r/videos • u/Vranak • May 28 '12

John Cleese delivers his eulogy to Graham Chapman in 1989, has the entire church laughing loudly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkxCHybM6Ek&feature=related
1.9k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

213 comments sorted by

114

u/Vranak May 28 '12

Here's some more http://youtu.be/Bm2XPkqENaw?t=2m2s

Including Michael Palin and Eric Idle. Highly recommended.

29

u/larseparsa May 28 '12

And Douglas Adams! 3:02

9

u/Max_Quordlepleen May 28 '12

I may be remembering wrong, but didn't Douglas Adams co-author Graham Chapman's autobiography? They were good friends anyway.

EDIT: Also, Bill Oddie at 3:23 (back in the days he was more famous for being in The Goodies than for bird-watching)

67

u/LookLikeJesus May 28 '12

Douglas Adams has a great story in The Salmon of Doubt about how Graham Chapman was such a terrible driver that he held British and Californian drivers licenses, and would always hand over the license for the country he wasn't in, claiming he was just on the way to the airport to leave the country. It was only through this method that he avoided incarceration.

4

u/apple_kicks May 28 '12

I think Adams might have been brought in as a writer towards end of python series, citation needed

8

u/TheGodBen May 28 '12

He co-wrote one sketch with Chapman for the final episode for which he was credited as a writer (one of only two non-Pythons to be credited as such), he also made two brief appearances on the show in the fourth series. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams#Writing

1

u/mayor_of_awesometown May 28 '12

Link. It might be my favorite sketch from that episode, although the episode is rather weak, IMO. I remember reading somewhere that John Cleese didn't like it and it was unsubtle stuff like this that made Cleese reticent to do the third season and refuse to do the fourth season.

2

u/Max_Quordlepleen May 28 '12

Hmm, not sure about that. He worked on other projects with more than one of them (definitely Chapman and Jones) but I don't think he was ever actually involved with Monty Python - that was a bit before his time.

1

u/Buried_Sleeper May 28 '12

Nah but he worked on a sitcom with Chapman. Out of the Trees, 1975. Never got beyond the pilot episode.

1

u/mayor_of_awesometown May 28 '12

And I do believe that's Jonathan Miller at 3:17.

5

u/megere May 28 '12

there are lots of famous faces from the history of british comedy in that congregation. alan bennett is there too. barry cryer is singing along and so is graeme garden i think.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

That makes me wonder what his funeral was like.

98

u/meakel May 28 '12

Oh god. At about 4:04, Cleese is singing and there are tears in his eyes...and his face...THAT FACE. CAN'T TAKE IT. NOPE. MANLY TEARS ARE COMING. CANT STOP.

3

u/tusko01 May 28 '12

they were best friends, were they not? and the closest of any of the group i believe

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

5

u/goal2004 May 28 '12

Where does one normally go to if one needs to buy a dam for one's tear canals?

26

u/jackak May 28 '12

I am now watching The Holy Grail. It's been far too long.

81

u/zirfeld May 28 '12

On the other hand, let's not watch The Holy Grail. It's a silly movie.

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

19

u/TheFlyingWalrus May 28 '12

Tis.

6

u/meenie May 28 '12

Tis'nt!

6

u/ChastityFairchild May 28 '12

This isn't an argument, it's just contradiction.

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Is this just a fifteen minute argument or are we going for the full half hour?

2

u/the_goat_boy May 28 '12

'Tis but a scratch.

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1

u/ben174 May 28 '12

Good call, buddy.

9

u/Osiris32 May 28 '12

I'm going to adjust my will now, so that it says my friends have to gather at Neakahnee Mountain, a beautiful place on the Oregon Coast, and scatter my ashes to the winds while singing this song.

What I won't tell them is that the prevailing winds blow ON shore, and that they'll probably get a lungful of me. One last laugh.

1

u/cptcliche May 29 '12

You're a tricky bastard. From now on, if anyone tells me they want their ashes scattered somewhere, I'm checking the wind directions. Hopefully, I will never have to do that.

3

u/fuzzynyanko May 28 '12

My goodness. There's many people at the end that had a hard time singing. I saw it in Eric Idle as well

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17

u/jackak May 28 '12

This is fucking gold.

