ity. An audience was never quite sure
what he would do next. Nor I think, as a performer, was Graham. During a
singing court scene in one of the early Python shows he quite inadvertently
substituted 'window dresser' for 'window clearer' in his song. A Freudian
slip at which we all fell about, especially Graham.

In 1969, when the mutual admiration society which became known as
Monty Python assembled, Graham met David Sherlock and embarked on
one of the many radical changes in his life, when they decided to live
together. It was a courageous decision, which shocked some of his friends
at the time but was borne out triumphantly by the fact that they shared the
rest of their lives. David, together with their adopted son John Tomiczak,
nursed and cared for him with stoic patience and quiet strength throughout
his final illness. 

Graham's need to relax himself with a dram or two took a disproportionate
hold on his life as the pressures of a heavy Python schedule grew. Drink
was not always the friend he thought it, affecting his performances and
occasionally doing a great disservice to a much underrated natural acting
talent.

His writing contributions to Python were of quality rather than quantity.
Whilst all around were scratching their heads for inspiration. Graham
would puff his pipe and glance sideways at the Times crossword and be
quite silent for 30 minutes or so before coming out with a single shaft of
inspiration that would transform a mundane sketch into something very
mad and wonderful.

Such surreal flashes were the very essence of Python as were his
memorable performances as the Colonel, as the Hostess in the Eurovision
song contest, Raymond Luxury-Yacht and others.

His off‚stage performances included collecting an award from the Sun
newspaper by leaping high in the air, emitting a loud squawk and crawling
all the way back to his table with the award in his mouth, leaving Lord
Mountbatten, who had given him the award, looking very confused.

But Graham's most memorable performances were sustained and
demanding-as King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Brian
in the Life of Brian.

Around the time of the filming of Life of Brian, Graham made a conscious
effort to free himself from the dependence on the large G and Ts-after that
"ice but no lemon please. " His restless ever‚inquisitive need to be freed
from the boring and the conventional had led him to the brink, but his
cautious disciplined rational side saved him at the last minute from toppling
over. He gave up drinking and later, with immense difficulty also laid aside
his pipe.

Perhaps Graham too easily overestimated the talents of others while
underestimating his own and, as a result, his ventures outside Python-Out
of the Trees for the BBC and his two films, Odd Job and Yellowbeard -
were full of good ideas badly resolved. The commercial failure of
Yellowbeard depressed him.

His recent illness was another in a series of mountains which Graham had
to climb. He always regarded death as highly overrated and could never
understand why anybody made such a fuss about it. Despite great physical
discomfort he remained alert, informed, articulate and humorous.

He hated to be bored which is why he joined the Dangerous Sports Club
and once hurled himself into thin air attached to a length of rubber
"I was high for two weeks after that." 

I suspect he would have enjoyed an old age of increasing eccentricity,
dispensing his considerable wisdom and hospitality, occasionally leaping in
the air and shouting "Eeke!"