Welsh comic actor and “Monty Python” star Terry Jones has died at the age of 77 after a long battle with a rare form of dementia.
Jones passed away Tuesday evening January 21 at his home in north London, a family statement confirmed.
The statement reads,
“We are deeply saddened to have to announce the passing of beloved husband and father, Terry Jones”
Jones passed away with his wife Anna Soderstrom by his side after “a long, extremely brave but always good-humoured battle” with primary progressive aphasia, a form of frontotemporal dementia that impairs the ability to speak and communicate. He was diagnosed in 2015.
The statement continued; “Over the past few days his wife, children, extended family and many close friends have been constantly with Terry as he gently slipped away at his home in North London. We have all lost a kind, funny, warm, creative and truly loving man whose uncompromising individuality, relentless intellect and extraordinary humour has given pleasure to countless millions across six decades.
“We hope that this disease will one day be eradicated entirely. We ask that our privacy be respected at this sensitive time and give thanks that we lived in the presence of an extraordinarily talented, playful and happy man living a truly authentic life, in his words ‘Lovingly frosted with glucose.’”
Terry Jones was an actor, writer, comedian, screenwriter, film director and historian.
Jones and writing partner Michael Palin (whom he met at Oxford) wrote and performed for several high-profile British comedy programmes, including Do Not Adjust Your Set and The Frost Report, before creating Monty Python‘s Flying Circus with Cambridge graduates Eric Idle, John Cleese, and Graham Chapman, and American animator/filmmaker Terry Gilliam.
Jones was largely responsible for the programme’s innovative, surreal structure, in which sketches flowed from one to the next without the use of punchlines.
He made his directorial debut with the team’s first film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which he co-directed with Gilliam, and also directed the subsequent Python films, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life.
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.