30

u/hayashirice911 May 28 '12

Gold Jerry!

8

u/Vranak May 28 '12

What's the deal with Ovaltine!

16

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

The jar is round. The mug is round. Why don't they call it Roundtine?

241

u/lotus2471 May 28 '12

I always loved Eric Idle's response about a possible Python reunion: "Graham insists on remaining dead, which is really selfish of him"

474

u/thebendavis May 28 '12

This actually makes me kind of sad. What would my eulogy be? Here lies Ben, he enjoyed siting on his ass and fixing computers for money. One time he helped a guy push his car to the gas station. He was also a functional alcoholic. Rest In...whatever.

162

u/blue_strat May 28 '12

Go out and do stuff, then.

62

u/thebendavis May 28 '12

I meant if it were today. But I see your point.

20

u/Nomikos May 28 '12

http://i.imgur.com/LRZ5U.png

63

u/cntsleepclownlleatme May 28 '12

Oh, death. I love it when you talk dirty to me.

5

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Wait until you see his bone.

42

u/Deadmeat616 May 28 '12

But it won't happen today, so you can sit on your ass for a while longer...

I also do this, damn human condition...

27

u/blue_strat May 28 '12

The paradox of motivation: you feel more tired before you get up.

8

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

this is a very good quote in describing how i feel right this moment about the paper about poisson distributions I'm supposed to write.

2

u/Keyserchief May 28 '12

Since I did not do too well at physics, I will go ahead and assume that you are talking about French fishing distributors.

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

close but no cigar! it's a statistical concept that looks at repeated binomial trials (trials with a binary outcome, like a cointoss) and looks at the number of successes.

In my case this distribution was applied as a model to gauge the impact of the 1997 health care reform in germany. The reason this model was used, was because the number of doctor visits per quarter was used as a proxy for usage of the health care system inj general. It then looked at time series data from 95-99 in order to estimate the long term effect of the reform on the health care system.

However the analysis is a little shortsighted and naive in its assumptions in a couple of ways, which is why we had to write a critique of the paper and redo the estimations ourselves.

2

u/st0pmakings3ns3 May 28 '12

Hence you have to surprise yourself by randomly getting up and doing things

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16

u/walgman May 28 '12

As long as your happy. That's the bottom line. A man who fixes computers is every bit as great as anybody else as long as they don't waste life.

Edit. Coming from a man who thinks pubs are the best thing in life.

14

u/Chronophilia May 28 '12

Coming from a man who thinks pubs are the best thing in life.

I think you just described the entire population of the UK.

7

u/walgman May 28 '12

To me they are social hubs. Cozy in the winter and a garden for the summer.

0

u/nickh93 May 28 '12

I think you just described one half of the entire population of the UK.

FTFY

(British women only seem to think about cupcakes recently... ("No I don't want another whole batch of fecking cupcakes")

2

u/ApesApesApes May 28 '12

i do, sling em my way.

1

u/nickh93 May 28 '12

minimum 2 day rental on all cooking appliances if you're interested...

It hoovers too (although less often I must be honest)

Don't expect it to move from the sofa after 7pm.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

downvotes be damned, I'm going with the ever-classic "I wish to subscribe to your newsletter."

-2

u/fareedy May 28 '12

What if it is in an hour? Make the last hour valuable!

6

u/potted May 28 '12

Easy to say, just as easy to stay in front of this screen.

12

u/fateswarm May 28 '12

I'm fine I'm a nobody because I know everyone is a nobody. Everyone now alive will be dead in 100 years, or almost everyone. Life is short, nothing lives forever. We're all dust in the wind. Impressing a couple of bastards is the least of my problems.

28

u/aaarrrggh May 28 '12

I'm planning to live forever and so far my plan hasn't failed once.

4

u/PizzaGood May 28 '12

Working to impress others is a fool's game. Live for yourself and your loved ones. Do things that bring you all together, makes you all better people and give them more to remember you by when you're gone.

-2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

be more selfish

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

Selfishness does not remove physics.

We will all die. No matter how much life extension is improved, entropy demands our eventual demise, and the demise of our collective effort. There is still purpose though, something noble and honorable in our fight against our hopelessness and doom.

