Michael Palin Biography

Fast Facts

• Terry Jones presented him with the BAFTA Fellowship in 2013, BAFTA's highest honour
• Helped set up the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children, which treats children with extreme stammering
• In 2009, he was awarded the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and a Fellowship to the society
• Started to seriously consider a career in the entertainment industry after performing a revue written by him and four others at the age of 21 to packed houses at a fringe festival
• Quote: "There's a terrible thrill, a sweaty moment when you're just about to start doing something and you don't know whether it's going to be the worst thing you've ever done or the best thing you've ever done․ Just go for it․ That's important․"
• Quote: "I think there's a lot to be said for when you've nothing to lose, and certainly no reputation, you can be what you want to be․"
• Later in his career, began hosting travel programs, exploring the world on camera as a sort of everyman
• Best known as a member of the innovative Monty Python comedy group
• Claimed that one of his proudest achievements in his career was Monty Python's fish-slapping dance
• Helped hatch a baby crocodile while filming "Full Circle with Michael Palin․"