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".
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0001589
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q223985
Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelpalinpage
Instagram: https://instagram.com/michael.palin
X: No data
Filmography (Movies)
The Magic Faraway Tree
Character:
Release Date:26/03/2026
When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain
Character:Self
Release Date:31/05/2025
Innes Lloyd: The Producer
Character:Self
Release Date:24/03/2025
The Academy of Armando
Character:Self
Release Date:03/03/2025
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
Character:Self
Release Date:14/12/2024
How To Make It In Comedy
Character:
Release Date:03/01/2024
Fawlty Towers: 50 Years of Laughs
Character:Self
Release Date:06/05/2023
The Fringe, Fame and Me
Character:Self
Release Date:08/08/2022
Monty Python's Best Bits Celebrated
Character:Self (archive footage)(uncredited)
Release Date:05/06/2021
Jeepers Creepers
Character:Newscaster (voice)
Release Date:12/10/2020
Sir David Attenborough and Sir Michael Palin in Conversation
Character:Self
Release Date:28/09/2020
Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy
Character:Self
Release Date:09/05/2020
Python at 50: Silly Talks and Holy Grails
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:07/09/2019
An Accidental Studio
Character:Self
Release Date:12/07/2019
Final Ascent: The Legend of Hamish MacInnes
Character:Self
Release Date:10/05/2019
Michael Palin: A Life on Screen
Character:
Release Date:07/01/2018
The Death of Stalin
Character:Vyacheslav Molotov
Release Date:20/10/2017
Generation '66
Character:
Release Date:31/07/2016
Attenborough at 90
Character:Self
Release Date:08/05/2016
Michael Palin's Quest for Artemisia
Character:Self
Release Date:28/12/2015
Absolutely Anything
Character:Kindly Alien (voice)
Release Date:13/02/2015
Rik Mayall: Lord of Misrule
Character:Self
Release Date:20/12/2014
Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace
Character:Self
Release Date:10/12/2014
Monty Python: The Meaning of Live
Character:Self
Release Date:13/11/2014
Monty Python Live (Mostly)
Character:Self, others
Release Date:20/07/2014
Monty Python: And Now for Something Rather Similar
Character:Self
Release Date:29/06/2014
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
Character:Self
Release Date:24/05/2014
The New Incomplete And Utter History Of Everything
Character:
Release Date:07/04/2014
Alexander Armstrong's Real Ripping Yarns
Character:Self
Release Date:03/04/2014
New Tales from Around the World in 80 Days
Character:Self
Release Date:11/03/2014
Michael Palin In Wyeth's World
Character:Self
Release Date:29/12/2013
The Meaning of Monty Python
Character:Self
Release Date:08/10/2013
The Wipers Times
Character:General Mitford
Release Date:11/09/2013
Frost on Sketch Shows
Character:Self
Release Date:13/03/2013
Anatomy of a Liar
Character:Self
Release Date:26/10/2012
Produced by George Martin
Character:Self
Release Date:11/09/2012
A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
Character:Various (voice)
Release Date:08/09/2012
The Secret Policeman's Ball
Character:Self
Release Date:04/03/2012
Arthur Christmas
Character:Ernie Clicker (voice)
Release Date:10/11/2011
Making Qi
Character:Self
Release Date:10/09/2011
The Phoenix: A Century of Cinema
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/2011
Not The Messiah: The Road To Albert Hall
Character:
Release Date:08/06/2010
Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)
Character:Mrs. Betty Palin / Julius Caesar / Bevis
Release Date:25/03/2010
Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) - Theatrical Release
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/2010
Monty Python in Aberystwyth
Character:Self
Release Date:12/05/2009
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
Character:Self
Release Date:10/05/2009
Around the World in 20 Years
Character:Self
Release Date:30/12/2008
Inside Shabby Road: The Music of 'The Rutles'
Character:Self
Release Date:01/11/2008
Get Up and Go: The Making of 'The Rutles'
Character:Self
Release Date:01/11/2008
Timewatch: The Last Day of World War One‎
Character:Presenter
Release Date:01/11/2008
Monty Python: Before the Flying Circus
Character:Self
Release Date:01/07/2008
The Seventh Python
Character:Self
Release Date:26/06/2008
What Is Brazil?
Character:Self
Release Date:16/04/2008
Marty Feldman: Six Degrees of Separation
Character:Self
Release Date:31/03/2008
Life Of Brian Screenplay
Character:Wise Man #3, Mr. Big Nose, Francis, Mrs. A, Ex-Leper
Release Date:29/01/2008
Monty Python Conquers America
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/2008
Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind
Character:Gariiiiiii (voice)
Release Date:25/12/2007
Hitler: The Comedy Years
Character:Heinrich Himmler (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:10/05/2007
What the Pythons Did Next...