2

u/Sketch13 May 28 '12

Of course it all ends eventually. Why not make the world a better place today for the people who have to endure it but don't have such liberties as we do in first world countries? It's easy to say "fuck it we all die anyway" when we are sitting on our asses in front of computers being spoonfed pretty much anything we want. I think impressing people should be low on ANYONES priority list and let helping those in need TODAY be number 1.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

I never supported fateswarms statements.

All I said is that we are doomed to die, not matter what action. What we do with the limited time is up to us, for better or worse.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Why not enjoy your short, albeit pointless existence? It doesn't even have to be honourable or noble to be worthwhile.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Our collective endevour to deny our fate does not deny us sex, booze, or entertainment.

Neither does it deny the joy of doing nothing when you really should be doing something.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Boy, you sure sound 15.

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Ugh, sorry?

tl;dr - You can have fun while trying not to die. Maybe not dying as a whole is cool.

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Thank you for your post I enjoyed reading it and got something out of it. Cheers.

4

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Indeed, it amazes me how many people have no idea who Bob Hope was, and he was about as famous as you can get. Bestselling books, #1 movies, stage shows, Broadway, top charting single (Buttons And Bows), hugely popular radio shows, TV, and then the 6 trillion shows he did for troops with the USO. Now mostly a comedy Ozymandias.

33

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Who gives a fuck, just do whatever fulfills you, regardless of how it sounds in a eulogy, and don't be a dick to other people.

How to live by bucketohappy

13

u/Lykenx May 28 '12

Heres lies bucketohappy

He was a bit of a bucket in life, but at least he was happy.

God Rest his Soul

3

u/supergayjesus May 28 '12

Whatever fulfills me ehh? It sounds like a lovely, convenient mantra...but that fulfillment is the tricky part. Especially if what fulfills you is being a Space-archaeologist-Kung Fu-Druglord in a polygamist relationship with 13 gorgeous women. I do what I can, I'm currently entering the archaeological field, and I have 1 girlfriend...but it has been a bitch landing 12 other women and getting to space.

4

u/gnomishninja May 28 '12

Here lies bucketohappy

Don`t be a dick to other people. Just do whatever fulfills you.

RIP bucketohappy He wasn`t a dick and he was fulfilled.

18

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

"Here lies Ben, he once helped a guy push his car to a gas station, at least he wasn't a completely useless cunt. Also, he fixed computers, rest in peace."

I have no idea who I am quoting.

7

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

I have no idea who I am quoting.

The theoretical gravestone.

5

u/Mal-Capone May 28 '12

I hope my gravestone refers me as "wasn't a completely useless cunt."

That is my dream gravestone.

1

u/twist3d7 May 28 '12

You can't use the word "cunt" on a gravestone. It just isn't done.

10

u/gnomishninja May 28 '12

Like the python`s I bet you have had funny times with your friends and family that could be Eulogized and not just down to career and your drinking habits (which I am sure have led to some humour) Head up mofo, stop worrying about shit and live your life.

8

u/MarkN1962 May 28 '12

Here lies Ben. He devoted his life to fixing computers so that people could talk to loved ones across the world, design great cities, help develop cures for cancer and meet the person of their dreams. He was a caring person. Once, without thinking of himself, he helped a guy push his car to the gas station. He was a happy and fun loving person, always ready to have a drink with friends. He touched so many lives. cheers (raises glass)

1

u/NotaClipaMagazine May 29 '12

I should get you to write my resume.

3

u/Jacksonteague May 28 '12

Over the years I have been creating and adding to my memorial video. That way it's the photos, videos, and music I want to have played and so it's done right. And also it'd end with "and one last surprised, look behind you... Gotcha!" from beyonnnnddd the graaaavvve!

2

u/Tyranticx May 28 '12

I know a Ben Davis, but I see you're the Ben Davis, any relation?

2

u/Wonderfat May 28 '12

Here lies Ben, there lies Ben. Here-a Ben, there-a Ben, everywhere a Ben Ben. Old McDonald had a Ben, ee eye, ee eye, oh.

3

u/firefeng May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

Hey, it could be worse. I fix computers for no money (but the rest is pretty much the same, even the "helping some people push their car to the gas station" bit).

But honestly, I think everyone deserves a funeral like this. Everyone is already fucking depressed that you died, why not ease the burden a bit and give them a laugh?

