Michael Palin#Diaries

Palin was born in Ranmoor, Sheffield,{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/time-and-place-michael-palin-6pg35bjvr2l|title=Time and place: Michael Palin|work=The Sunday Times|first=Danny|last=Scott|date=2 June 2013|access-date=10 August 2017|archive-date=10 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810171353/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/time-and-place-michael-palin-6pg35bjvr2l|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Peace |first1=Lee |title=Sheffield-born comic legend Sir Michael Palin to undergo heart surgery |url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/people/sheffield-born-comic-legend-sir-michael-palin-to-undergo-heart-surgery-486441 |agency=The Star (UK) |date=25 July 2019 |access-date=8 September 2019 |archive-date=10 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910134548/https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/people/sheffield-born-comic-legend-sir-michael-palin-to-undergo-heart-surgery-486441 |url-status=live }} the second child and only son of Edward Moreton Palin (1900–1977){{cite news|first=Nick |last=Barratt|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1435162/Family-detective.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1435162/Family-detective.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Family detective |work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London, England |date=11 November 2006 |access-date=25 October 2008 }}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/0/Michael-Palin.html |title=Michael Palin Biography (1943–) |publisher=Filmreference.com |access-date=1 June 2011 |archive-date=20 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520213842/http://www.filmreference.com/film/0/Michael-Palin.html |url-status=live }} and Mary Rachel Lockhart (née Ovey; 1903–1990). His father was a Shrewsbury and Cambridge-educated engineer working for a steel firm.{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Chalmers |title=The dark knight rises: Perhaps Michael Palin isn't the nicest chap in Britain after all... |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/the-dark-knight-rises-perhaps-michael-palin-isnt-the-nicest-chap-in-britain-after-all-7976634.html |work=The Independent |publisher=Independent Print Limited |location=London, England |date=29 July 2012 |access-date=14 August 2012 |archive-date=14 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814124724/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/the-dark-knight-rises-perhaps-michael-palin-isnt-the-nicest-chap-in-britain-after-all-7976634.html |url-status=dead }} His maternal grandfather, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Lockhart Ovey, DSO, was High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1927.{{cite book|first1=Graham|last1=Chapman|first2=Michael|last2=Palin|first3=John|last3=Cleese|first4=Terry|last4=Gilliam|first5=Eric|last5=Idle|first6=Terry|last6=Jones|first7=Bob|last7=McCabe|title=The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|location=New York City|date=2005|isbn=978-0312311445}}

Palin was educated at Birkdale and Shrewsbury School. His sister Angela was nine years his senior; despite the age gap the two had a close relationship until her suicide in 1987.{{cite web|first=Basil|last=Pao|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/World/FJ23Wd06.html |title=The wandering man |work=The Weekend Standard |publisher=Sing Tao Newspaper Group and Global China Group|location=Hong Kong|date=23–24 October 2004 |access-date=1 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522082137/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/World/FJ23Wd06.html |archive-date=22 May 2011 }} Palin has ancestral roots in Letterkenny, County Donegal.{{cite news|first=Seán P.|last=Feeny|url=http://donegalnews.com/2013/03/first-letterkenny-heritage-magazine-launched/|title=First Letterkenny heritage magazine launched|work=Donegal News|publisher=North-West News Group|location=Letterkenney, Ireland|date=14 March 2013|access-date=14 March 2013|quote=Over 100 people attended the official launch of Letterkenny Community Heritage Group's new magazine in the Station House Hotel this week. [...] Did you know that Michael Palin of Monty Python fame has ancestral roots in the town?|archive-date=5 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605151208/http://donegalnews.com/2013/03/first-letterkenny-heritage-magazine-launched/|url-status=dead}} His great-grandmother fled the Irish Famine and was adopted by a wealthy English family.{{cite web|title=Back to his roots Students honour Palin|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/back-to-his-roots-students-honour-palin-26433171.html|access-date=17 November 2021|website=Independent|date=27 March 2008|archive-date=17 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117105326/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/back-to-his-roots-students-honour-palin-26433171.html|url-status=live}}

