeth's World
2013

Life on Air: David Attenborough's 50 Years in Television
2002

Monty Python: And Now for Something Rather Similar
2014

The Unknown Peter Sellers
2000

Viz: The Documentary
1990

An Accidental Studio
2019

Final Ascent: The Legend of Hamish MacInnes
2019

John Cleese's First Farewell Performance
1988

Python at 50: Silly Talks and Holy Grails
2019

The Dress
1984

The Secret Life of Brian
2007

Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy
2020

Monty Python's Flying Circus—Michael Palin's Personal Best
2006

Monty Python: Who's There?
1970

Produced by George Martin
2012

The Great Birds Eye Peas Relaunch 1971
1971

Sir David Attenborough and Sir Michael Palin in Conversation
2020

John Peel's Record Box
2005

Monty Python: Live at Aspen
1998

Jeepers Creepers
2020

Monty Python's Best Bits Celebrated
2021

Concert for George
2003

How To Make It In Comedy
2024

Rabbit Ears - Jack and the Beanstalk
1991

Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) - Theatrical Release
2010

The Phoenix: A Century of Cinema
2011

The Academy of Armando
2025

The Witches
1990

When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain
2025

Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
2024

Monty Python's Flying Circus—John Cleese's Personal Best
2006

Monty Python's Flying Circus—Eric Idle's Personal Best
2006

Monty Python's Flying Circus—Terry Gilliam's Personal Best
2006

Monty Python's Flying Circus—Terry Jones' Personal Best
2006

Monty Python's Flying Circus—Graham Chapman's Personal Best
2006

New Tales from Around the World in 80 Days
2014

Meridian: The First Ten Minutes
1993

The First Night of Meridian
1993

The Philosophers' Football Match
—

Innes Lloyd: The Producer
2025

Joke
2026

Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
1988

Ripping Yarns
1976

Full Circle with Michael Palin
1997

Sahara with Michael Palin
2002

Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure
1999

Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days
1989

Pole to Pole
1992

Himalaya with Michael Palin
2004

Monty Python's Flying Circus
1969

G.B.H.
1991

The Complete and Utter History of Britain
1969

Pebble Mill at One
1972

The One Show
2006

Going Live!
1987

Monty Python's Personal Best
2006

Do Not Adjust Your Set
1967

Staged
2020

The Secret Policeman's Ball
1976

Twice a Fortnight
1967

Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993

Michael Palin's New Europe
2007

Omnibus Presents Comic Relief
1986

Movie Connections
2007

The Alan Titchmarsh Show
2007

Clive Anderson All Talk
1996

The Frank Skinner Show
1995

Daytime Live
1987

Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)
2009

Brazil with Michael Palin
2012

Fantasy World Cup
1998

Saturday Night Live
1975

Michael Palin: The Art of Travel
1989

Remember Me
2014

Travels with Palin
1980

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus
1972

Saturday Night Live
1975

Artsnight
2015

Wogan
1982

Vanity Fair
2018

Michael Palin in North Korea
2018

Great Railway Journeys
1980

A Life on Screen
2014

Michael Palin: Into Iraq
2022

Michael Palin in Nigeria
2024

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975

The Jonathan Ross Show
2011

Legends
2006

The Graham Norton Show
2007

Worzel Gummidge
2019

Ripping Yarns
1976

Ripping Yarns
1976

Ripping Yarns
1976

ZULU Comedy Galla
2010

Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly)
2014

The Simpsons
1989

Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime
2020

Parkinson
1998

Full House
1972

A Series of Bird's
1967

The Secret Life of Trees
2025

Perspectives
2011

Michael Palin in Venezuela
2025

Friday People
1985

Saturday Night Live
1975

Saturday Night Live
1975

Frost on Sunday
1968

Remembers…
2022

Clangers
2015

Friday Night, Saturday Morning
1979

Small Prophets
2026