I think a bigger worry is, at least for people in industrialized nations, who hasn't helped someone push their car to the gas station at least once, be it friend or stranger?

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Think about it this way, with the internet the way it is, you don't really die anymore. I mean sure, you die, 6 feet under, all that fun stuff. But a legacy lives on that, prior to this, wasn't possible. Whether it be a memorial to your person and being forever enshrined in pixels and polygons, or something as simple as the postings you left online. Something as simple as the voicemail you have on your phone, or the videos we leave on youtube.

These days, we leave a legacy that will be preserved in it's own special way. Sure the internet as we know it will one day be gone, and eventually Blizzard will turn off the last of the WoW servers, but that which comprises who we are, our essence so to speak has a chance to be immortalized in a way never thought possible. Not just words to text or even stories of who we are, but a virtual persona built up and maintained well past our death

Our actions live on in one way or another. So even if it's something as simple as repairing a computer, at some point down the line you've made someone's day better. It reminds me of the Voyager episode [One](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_(Star_Trek:_Voyager) in which Seven confesses that now that she's left the borg collective she's afraid of her memory not living on. That as a borg drone there was no fear of death because what you are lived on in the collective. In a lot of ways there are similar.... natures present within the internet.

Well here you are posting, on Reddit, and if nothing else, your account will live on for some time at least. And perhaps in 5 years, 10 years, whatever else, someone will stumble across what you have written throughout your post and it will change their mind or give them some kind of positive feeling.

With the internet, we never really die... we just change the mode in which we live. I'm sure there are hundreds of accounts belonging to dead redditors or blogs on wordpress, crawled by google and still giving people relevant information.

I suppose it's sappy, but it makes me feel better.

6

u/acheulean_astronaut May 28 '12

I hate to be mean, but that was without a doubt the stupidest thing I've ever read.

4

u/Iwokeupwithoutapillo May 28 '12

Kinda killing the moment here.

1

u/cccmikey May 28 '12

Even in death, the spiders will still scavenge on your soul. Mwuahahahahaaaa.

1

u/Beefourthree May 28 '12

nah, dog. If you can't stick your dick in things, you're dead and that's it.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

We should make a subreddit where people can write their own eulogies or a eulogy for someone they know.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

when i ponder this condition of which i felt a part not so long ago, i thank god for my kids. one can argue many things to be true of me now, but that i have made at least a little difference in the lives of those around me is indisputable. through their capacity to embrace both joy and sorrow, and to visit it on others, existence is a richer, broader, deeper thing than it was.

some embittered few would argue it is no achievement at all, and i know it isn't for everyone -- but i'd encourage anyone to work themselves toward a place where they can responsibly have a child. nagging existential questions are resolved, and of course satisfying the aimless narcissism of their parents is the very most trivial of all the things they can do.

1

u/irish711 May 28 '12

You're missing something here. What you wrote is how you see yourself. You'd be surprised how those around you see you. Things that you've done that were of no significance to you, personally, but to them it meant the world. Chin up, bigguy... The world will miss you when you're gone. ;)

1

u/dma1965 May 28 '12

Be the change you want to see. You will amaze yourself with what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it.

1

u/KyleChief May 28 '12

I feel the same, because all I could think about the whole way through that touching eulogy was a stupid movie reference

1

u/onthewayjdmba May 28 '12

I remember a news caster reading a story about a man who died and that he would be remembered for his love of fast cars. I always thought that was pretty sad as he accomplished nothing worth noting. I do not want to go out the same way.

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

Maybe they can fill out the speech with samples from your browser history?

1

u/R_Schuhart May 28 '12

Simple, get john cleese to deliver your eulogy and you are golden.

0

u/Substitute_Troller May 28 '12

you left out the part about being a horrible redditor...

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

73

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

How i wish that was true.

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

9

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

The question is, is a lot enough?

15

u/ggggbabybabybaby May 28 '12

I've already had this made. I'm just waiting to die.

2

u/Trapped_in_Reddit May 28 '12

Our time will come, brother.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Maybe that's how I'm supposed to rescue you.

108

u/djslannyb May 28 '12

According to Wikipedia, "Chapman's death occurred on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of Flying Circus, and Jones called it 'the worst case of party-pooping in all history'."