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/2007
The Secret Life of Brian
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/2007
50 Films to See Before You Die
Character:Self
Release Date:22/07/2006
Monty Python's Flying Circus—John Cleese's Personal Best
Character:Various Characters
Release Date:01/03/2006
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Michael Palin's Personal Best
Character:
Release Date:27/02/2006
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Terry Gilliam's Personal Best
Character:Various Characters
Release Date:27/02/2006
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Terry Jones' Personal Best
Character:Various Characters
Release Date:27/02/2006
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Graham Chapman's Personal Best
Character:Various Characters
Release Date:22/02/2006
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Eric Idle's Personal Best
Character:Various Characters
Release Date:22/02/2006
Monty Python's Flying Circus—Graham Chapman's Personal Best
Character:Various Characters
Release Date:22/02/2006
The Roots of Monty Python
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:26/11/2005
John Peel's Record Box
Character:Self
Release Date:14/11/2005
Michael Palin & the Mystery of Hammershøi
Character:Host
Release Date:14/07/2005
Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
Character:Self
Release Date:09/12/2004
Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
Character:Self
Release Date:28/10/2004
The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus Volume 1
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/2004
The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus Volume 2
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/2004
The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus Volume 3
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/2004
Concert for George
Character:Self
Release Date:03/10/2003
The Meaning of Making 'The Meaning of Life'
Character:Self
Release Date:02/09/2003
Michael Palin and the Ladies Who Loved Matisse
Character:Narrator
Release Date:14/04/2003
Life on Air: David Attenborough's 50 Years in Television
Character:Self - Presenter
Release Date:20/11/2002
Spike Milligan I told you I was ill... A live tribute
Character:Self
Release Date:05/10/2002
The Quest for the Holy Grail Locations
Character:Self
Release Date:23/10/2001
The Unknown Peter Sellers
Character:Self
Release Date:25/04/2000
The Monty Python Story
Character:Self
Release Date:08/10/1999
Monty Python: From Spam to Sperm
Character:Self
Release Date:08/10/1999
Monty Python: 30th Anniversary Sketches
Character:Self
Release Date:08/10/1999
Monty Python: Pythonland
Character:
Release Date:08/10/1999
Monty Python: Live at Aspen
Character:Self
Release Date:21/03/1998
Palin on Redpath
Character:Self - Presenter
Release Date:15/12/1997
Fierce Creatures
Character:Adrian 'Bugsy' Malone
Release Date:23/01/1997
The Willows in Winter
Character:Rat
Release Date:26/12/1996
The Wind in the Willows
Character:The Sun
Release Date:16/10/1996
The Wind in the Willows
Character:Rat
Release Date:24/12/1995
Tracey Ullman: A Class Act
Character:Various
Release Date:09/01/1993
Meridian: The First Ten Minutes
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1993
The First Night of Meridian
Character:Self - Host
Release Date:01/01/1993
Rabbit Ears - Jack and the Beanstalk
Character:Narrator (voice)
Release Date:01/09/1991
American Friends
Character:Rev. Francis Ashby
Release Date:22/03/1991
The Witches
Character:Witch at Meeting (uncredited)
Release Date:25/05/1990
Viz: The Documentary
Character:Self
Release Date:04/05/1990
Life of Python
Character:Self / Various Roles
Release Date:16/03/1990
Parrot Sketch Not Included: Twenty Years of Monty Python
Character:Self / Various Characters
Release Date:18/11/1989
The Art Of Travel With Michael Palin
Character:Self
Release Date:07/11/1989
The Movie Life of George
Character:Self
Release Date:10/02/1989
The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1989
A Fish Called Wanda
Character:Ken Pile
Release Date:15/07/1988
John Cleese's First Farewell Performance
Character:Self
Release Date:13/07/1988
The Grand Knockout Tournament
Character:Self
Release Date:19/06/1987
Comedians Do It On Stage
Character:Self
Release Date:01/02/1986
Brazil
Character:Jack Lint
Release Date:20/02/1985
A Private Function
Character:Gilbert Chilvers
Release Date:09/11/1984
The Dress
Character:Howard
Release Date:03/01/1984
Comic Roots: Michael Palin
Character:
Release Date:12/08/1983
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Character:Various Roles
Release Date:31/03/1983
The Crimson Permanent Assurance
Character:Workman
Release Date:31/03/1983
The Missionary
Character:The Reverend Charles Fortescue
Release Date:02/11/1982
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Character:Various Roles
Release Date:25/06/1982
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
Character:Self - Various Roles
Release Date:01/03/1982
Time Bandits
Character:Vincent
Release Date:13/07/1981
The Box
Character:(voice)
Release Date:29/03/1981
The Secret Policeman's Ball
Character:Various Roles
Release Date:22/12/1979
Roger of the Raj
Character:Roger
Release Date:24/10/1979
Golden Gordon
Character:Gordon Ottershaw
Release Date:17/10/1979
Whinfrey's Last Case
Character:Gerald Whinfrey
Release Date:10/10/1979
Life of Brian
Character:Wise Man #3 / Mr. Big Nose / Francis / Mrs. A / Ex-Leper / Announcer / Ben / Pontius Pilate / Boring Prophet / Eddie / Shoe Follower / Nisus Wettus
Release Date:17/08/1979
The Pythons: Somewhere in Tunisia, Circa A.D. 1979
Character:Self
Release Date:20/06/1979
The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash
Character:Eric Manchester
Release Date:22/03/1978
The Curse of the Claw
Character:Kevin Orr / Uncle Jack
Release Date:25/10/1977
Across the Andes by Frog
Character:Captain Walter Snetterton
Release Date:18/10/1977
Murder at Moorstones Manor
Character:Charles Chiddingford
Release Date:11/10/1977
Escape from Stalag Luft 112B
Character:Major Errol Phipps
Release Date:04/10/1977
The Testing of Eric Olthwaite
Character:Eric Olthwaite / Bank Manager
Release Date:22/09/1977
The Broken Bottle
Character:
Release Date:31/03/1977
Jabberwocky
Character:Dennis Cooper
Release Date:28/03/1977
Pleasure at Her Majesty's
Character:Self
Release Date:29/12/1976
Tomkinson's Schooldays
Character:Tomkinson / Headmaster / TV Introducer / Mr Craffitt
Release Date:07/01/1976
Three Men in a Boat
Character:Harris
Release Date:31/12/1975
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Character:First Swallow-Savvy Guard / Dennis / Peasant 2 / Right Head / Sir Galahad the Pure / Narrator / King of Swamp Castle / Brother Maynard's Brother / Leader of The Knights Who Say NI!
