Before Python and early Python Jones appeared in
Twice a Fortnight with Michael Palin,
Graeme Garden,
Bill Oddie and
Jonathan Lynn, as well as the television series
The Complete and Utter History of Britain (1969). He appeared in
Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967–69) with Palin,
Eric Idle and
David Jason. He wrote for
The Frost Report and several other
David Frost programmes on British television. Of Jones' contributions as a performer to ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus'', his depictions of middle-aged women (or "ratbag old women" as termed by the BBC, also known as "pepper-pots" or "grannies from hell") are among the most memorable.
Directorial work Jones co-directed
Monty Python and the Holy Grail with
Terry Gilliam, and was sole director on two further Monty Python movies,
Life of Brian and ''
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. As a film director, Jones finally gained fuller control of the projects and devised a distinct, signature style that relied on visual comedy and surreal touches to complement the jokes. He would repeatedly abandon punchlines and create fragmented, non sequitur story arcs to bring out the deadpan humour. His later films include Erik the Viking (1989) and The Wind in the Willows (1996). In 2008, Jones wrote the libretto for and directed the opera Evil Machines
. In 2011, he was commissioned to direct and write the libretto for another opera, entitled The Doctor's Tale''. Three of the films which Jones directed—
The Meaning of Life, ''Monty Python's Life of Brian
and Personal Services''—were banned in Ireland. Jones directed the 2015 comedy film
Absolutely Anything, about a disillusioned schoolteacher who is given the chance to do anything he wishes by a group of aliens watching from space. The film features
Simon Pegg,
Kate Beckinsale,
Robin Williams and the voices of the five remaining members of Monty Python. It was filmed in London during a six-week shoot. In 2016, Jones directed
Jeepers Creepers, a West End play about the life of comic
Marty Feldman. It was his last directing work before his death.
Writer and brewer Jones wrote many books and screenplays, including comic works and more serious writing on medieval history. he co-founded the Penrhos Brewery, a
microbrewery at
Penrhos Court at
Penrhos, Herefordshire, which ran until 1983. The former brewery has now become a pub called The Python's Arms.
Comedy Jones co-wrote
Ripping Yarns with Palin. They also wrote a play, ''Underwood's Finest Hour
, which was staged at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in 1981, about an obstetrician distracted during a birth by the radio broadcast of a Test match. Jones also wrote numerous works for children, including Fantastic Stories
, The Beast with a Thousand Teeth
and a collection of comic verse called The Curse of the Vampire's Socks''. Jones was the co-creator (with
Gavin Scott) of the
animated TV series
Blazing Dragons (1996–1998), which parodied the
Arthurian legends and
Middle Ages periods. Reversing a common story convention, the series'
protagonists are
anthropomorphic dragons beset by evil humans.
History Jones wrote books and presented television documentaries on
medieval and
ancient history. His first book was ''Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary'' (1980), which offers an alternative take on
Geoffrey Chaucer's ''
The Knight's Tale''. Chaucer's knight is often interpreted as a paragon of
Christian virtue, but Jones asserts that if one studies historical accounts of the battles the knight claims he was involved in, he can be interpreted as a typical
mercenary and a potentially cold-blooded killer. He also co-wrote
Who Murdered Chaucer? (2003) in which he argues that Chaucer was close to
King Richard II, and that after Richard was deposed, Chaucer was persecuted to death by
Thomas Arundel. Jones' TV series also frequently challenged popular views of history. For example, in ''
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (2004; for which he received a 2004 Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming") he argues that the Middle Ages was a more sophisticated period than is popularly thought, and Terry Jones' Barbarians'' (2006) presents the cultural achievements of peoples conquered by the
Roman Empire in a more positive light than Roman historians typically have, attributing the
sack of Rome in AD 410 to propaganda.
Column writing Jones wrote numerous columns for
The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and
The Observer condemning the
Iraq War. Many of these editorials were published in a paperback collection titled ''Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror''. In November 2011, his book
Evil Machines was launched by the online publishing house
Unbound at the Adam Street Club in London. It was the first book to be published by a
crowdfunding website dedicated solely to books. Jones provided significant support to Unbound as they developed their publishing concept. In February 2018, Jones released
The Tyrant and the Squire, also with Unbound.
Poetry Jones was a member of the
Poetry Society, and his poems have appeared in
Poetry Review.
Work with musicians Jones performed with the
Carnival Band and appears on their 2007 CD
Ringing the Changes. In January 2008, the
Teatro São Luiz, in
Lisbon, Portugal, premiered
Evil Machines—a musical play, written by Jones (based on his book), with original music by Portuguese composer Luis Tinoco. Jones was invited by the Teatro São Luiz to write and direct the play, after a successful run of
Contos Fantásticos, a short play based on Jones'
Fantastic Stories, also with music by Tinoco. In January 2012 Jones announced that he was working with songwriter/producer
Jim Steinman on a heavy metal version of
The Nutcracker.
As performer " at
Monty Python Live (Mostly) in 2014. He plays a waitress who recites a menu in which nearly every dish contains
Spam. Apart from a cameo in
Terry Gilliam's
Jabberwocky and a minor role as a drunken vicar in the BBC sitcom
The Young Ones, Jones rarely appeared in work outside his own projects. From 2009 to 2011, however, he provided narration for
The Legend of Dick and Dom, a
CBBC fantasy series set in the Middle Ages. He also appears in two French films by
Albert Dupontel:
Le Créateur (1999) and
Enfermés dehors (2006). In 2009, Jones took part in the
BBC Wales programme
Coming Home about his Welsh family history. In July 2014, Jones reunited with the other four living Pythons to perform at ten dates (
Monty Python Live (Mostly)) at
the O2 Arena in London. This was Jones' last performance with the group prior to his
aphasia diagnosis. In October 2016, Jones received a standing ovation at the
BAFTA Cymru Awards when he received a Lifetime Achievement award for his outstanding contribution to television and film. == Personal life ==