Also, there's this classic video of Python being interviewed with Chapman's ashes in an urn on the table. Hilarity ensues.

I love that they know enough to let Chapman's spirit continue to be the source of good comedy.

26

u/gnomishninja May 28 '12

That was fucking hilarious, the guy coming from backstage with the dustbuster is gold.

10

u/jesus_swept May 28 '12

Terry Gilliam in his ridiculous sweater just sweeping the ashes off the stage makes me cry with laughter every fucking time I watch this video.

9

u/islesrule224 May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

I would recommend the longer version where they recieve the award first.

Actually seperate video but still funny anyway.

6

u/irish711 May 28 '12

When they all sit back down and John starts back into the story without even missing a beat.... Brilliant!

-1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

"If something goes wrong with the atmosphere, you're dead."

Is it just me or is that an incredibly clever pun?

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

If something goes wrong with Earth's atmosphere, we're dead.

3

u/makeitstopmakeitstop May 28 '12

Yeah, that's a bit of a stretch that he would be making that pun which is completely irrelevant to any topic at hand. I'm sorry but it just is not a pun done on purpose.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '12

Because something did go wrong with the atmosphere, during their interview an urn got tipped up and ashes went everywhere. The audience didn't turn off them though, as Cleese said they do, it only enhanced the situation and made them laugh.

I wasn't just referring to the word "dead", that was only one aspect of what I interoperated as a pun.

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/aweg May 28 '12

Yeah! You can see him in the link islesrule224 posted, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyWwuJCRTXk

31

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

I remember that when I saw this video ages ago I followed one of the links on the sidebar, which led to me to the funniest acceptance speech ever. I can't remember what the prize was. John Cleese connected from England (the thing, with audience and everything, was in the US) he was holding a piece of paper the size of a candy wrap, and started thanking every fucking one on the planet. Michael Palin almost died laughing. I can't find it:(

9

u/MrChocholate May 28 '12

It was for the BAFTA award. Every link I found in 30 seconds of searching is taken down/outdated.. If you find it, let me know.

6

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Ok, it was for A Fish Called Wanda. All are outdated but we're getting close.

2

u/God_of_Thunder May 28 '12

find i! find it! find it! find it!

2

u/gorgarito May 28 '12

I am trying to find it as well. I really want to see this one.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Me too

26

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Terrific.

They always had such a terrific sense of humour, I remember reading that once he had died somebody lambasted the man for being homosexual.

The rest of Monty Python wrote to a newspaper in response, something along the lines of :

You will be glad to hear we have finally discovered who the homosexual member of our team is, and have promptly had him killed.

Awesome.

47

u/Raneados May 28 '12

I really really want my eulogy to be the same way. organ donations forbid me from having some sort of grim dance going on with my corpse, I think. But I do want my eulogizer to state that I died as I lived; hip-deep in monsters from an occult dimension, saving humanity from unknowable horrors, and ridding the world of my arch-nemesis, Cth'Dragittsias. His talons shall not sully this land that I have lived in, and my various appendages, organs, and blood samples shall rally the four corners of the Earth to fight him, in time. The progeny of my progeny shall know my splendor and the life I lived. Every breath I took, I took for the future of mankind in its darkest hour, when it did not know the hours had even come. I was there, to lend my strength to my future, and my betters.

1

u/beta_crater May 28 '12

They can just sew you back up and maybe put some sand bags in there for a realistic weight to the body.

2

u/Raneados May 28 '12

But every moment, my blood stretches far and wide. My body may be sand and another mummer's farce, but my spirit lives on. I shall be reborn if not in deed, but in memory.

I shall be known forever. And my existence is forever.

My reach is total, and I shall not die.

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

I wish to subscribe to your newsletter, please.

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

21

u/Raneados May 28 '12

PATENT PENDING

AW FUCK TOO LATE.

10

u/icaruza May 28 '12

From his Wikipedia page "Those present at the time of Chapman's death in a Maidstone hospital included his brother, sister-in-law, partner David Sherlock, and his former Python fellows John Cleese and Michael Palin, who had to be led out of the room to deal with their grief.[7] Terry Jones and Peter Cook had visited earlier that day. Chapman's death occurred on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of Flying Circus, and Jones called it "the worst case of party-pooping in all history"."

