Spike Milligan cameo in Holy Grail
Newsgroups
The Spike Milligan cameo in 'Life of Brian' is well-recognised, but did
Spike Milligan *also* had a cameo role in 'Monty Python and the Holy
Grail'?
There are two quick shots in the 'Burn the Witch' scene that look
awfully like him.
The first shot is when the crowd of peasants are rushing towards
Bedivere with the witch in tow. The Eric Idle peasant holding the sickle
calls out, 'We've found a witch', and shortly afterwards, the Michael
Palin peasant puts his face in the camera and says, 'We've got a witch'.
Almost imemdiately after that, we see a white-haired man in the crowd
with shaving cream on his face.
The second shot is immediately after the witch has been placed onto the
scales. There is a quick shot of the same white-heaired man with shaving
cream on his face, framed between a youth with a hat and a man with a beard.
The shots are otherwise unimportant, and seem to be there precisely in
order to serve as vehicles for a cameo. They look like Milligan, even
underneath the shaving cream.
I can't find any previous discussion on this matter. Any thoughts?
Douglas
Reverend Ozone
> Hi group,
>
> The Spike Milligan cameo in 'Life of Brian' is well-recognised, but did
> Spike Milligan *also* had a cameo role in 'Monty Python and the Holy
> Grail'?
>
> There are two quick shots in the 'Burn the Witch' scene that look
> awfully like him.
>
> The first shot is when the crowd of peasants are rushing towards
> Bedivere with the witch in tow. The Eric Idle peasant holding the sickle
> calls out, 'We've found a witch', and shortly afterwards, the Michael
> Palin peasant puts his face in the camera and says, 'We've got a witch'.
> Almost immediately after that, we see a white-haired man in the crowd
> with shaving cream on his face.
>
> The second shot is immediately after the witch has been placed onto the
> scales. There is a quick shot of the same white-heaired man with shaving
> cream on his face, framed between a youth with a hat and a man with a beard.
>
> The shots are otherwise unimportant, and seem to be there precisely in
> order to serve as vehicles for a cameo. They look like Milligan, even
> underneath the shaving cream.
>
> I can't find any previous discussion on this matter. Any thoughts?
Hmmm, hadn't heard of this before but I did a cursory look around the MPATHG
site (and his own) on IMDB.com and found nothing to connect him with "Grail".
Now I'm gonna have to watch it /again/, you've got me curious.
--
Reverend Ozone
"Non illegitimi carborundum est"
Stacie
> Hi group,
>
> The Spike Milligan cameo in 'Life of Brian' is well-recognised, but did
> Spike Milligan *also* had a cameo role in 'Monty Python and the Holy
> Grail'?
>
> There are two quick shots in the 'Burn the Witch' scene that look
> awfully like him.
>
>
> Douglas
I think this article seems to point to it being so.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1386241/Spike-Milligan.html?mobile=true
Reverend Ozone
> On Aug 18, 11:30 pm, Newsgroups <n...@nomail.com> wrote:
>> Hi group,
>> The Spike Milligan cameo in 'Life of Brian' is well-recognised, but did
>> Spike Milligan *also* had a cameo role in 'Monty Python and the Holy
>> Grail'?
>> There are two quick shots in the 'Burn the Witch' scene that look
>> awfully like him.
>> I can't find any previous discussion on this matter. Any thoughts?
> I think this article seems to point to it being so.
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1386241/Spike-Milligan.html?mobile=true
I did some more - and extensive - research and come up with a few clues, some
yea, some nay, take your pick.
From this one would say no (from
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~mhjarron/spike/welcome.htm, under the "Cinema"
category, 1/3 the way down the page):
"[NB - Many Spike filmographies include "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" -
Spike did not appear
in this, but "The Case of the Mukkinese Battlehorn" was re-released as a
supporting short]"
But wait, there's this (from http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=44737,
an obit page about Spike, citation very close to the bottom of the page):
"For those of us who didn't really follow the Goon Show, due to lack of age or
lack of Britishness, I might point out that Spike is probably known by more
people worldwide for his French Knight in Monty Python & The Holy Grail. Let's
not overlook his best-known performance."
French knight? News to me. Anyone else?
Lest we be further confused, according to this "Grail" quiz
(http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz.cfm?qid=104883. Play it, it's fun!) - and
mind you, it's not necessarily definitive - he does not. The first question
asks "Which of the actors does *NOT* star in the movie?".
According to the author/editor, the correct answer /is/ Spike Milligan.
Awright, I'm exhausted and hungry. Pizza awaits......and then, a HERRING!
