Terry Jones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Terry Jones
Jones in 2014
Born	Terence Graham Parry Jones (1942-02-01)1 February 1942 Colwyn Bay, Wales
Died	21 January 2020(2020-01-21) (aged 77) London, England
Alma mater	St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Occupation	Comedian director historian actor writer
Years active	1966–2016
Known for	One of the six members of Monty Python
Spouse(s)	Alison Telfer ​ ​ (m. 1970; div. 2012)​ Anna Söderström ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	3

Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942 – died 21 January 2020) was a famous Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, and writer. He was a key member of the hilarious Monty Python comedy group.

After studying English at Oxford University, Jones and his writing partner Michael Palin worked on several popular British comedy shows. These included Do Not Adjust Your Set and The Frost Report. Later, they joined with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, and Terry Gilliam to create Monty Python's Flying Circus. Jones was important for the show's unique and dream-like style, where funny scenes flowed together without needing a punchline at the end.

Jones also directed many films. He co-directed the Python film Holy Grail with Terry Gilliam. He then directed Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life by himself. Beyond comedy, Jones wrote the first version of the script for Jim Henson's movie Labyrinth. He was also a respected historian who wrote books and presented TV shows about the medieval period. He wrote many books for children too. In 2016, he received a special award for his amazing work in TV and film. Sadly, Terry Jones developed a condition called aphasia which made it hard for him to speak. He passed away in 2020 from frontotemporal dementia.

Terry Jones' Early Life

Terry Jones was born on 1 February 1942 in Colwyn Bay, a town by the sea in Wales. His mother was Dilys Louisa and his father was Alick George Parry-Jones, a bank clerk. Their family home was called Bodchwil. Terry was born during World War II, while his father was serving in the Royal Air Force. His older brother, Nigel, was two years older than him.

When the war ended four years later, Terry met his father for the first time. He remembered his father's bristly mustache being a new experience! When Terry was about four and a half, his family moved to Claygate, Surrey, England.

Terry went to Esher COE primary school and then the Royal Grammar School in Guildford. He was a top student there. He studied English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford university, but he also became very interested in history. He loved reading about the medieval period, especially the writer Chaucer. At Oxford, he performed comedy with Michael Palin, who would later become his friend and fellow Monty Python member. Michael Palin said that Terry was a very kind person and that they both loved creating comedy with interesting characters.

Terry Jones' Career

Before Monty Python

Before Monty Python, Terry Jones appeared in shows like Twice a Fortnight with Michael Palin, Graeme Garden, and Bill Oddie. He also worked on The Complete and Utter History of Britain (1969). He was a writer and performer for Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967–69) with Palin and Eric Idle. He also wrote for The Frost Report and other shows by David Frost. In Monty Python's Flying Circus, Terry Jones was famous for playing funny middle-aged women, often called "pepper-pots" or "grannies from hell."

Directing Films and Shows

Terry Jones was a talented director. He co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry Gilliam. He then directed two more Monty Python films by himself: Life of Brian and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. As a director, he liked to use visual comedy and surreal (dream-like) ideas to make the jokes even funnier. He often created stories that didn't have clear endings or followed strange paths, which added to the humor.

His other films as a director include Erik the Viking (1989) and The Wind in the Willows (1996). In 2008, Jones wrote and directed an opera called Evil Machines. He also directed the 2015 comedy film Absolutely Anything, which starred Simon Pegg and Kate Beckinsale. The film also featured the voices of the other Monty Python members. In 2016, Jones directed Jeepers Creepers, a play about the comedian Marty Feldman. This was his last directing job.

Writing Books and Screenplays

Terry Jones wrote many books and screenplays. These included funny stories and more serious writings about medieval history.

Comedy Writing

Jones co-wrote the comedy series Ripping Yarns with Michael Palin. He also wrote many books for children, such as Fantastic Stories and The Beast with a Thousand Teeth. He also wrote a collection of funny poems called The Curse of the Vampire's Socks.

Terry Jones also helped create the animated TV show Blazing Dragons (1996–1998). This show made fun of the Arthurian legends. In the show, dragons were the good guys, and evil humans caused trouble.

Screenplays for Movies

Jones wrote the screenplay for the movie Labyrinth (1986). However, his script was changed many times by other writers, so not much of his original work ended up in the final movie.

History Books and TV Shows

Terry Jones wrote books and presented TV shows about medieval and ancient history. His first history book, Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary (1980), looked at Geoffrey Chaucer's famous character, the Knight, in a new way. While many thought the Knight was a good Christian, Jones suggested that he might have been a mercenary (a soldier who fights for money) and a killer, based on historical records. He also wrote Who Murdered Chaucer? (2003), where he argued that Chaucer was killed because of his closeness to King Richard II.

Jones's TV series often challenged common ideas about history. For example, in Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (2004), he argued that the Middle Ages were more advanced than people usually think. In Terry Jones' Barbarians (2006), he showed the cultural achievements of people conquered by the Roman Empire in a more positive way.

Newspaper Columns

Terry Jones wrote many articles for newspapers like The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. He often wrote against the Iraq War, saying it was like "declaring war on an abstract noun." Many of these articles were collected in a book called Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror.

In 2011, his book Evil Machines was one of the first books published by a crowdfunding website called Unbound. This means people helped fund the book's creation.

Performing Roles

Jones performing in 2014

Jones (right) behind the counter during the “Spam sketch” at Monty Python Live (Mostly) in 2014. He plays a waitress who recites a menu in which nearly every dish contains Spam

Terry Jones mostly appeared in his own projects. However, he did have a small role in Terry Gilliam's film Jabberwocky and played a vicar in the TV show The Young Ones. From 2009 to 2011, he narrated The Legend of Dick and Dom, a fantasy series for children. He also appeared in two French films.

In 2014, Jones reunited with the other four living Monty Python members for ten live shows at the O₂ Arena in London. This was his last performance with the group before he was diagnosed with aphasia. In 2016, he received a special Lifetime Achievement award at the BAFTA Cymru Awards, where he got a standing ovation.

Terry Jones' Family Life

Terry Jones married Alison Telfer in 1970. They had two children, Sally (born 1974) and Bill (born 1976). They lived in Camberwell, London. Later, Terry Jones married Anna Söderström in 2012. They had a daughter together in 2009. The family lived in Highgate, North London.

Health and Passing Away

In 2006, Terry Jones was diagnosed with colon cancer and had surgery. After treatment, he became cancer-free.

In 2015, Jones was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia. This is a type of frontotemporal dementia that makes it difficult to speak and communicate. People first noticed he was having trouble learning his lines during the Monty Python reunion shows in 2014. He became a strong supporter of raising awareness and funding research for dementia. By 2016, he could no longer give interviews, and by 2017, he could only say a few words.

Terry Jones passed away from complications of dementia on 21 January 2020, just before his 78th birthday. His family and friends held a special ceremony to remember him.

Terry Jones' Work

Television Work

Television Acting Roles

Television Presenter Roles

Film Work

Film Acting Roles

Awards and Recognition

• Terry Jones was nominated for Grammy Awards three times for Best Comedy Recording:
  • In 1975, for Matching Tie and Handkerchief (Album)
  • In 1980, for Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (Album)
  • In 1983, for Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (Album)
• In 1976, his first film as a director, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, won the British Fantasy Awards.
• In 2016, an asteroid, 9622 Terryjones, was named in his honor.
• In 2016, he received a special Lifetime Achievement award at the BAFTA Cymru Awards for his amazing work in television and film.

See also

In Spanish: Terry Jones para niños