Graham Chapman born 8 January 1941 (d. 1989)Graham Chapman was an English comedian and writer. He was one of the six Monty Python members and lead actor in their two narrative films, playing King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Brian in Life of Brian.
Chapman was educated at Melton Mowbray Grammar School and studied medicine at Cambridge, where he began writing comedy with fellow University student John Cleese. He qualified as a medical doctor at the Barts Hospital Medical College, but rarely practised medicine.
While at Cambridge, Chapman joined Footlights. Fellow members were included John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie. Their revue A Clump of Plinths was so successful at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that they renamed it Cambridge Circus, and took the revue to the West End in London and later New Zealand and Broadway. The revue appeared in October 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Chapman and Cleese wrote professionally for the BBC during the 1960s, primarily for David Frost, but also for Marty Feldman. Chapman also contributed sketches to the BBC radio series I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again and television programmes such as The Illustrated Weekly Hudd (starring Roy Hudd), Cilla Black, This is Petula Clark, and This is Tom Jones. Chapman, Cleese, and Tim Brooke-Taylor then joined Feldman in the television comedy series At Last the 1948 Show. Chapman (and Cleese on occasion) also wrote for the long-running television comedy series Doctor in the House.
In 1969 Chapman and Cleese joined Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and American artist Terry Gilliam for Monty Python's Flying Circus. After Cleese left the series in 1973, Chapman wrote alone, as well as a bit with Neil Innes and Douglas Adams for the final fourth series. He then developed a number of television and movie projects.
In the late 1970s, Chapman moved to Los Angeles, where he guest-starred on many US television shows and he began the first of a lengthy series of US college comedy lecture tours in the 1980s. His memoir, A Liar's Autobiography, was published in 1980.
Chapman was an alcoholic in the 1970s, which greatly affected his nerves during recordings of the television show, and also on the Holy Grail movie. At Christmas 1977, he eventually decided to stop drinking, and remarkably kept his word, which helped him with his performance in Life of Brian. Unfortunately, years of alcohol built up in his body would affect his liver and, along with his smoking habits, would tragically claim his life.
He also kept his homosexuality a secret until the middle of that decade (although his fellow Pythons were already aware of his sexual orientation, and in 1972 he lent his support to the new gay newspaper Gay News which publicly acknowledged his financial and editorial support by listing him as one of the paper's 'Special Friends') when he famously came out on a chat show hosted by British jazz musician George Melly, thus becoming one of the first celebrities to do so. Several days later, he came out to a group of friends at a party held at his home in Belsize Park where he officially introduced them to his partner, David Sherlock whom he met in Ibiza in 1966. Afterwards, he became a vocal spokesman on gay rights.
After Chapman made his homosexuality public, a member of the television audience wrote to the Pythons to complain that she had heard a member of the team was a homosexual, and reminded Python that the Bible recommends all homosexuals be stoned to death. Eric Idle sent a reply saying, 'Don't worry, we figured out who it was, dragged him outside, and stoned him."'
Chapman died at the age of 48 on 4 October 1989, of pneumonia brought about by throat cancer, which had spread to his spine. He had been diagnosed with this in November 1988 when he visited his dentist and the growth was found on his tonsils. Those at his side at the time of his passing were John Cleese, Michael Palin, David Sherlock, his brother John and John's wife. Terry Jones and Peter Cook had visited earlier in the day.
His last appearance was the part of the teacher in Iron Maiden's video for Can I Play With Madness?
Chapman's death occurred one day before the 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of Flying Circus — in Jones' words, 'the worst case of party-pooping in all history.'The remaining Python members have acknowledged that, while brilliant, Chapman was exasperating to work with, and difficult to know. After his death, speculation of a Python revival inevitably faded. As Idle said, 'we would only do a reunion if Graham came back from the dead. So we're negotiating with his agent.'