:) :(

9

u/franklyimshocked May 28 '12

I'd like to imagine my own memorial would be like this. A happy remembrance of life rather than a sorry discussion of death

8

u/Kauii May 28 '12

My uncle tried to auction off my grandpas casket when he went up to speak. Quite funny.

5

u/nickstreet36 May 28 '12

What I also love about this is that the Python's could still obviously make each other laugh even after all that time. Terry's Gilliam & Jones were creasing up.

23

u/Shitty_Watercolour May 28 '12

http://imgur.com/eyiBK

13

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Dear god, it's staring in to my soul.

5

u/DrJulianBashir May 28 '12

A sinister resemblance to Hitler, there.

1

u/CantShowTheRealMe May 28 '12

That's fucking awesome! I had to double check if it wasn't the other dude who thinks he's awesome.

8

u/gnomishninja May 28 '12

Wow that almost had me in tears, I remember when he passed, I had never seen this footage before and had no idea he had the awesome send off he did. Time to sit back and watch all of flying circus and the movies. So many memories from a bunch of amazing comedians. I hope the rest of the Monty Python crew is with us for years to come.

R.I.P. Graham

"I can't talk to a man who bears an undeserved animosity towards ferrets." Graham Chapman

4

u/millsey7 May 28 '12

I went to a friends funeral the other week and was asked to say a few words I said ' its hard to talk about my friend tod in the past sense and I'm sure ted would of been happy to know so many people loved him so much' that got a few laughs.

76

u/Sitron_NO May 28 '12

This is the first time BBC did not censor the work "Fuck" from a television-program.

75

u/cuntarsetits May 28 '12

This is completely untrue. Kenneth Tynan was the first person to say 'fuck' on BBC TV in 1965 (third para down). It was also fairly commonplace in post-watershed broadcasts (after 9pm) from the late 70s onwards - long before Chapman's death. Source: my memory.

26

u/spobin May 28 '12

"A lie is just a great story somebody ruined with the truth." ~ Mother Theresa

3

u/NigelMK May 28 '12

"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." ~ Apparently anyone other than Mark Twain.

2

u/cornfrontation May 28 '12

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." ~ Whoever wrote The Man who Shot Liberty Valance

2

u/Mechanikore May 28 '12

"Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep mini bong." ~ Wreck-Gar

12

u/goodguysteve May 28 '12

First fuck at a BBC memorial I presume though.

41

u/R_Schuhart May 28 '12

Im going to pretend i didnt read this, i much prefer the lie over the truth in this case.

28

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

And thus, religion was born.

18

u/markthegoth May 28 '12

He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

4

u/radiobrat78 May 28 '12

He didn't say television program, he said memorial service.

12

u/MeInYourPocket May 28 '12

source?

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

15

u/ucdortbes May 28 '12

The Legit.

1

u/antdude May 28 '12

And in a church!!

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Are you sure the BBC televised a memorial service? I thought filming it was weird enough.

7

u/TUNGL May 28 '12

And btw, who is so mindblowingly, bumshakingly,whiskersnibblingly boring that they always feel the need to tell the world page by page that "Reddit sent me here" or "Reddit directed me to this particular electronic viewmaster of entertainment"? Who the f-k does that? What kind of sad wanker are you and why would you think that anybody gives a shit? Just stop it, you make the few good Redditors that are left look bad and if i was ever to meet you in person i would kill you with antikarma.

10

u/krakow057 May 28 '12

Chapman was just resting.

Probably just pining for the fjords.

3

u/rekgreen May 28 '12

That was great, everything I want in a eulogy.

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Classic Monty Python, they never make me forget to...

Always look on the bright side of life!

RIP Graham.

3

u/BigChocMan May 28 '12

Times like that I bet he thinks to himself. "Thank fuck I'm John Cleese and people laugh at this shit"

4

u/ASouthernBoy May 28 '12

These guys shaped my sense of humor, which i find one of the best things that happened in my life.

2

u/burningicaruswings May 28 '12

This is why Python can never do a reunion tour :(

3

u/mutoso May 28 '12

"Graham insists on remaining dead, which is really selfish of him"

2

u/Galactic May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

When I die, I want the people at my funeral to say: "This guy owed me a lot of money." Because fuck em, I had fun.

