Graham Chapman
January 8, 1941--October 4, 1989 (He died of Cancer)
Early Life: Graham was born in Leiscester at 8.30am on January 8, 1941 and was the second child of Walter (a policeman) and Edith (Towers) Chapman. His brother, John, was born in 1937 and is a doctor.
Education: Graham attended Melton Mowbray Grammar School, and later Emmanuel College and Cambridge Universrity where he studies medicine. He was not particularly passionate about Medicine, and mostly did it because his brother did. (He did though become a doctor and was even in practice during the early part of his entertainment career.)
Marriages and Etc: Graham never married, but he lived with his lover, David Sherlock, for twenty years. The two adopted a son, John Tomiczek, in 1971.
Pre-Python Career: His involvement with acting started in college, through which he met John Cleese. Cleese and Chapman did the radio show I'm Sorry I'll Have to Read That Again in 1965, although Graham left after three shows so he could concentrate on the show Doctor in the House which he was cowriting with Bernard McKenna. He also wrote for another series: The Frost Report. After a time Chapman got quite sick of the show, but at least through this he met four of the other future Pythons. Next for them came At Last the 1948 Show. Other shows he did included Look That's Me Over There, The Two Ronnies, Broaden Your Mind and How to Irritate People.
Notable Sketches and Characters: Considered by many to be the best actor in the lot of the Pythons, he was the star of both The Holy Grail and Life of Brian.
Some of his most memorable characters, however, came from Monty Python's Flying Circus. Some of these included the famous Colonel (who interruped sketches because they were too "silly") and the Raymond Luxury-Yacht (No, it's spelled Luxury-Yacht, but it's pronounced Throat-Warbler-Mangrove). Graham also made quite an interesting "pepper pot" in such sketches as Peguin on the Telly and The Art Gallery. (Pepper Pots are those loud old women who appeared so often). He also appeared as a mounties in "The Lumberjack Song" and one of the contendors for Upperclass Twit of the Year.
Graham and John were quite the writing team and they were responsible for such sketches as The Ministry of SIlly Walks, The Cheese Shop Sketch (one of John's favorites), The Dead Parrot Sketch, and The Upperclass Twit of the Year.
In show Six, The BBC Entry To The Zinc Stoat of Budapest, Graham defied all the rules and became the first person on British television ever to say "Johan Gambolputty de von Ausfern-schlenden-schplended-schlitter-crasscrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle-dongle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-applebanger-horowitz-ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemeyer-spelterwasser-kurstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenabend-bitte-ein-nurnburger-bratwustle-gernspurten-mitz-weimache-luber-hundsfut-gumberaber-shoedanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-aucher von Haukopft of Ulm".
Despite what many may think, Graham Chapman was probably the most self-conscious and insecure Python. Hence his pipe-smoking and severe alcohol problem. At the height of his problem he was drinking up to eight pints of gin a day... needless to say it interfered with his work. In 1977 he beat his alcohol porblem and some time after he quit smoking. But this did not in any way hinder his insane comedy form. When he recieved an award from the Sun Newspaper from Lord Mountbatten he got up on stage and accepted the award by leaping in the ait, sqwauking loudly and crawling back to his seat with the award in his mouth.
Post-Life: Graham is dead and has remained so since 1989. Eric Idle jokes: "Graham insists on remaining dead, which is really very selfish of him" and Terry Jones has labled his death the the greatest act of party-pooping ever. His untimely death, at the age of 48, was due to cancer of the throat.
The Speech John Cleese gave for
Graham at his memorial service