When he was five years old, Palin had his first acting experience at Birkdale playing Martha Cratchit in a school performance of A Christmas Carol. At the age of 10, still interested in acting, he made a comedy monologue and read a Shakespeare play to his mother while playing all the parts.{{sfn|Ross|1997|p=200}}

After leaving Shrewsbury in 1962, he went on to read Modern History at Brasenose College, Oxford. With fellow student Robert Hewison he performed and wrote, for the first time, comedy material at a university Christmas party.{{cite web|url=http://www.acornmedia.com/rippingyarns/MEP_Bio.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201073651/http://www.acornmedia.com/rippingyarns/MEP_Bio.htm|url-status=dead|title=Michael Palin biography|archivedate=1 February 2009}} Terry Jones, also a student at Oxford, saw that performance and began writing with Hewison and Palin.{{sfn|Ross|1997|p=200}} That year Palin joined the Brightside and Carbrook Co-operative Society Players and first gained fame when he won an acting award at a Co-op drama festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/documentaries/stories/s712623.htm |title=ABC TV Documentaries: Sahara episode 3/4 |access-date=2 September 2006 |work=Australian Broadcasting Company |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060511182847/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/documentaries/stories/s712623.htm |archive-date=11 May 2006 |url-status=dead }} He also performed and wrote in the Oxford Revue (called the Et ceteras) with Jones.{{cite episode|title=Michael Palin|series=Desert Island Discs|network=BBC Radio 4|date=17 November 1979|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mwvb|access-date=5 August 2019|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805081612/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mwvb|url-status=live}}

After finishing university in 1965, Palin became a presenter on a comedy pop show called Now! for the television contractor Television Wales and the West.{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/510300/index.html |title=Michael Palin |first=John |last=Oliver |work=BFI Screen Online |access-date=13 December 2006 |archive-date=15 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061215163009/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/510300/index.html |url-status=live }} At the same time, Palin was contacted by Jones, who had left university a year earlier, to help with writing a theatrical documentary about sex through the ages.{{cite web|url=http://idler.co.uk/conversations/in-conversation-with-michael-palin/ |first=Tom |last=Hodgkinson |work=The Idler |title=In Conversation with Michael Palin |year=2006 |access-date=20 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103064336/http://idler.co.uk/conversations/in-conversation-with-michael-palin/ |archive-date=3 January 2008 }} Although this project was eventually abandoned, it brought Palin and Jones together as a writing duo and led them to write comedy for various BBC programmes, such as The Ken Dodd Show, The Billy Cotton Bandshow, and The Illustrated Weekly Hudd.{{cite web|url=http://orangecow.org/pythonet/michael-palin.html |title=Biography |website=Pythonet.org |access-date=17 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115215629/http://orangecow.org/pythonet/michael-palin.html |archive-date=15 November 2006 }} They collaborated in writing lyrics for an album by Barry Booth called Diversions. They were also in the team of writers working for The Frost Report, whose other members included Frank Muir, Barry Cryer, Marty Feldman, Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett, Dick Vosburgh and future Monty Python members Graham Chapman, John Cleese and Eric Idle.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/thefrostreport/|title=The Frost Report|publisher=BBC Comedy|access-date=9 July 2016|archive-date=15 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415033653/https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/thefrostreport/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/07/08/jimmy-gilbert-bbc-producer-who-presided-over-a-golden-age-of-lig/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/07/08/jimmy-gilbert-bbc-producer-who-presided-over-a-golden-age-of-lig/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Jimmy Gilbert, BBC producer who presided over a golden age of light entertainment – obituary|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|date=8 June 2016|access-date=9 July 2016}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |title=Marty Feldman: Six Degrees of Separation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009pgsc |work=BBC Two |date=13 August 2011 |access-date=18 November 2015 |archive-date=25 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425145626/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009pgsc |url-status=live }}