Release Date:03/04/1975
Monty Python & the Holy Grail Location Report
Character:Self
Release Date:19/12/1974
Henry Cleans Up
Character:Henry
Release Date:02/01/1974
Is This a Record?
Character:Various
Release Date:01/06/1973
Monty Python In The Netherlands
Character:
Release Date:18/01/1973
The Great Birds Eye Peas Relaunch 1971
Character:
Release Date:31/12/1971
And Now for Something Completely Different
Character:Gumby / Man with tape recorder / Phrasebook Author / Arthur Pewtey / Second self - defence student / Second Tenant / Lost His Wallet / Shrill Petrol Announcer / Milkman / Ernest Scribbler / Pet shop employee / Lumberjack / Headwaiter Gilberto / Herbert Anchovy / Blackmail Presenter / Gervais Brookhamster / Town Guild Lady
Release Date:28/09/1971
Euroshow '71: May Day Special
Character:Various (as Montypython Flyingcircus)
Release Date:01/05/1971
Monty Python: Who's There?
Character:Ken
Release Date:15/04/1970
Ending It All
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1970
How to Irritate People
Character:Various
Release Date:21/01/1969
Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
Character:Jazz Band Undertaker (uncredited)
Release Date:02/01/1966
Television Appearances
Michael Palin in Venezuela
Character:Self - Host
The Secret Life of Trees
Character:Self - Narrator
Michael Palin in Nigeria
Character:Self
Michael Palin: Into Iraq
Character:
Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime
Character:Self - Host
Staged
Character:Michael
Worzel Gummidge
Character:The Green Man
Michael Palin in North Korea
Character:Self - Host
Vanity Fair
Character:William Makepeace Thackeray
Artsnight
Character:Self
A Life on Screen
Character:Self
Remember Me
Character:Tom Parfitt
Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly)
Character:Self (archive footage)
Brazil with Michael Palin
Character:Self (Presenter)
The Jonathan Ross Show
Character:Self
Perspectives
Character:Self
ZULU Comedy Galla
Character:Michael Palin
Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)
Character:Self
Michael Palin's New Europe
Character:Self
Movie Connections
Character:Self
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
Character:Self
The Graham Norton Show
Character:Self
Legends
Character:Self
The One Show
Character:Self - Guest
Monty Python's Personal Best
Character:Self / Various Characters
Himalaya with Michael Palin
Character:Self - Presenter
Sahara with Michael Palin
Character:Self - Presenter
Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure
Character:
Fantasy World Cup
Character:Self
Parkinson
Character:Self
Full Circle with Michael Palin
Character:Self
Clive Anderson All Talk
Character:Self
The Frank Skinner Show
Character:Self
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Character:Self - Guest
Pole to Pole
Character:Self
G.B.H.
Character:Jim Nelson
The Simpsons
Character:Springfield History Museum curator (voice)
Michael Palin: The Art of Travel
Character:
Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days
Character:Self
Daytime Live
Character:
Going Live!
Character:Self
Omnibus Presents Comic Relief
Character:
Friday People
Character:
Wogan
Character:Self
Travels with Palin
Character:Self
Great Railway Journeys
Character:Self - Presenter
The Secret Policeman's Ball
Character:Self
Ripping Yarns
Character:
Ripping Yarns
Character:Gerald Whinfrey
Ripping Yarns
Character:Kevin Orr / Uncle Jack
Ripping Yarns
Character:Roger
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Co-Host
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Special Guest
Saturday Night Live
Character:Dick Savage (uncredited)
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Host
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Character:Self
Full House
Character:Various
Pebble Mill at One
Character:
Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus
Character:Various Characters
Clangers
Character:Narrator (voice)
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Character:Various / "It's" man
The Complete and Utter History of Britain
Character:
Frost on Sunday
Character:
Do Not Adjust Your Set
Character:Various Characters
Twice a Fortnight
Character:
A Series of Bird's
Character:
Images