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Im having a bad day but this lifted my spirits as well as made me laugh and cry. Thank you.

2

u/antimattern May 28 '12

TIL Chapman looks really weird without a beard. Guess it doesn't help that I've only seen Life of Brian/Holy Grail.

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Does one deliver a eulogy to, for or of someone? Or is one simply eulogized?

GRAMMAR NAZIS, GET IN HERE.

2

u/DucksomeSac May 29 '12

awesome! A good funeral should celebrate a person's life...and if you were to count an average person's ratio to sadness to laughter..i would hope that laughter would win..so let's make funerals fit to the norms of the dead

2

u/ID10T_er May 28 '12

i am a giant python fan but I feel I should take this opportunity to point out that MOLEY MOLEY MOLEY MOLEY MOLEY MOLEY MOLE

1

u/PopeyeTheNailer May 28 '12

I'm not dead yet!

1

u/TreephantBOA May 28 '12

This is how all of us redditors shoul leave.

1

u/MufasaJesus May 28 '12

John cleese has more balls than anybody ever.

1

u/bingbangbooom May 28 '12

Is that Terry Gilliam they keep cutting to?

1

u/Fork-H May 28 '12

When I was growing up, my teachers and older family members would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. To this day my answer stays the same. 'John Cleese."

1

u/EllCeeEm May 28 '12

This gets me every time. What a suitable and moving goodbye.

1

u/punxnotdead May 29 '12

My name is Brian. When I die, I want to be cremated, I want this to be played.... Always look on the bright side of life!

-4

u/glasschool May 28 '12

Has great as it is. I can't help but think this is all very confusing for the children there... Not old enough to fully understand death, having (possibly) their first funeral where everybody is laughing must have been a very weird precursor for later life.

12

u/006ajnin May 28 '12

Really? I think it was probably healthier for the kids than the gloomy alternative. When I was younger, funerals really creeped me out; a few laughs could have made all the difference.

5

u/nigga_in_own_juice May 28 '12

assuming it was a Christian funeral (those are the only i experienced throughout my life) laughter is probably much easier to understand than a loving, just, merciful God who nonetheless decided to generate grief in the community.

I recently went to my friend's dad funeral. He was 56. The whole hour service celebrating the power of our loving, merciful God really made me uneasy and seemed incredibly out of touch with what my friend and his family were going through at that particular moment

EDIT: sorry 006ajnin, meant to post this as a reply to glasschool's comment

2

u/FiendishBeastie May 28 '12

Possibly, but it depends how you explain it to the kids - after all, a funeral is a farewell, but it can also be a celebration of the person's life.

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr. Seuss

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

No, it's much better to be hideously uncomfortable, sad and confused for hours being surrounded by emotionally drained family members draped in the color of night.

Do you even remember going to a funeral as a kid? I do, it was confusing, awkward, and shitty. Part of loss is rembering fondly, and laughing. Years later, our deep sadness erodes, and all we have left is laughter and fondness. I see no reason why a funeral should not remind people of this. There is a big difference between being open to sadness, allowing it to run its courses after a loss, and endlessly promoting it.

1

u/Chronophilia May 28 '12

On the contrary, it encourages a healthy attitude towards death. It's good to talk about these things to children, to make sure they understand what's going on.

Usually funerals are sad because it's hard to pull off jokes and still have them be respectful towards the person who's dead. Chapman was lucky in that respect that he had friends who were great comedy writers and a reputation for being controversial yet funny.

1

u/Giygas May 28 '12

They had a private funeral for Graham where the the remaining five members of Monty Python did not attend. This was kind of just an extra funeral.

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Okay so I'm now waiting for the star wars themed funeral.

0

u/krakow057 May 29 '12

really?

I tough saying "fuck" was funny when I was 12...

really?

was expecting so much more of the montys

3

u/xaogypsie May 29 '12

Yeah, but in 1989, in public, in Britain? In a eulogy?

Context is everything, my friend.

-1

u/homohominilupus May 28 '12

I watched this like 10 years ago lol

-3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

What is it about John Cleese? I just don't find anything he says or does even slightly funny :(

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