Although the members of Monty Python had already encountered each other over the years, The Frost Report was the first time all the British members of Monty Python (its sixth member, Terry Gilliam, was at that time an American citizen) worked together. During the run of The Frost Report the Palin/Jones team contributed material to two shows starring John Bird: The Late Show and A Series of Birds. For A Series of Birds the Palin/Jones team had their first experience of writing narrative instead of the short sketches they were accustomed to conceiving.{{cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/s/seriesofbirdsa_1299002783.shtml | title = A Series of Bird's | publisher = BBC Guide to Comedy | access-date = 16 September 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070203114420/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/s/seriesofbirdsa_1299002783.shtml | archive-date = 3 February 2007 | url-status = dead }}

Following The Frost Report the Palin/Jones team worked both as actors and writers on the show Twice a Fortnight with Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie and Jonathan Lynn, and the successful children's comedy show Do Not Adjust Your Set with Idle and David Jason. The show also featured musical numbers by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, including future Monty Python musical collaborator Neil Innes. The animations for Do Not Adjust Your Set were made by Terry Gilliam. Eager to work with Palin{{sfn|Ross|1997|p=91}} sans Jones, Cleese later asked him to perform in How to Irritate People together with Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. The Palin/Jones team were reunited for The Complete and Utter History of Britain.{{cite web|first=Dave |last=Eggers |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1871170,00.html |title=Interview with Eric Idle in The Guardian, with quotes from Terry Jones and Michael Palin |publisher=Film.guardian.co.uk |date=13 September 2006 |access-date=23 August 2019}}

{{Main|Monty Python}}

File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 47 33 (14598699991).jpg" sketch at the 2014 reunion, Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]

On the strength of their work on The Frost Report and other programmes, Cleese and Chapman had been offered a show by the BBC, but Cleese was reluctant to do a two-man show for various reasons, among them Chapman's reputedly difficult personality. During this period Cleese contacted Palin about doing the show that ultimately became Monty Python's Flying Circus. At the same time the success of Do Not Adjust Your Set had led Palin, Jones, Idle and Gilliam to be offered their own series and, while it was still in production, Palin agreed to Cleese's proposal and brought along Idle, Jones and Gilliam. Thus the formation of the Monty Python troupe has been referred to as a result of Cleese's desire to work with Palin and the chance circumstances that brought the other four members into the fold.

Palin played various roles in Monty Python, which ranged from manic enthusiasm (such as the lumberjack of "The Lumberjack Song", or Herbert Anchovy, host of the game show "Blackmail") to unflappable calmness (such as the dead parrot seller or cheese shop proprietor).{{cite news |last1=Marshall |first1=Michelle |title=Michael Palin: 'He can't communicate' Monty Python star in emotional Terry Jones admission |url=https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1172986/michael-palin-monty-python-terry-jones-dementia-health-update-latest-news |agency=Express UK |date=3 September 2019 |access-date=8 September 2019 |archive-date=3 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903222635/https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1172986/michael-palin-monty-python-terry-jones-dementia-health-update-latest-news |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Heritage |first1=Stuart |title=John Cleese wants us to revere Monty Python – but he is ruining its legacy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/shortcuts/2019/sep/03/john-cleese-monty-python-ruining-legacy |work=The Guardian |date=3 September 2019}}{{cite news |title=Terry Gilliam says he disagrees with John Cleese's worldview |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/03/terry-gilliam-disagrees-john-cleese-worldview-monty-python-brexit |agency=The Guardian |date=2 September 2019}} As a straight man he was often a foil to the rising ire of characters portrayed by Cleese. He also played timid, socially inept characters such as Arthur Putey, the man who sits quietly as a marriage counsellor (Eric Idle) makes love to his wife (Carol Cleveland), and Mr Anchovy, a chartered accountant who wants to become a lion tamer. He appeared as the "It's" man (a Robinson Crusoe-type castaway with torn clothes and a long, unkempt beard) at the beginning of most episodes. He also frequently played a Gumby, a character Palin said "had these moronic views that were expressed with extraordinary force".{{cite news |title=Michael Palin interview |url=https://thechap.co.uk/2018/09/19/michael-palin/ |access-date=28 August 2019 |work=Chap.co.uk |archive-date=3 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503133907/https://thechap.co.uk/2018/09/19/michael-palin/ |url-status=live }}

Palin frequently co-wrote sketches with Terry Jones, including the "Spanish Inquisition sketch", which featured the catchphrase "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!". He also composed songs with Jones including "The Lumberjack Song", "Every Sperm Is Sacred" and "Spam". His solo musical compositions included "Decomposing Composers" and "Finland".{{cite web|first=Kathleen C.|last=Fennessy|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/r82483|title=Monty Python Sings – Monty Python: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards|work=AllMusic|publisher=All Media Network|location=San Francisco, California|access-date=16 July 2013|archive-date=31 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031034034/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r82483|url-status=live}}

In 1971, he co-wrote, with Hugh Leonard and Terence Feely, the film Percy, which depicts a penis transplant.

After the Monty Python television series ended in 1974, the Palin/Jones team worked on Ripping Yarns, an intermittent television comedy series broadcast over three years from 1976. They had earlier collaborated on the play Secrets from the BBC series Black and Blue in 1973. He played the lead role of the peasant Dennis in Terry Gilliam's 1977 film Jabberwocky. (He had earlier played the cameo role of "Dennis the Peasant" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, also directed by Gilliam.) Palin also appeared in All You Need Is Cash (1978) as Eric Manchester (based on Derek Taylor), the press agent for the Rutles. In 1980, Palin co-wrote Time Bandits with Terry Gilliam. He also acted in the film.

In 1982, Palin wrote and starred in The Missionary, co-starring Maggie Smith. In it, he plays the Reverend Charles Fortescue, who is recalled from Africa to aid prostitutes. He co-starred with Maggie Smith again in the 1984 comedy film A Private Function. In 1984, he reunited with Terry Gilliam to appear in Brazil. He appeared in the comedy film A Fish Called Wanda, which co-starred and was co-written by John Cleese, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Cleese reunited the main cast almost a decade later to make Fierce Creatures. After filming for Fierce Creatures finished, Palin went on a travel journey for a BBC documentary and, returning a year later, found that the end of Fierce Creatures had failed at test screenings and had to be reshot.

After Fierce Creatures and a small part in The Wind in the Willows, a film directed by and starring Terry Jones, it was twenty years until Palin's next film role, as Soviet politician Vyacheslav Molotov in the 2017 satirical black comedy The Death of Stalin. Palin also appeared with John Cleese in his documentary The Human Face. Palin was cast in a supporting role in the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan romantic comedy You've Got Mail, but his role was eventually cut entirely.{{cite web |first=Hans |last=ten Cate |url=http://www.dailyllama.com/news/1999/llama088.html |title=Michael Palin Dropped From Final Print of Hanks/Ryan Romantic Comedy |work=Daily Llama |date=17 January 1999 |access-date=1 June 2011 |archive-date=10 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610222630/http://www.dailyllama.com/news/1999/llama088.html |url-status=dead }}

Palin has also appeared in serious drama. In 1991 he appeared in the film American Friends, which he wrote based upon a real event in the life of his great-grandfather, a fellow at St John's College, Oxford.{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_friends/ |title=American Friends |website=Rotten Tomatoes.com |date=22 March 1991 |access-date=13 December 2006 |archive-date=16 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116095008/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_friends/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2015/22-may/features/features/michael-palin-my-seven-of-the-best|title=Michael Palin: my seven of the best|website=www.churchtimes.co.uk|access-date=17 January 2017|archive-date=18 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118053916/https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2015/22-may/features/features/michael-palin-my-seven-of-the-best|url-status=live}} In that same year he also played the part of a headmaster in Alan Bleasdale's Channel 4 drama series GBH. In 1994, Palin narrated the English language audiobook version of Esio Trot by children's author Roald Dahl.{{cite book |last1=McCall |first1=Douglas |title=Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969–2012, 2d ed. |date=2013 |publisher=McFarland |page=166}}

In 1997, Palin had a small cameo role in the Australian soap opera Home and Away. He played an English surfer with a fear of sharks, who interrupts a conversation between two main characters to ask whether there were any sharks in the sea. This was filmed while he was in Australia for the Full Circle series, with a segment about the filming of the role featuring in the series. In November 2005, he appeared in the John Peel's Record Box documentary.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814163/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 "John Peel's Record Box"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003083632/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814163/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 |date=3 October 2018 }}, 2005.

File:Michaelpalinnightingale.jpg, November 2010]]

In 2013, Palin appeared in a First World War drama titled The Wipers Times written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23128507|access-date=2 July 2013|title=Python Palin stars in BBC WWI drama|work=BBC News|archive-date=2 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702014323/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23128507|url-status=live}} At the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, it was announced that Palin was set to star alongside Adam Driver in Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.{{cite web|first=Craig|last=Skinner|url=http://www.flickreel.com/terry-gilliams-the-man-who-killed-don-quixote-to-star-adam-driver-and-michael-palin-new-concept-art-uncovered/|title=EXCLUSIVE: Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote to star Adam Driver and Michael Palin; new concept art uncovered|work=Flickreel.com|date=11 May 2016|access-date=17 May 2016|archive-date=18 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518230424/http://www.flickreel.com/terry-gilliams-the-man-who-killed-don-quixote-to-star-adam-driver-and-michael-palin-new-concept-art-uncovered/|url-status=live}} Palin, however, dropped out of the film after it ran into a financial problem.{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Itzkoff|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/28/arts/television/michael-palin-monty-python-remember-me-pbs.html|title=Nobody Expects Michael Palin: A Comic Actor in a Dramatic Role |work=The New York Times|location=New York City|date=28 June 2017|access-date=5 July 2017}}

While speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Palin announced that he was presenting the two-part documentary Michael Palin in North Korea to be broadcast on the British television network Channel 5.{{cite news|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/michael-palin-north-korea/|title=Michael Palin has travelled to North Korea for new Channel 5 series|date=22 May 2018|work=i|access-date=5 September 2018|archive-date=5 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905175719/https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/michael-palin-north-korea/|url-status=live}} The documentary was broadcast in September 2018, in two one-hour segments on Channel 5 in the UK and in a single two-hour programme on National Geographic in the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-09-03/michael-palin-in-north-korean-channel-5-air-date-time-how-filmed/|title=When is Michael Palin's North Korea travel programme on TV?|work=Radio Times|access-date=4 September 2018|archive-date=4 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904235524/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-09-03/michael-palin-in-north-korean-channel-5-air-date-time-how-filmed/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-michael-palin-introduced-north-korea-monty-python-1136942|title=How Michael Palin Introduced North Korea to Monty Python|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=4 September 2018|archive-date=23 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823235425/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-michael-palin-introduced-north-korea-monty-python-1136942|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/nat-geo-michael-palin-north-korea-special-u-s-1202958145/|title=National Geographic Lands Michael Palin's North Korea TV Special|work=Variety|date=26 September 2018|access-date=22 November 2018|archive-date=18 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418015930/https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/nat-geo-michael-palin-north-korea-special-u-s-1202958145/|url-status=live}} It was broadcast again by Channel 5, in a single two-hour programme in December 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-12-27/michael-palin-in-north-korea-special-christmas-2018-channel-5-time-date-channel/|title=What time is the Michael Palin: North Korea special edition on TV?|website=Radio Times|access-date=30 December 2018|archive-date=30 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230181144/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-12-27/michael-palin-in-north-korea-special-christmas-2018-channel-5-time-date-channel/|url-status=live}}

In July 2019, Palin performed a one-man stage show at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, Wales, about the loss of HMS Erebus during the third Franklin expedition, which is recounted in his book Erebus: The Story of a Ship.{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Steve |title=Michael Palin brings Erebus: The Story of a Ship to the Torch Theatre |url=https://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/17679370.michael-palin-brings-erebus-the-story-of-a-ship-to-the-torch-theatre/ |access-date=8 September 2019 |publisher=Western Telegraph |archive-date=8 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608021759/https://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/17679370.michael-palin-brings-erebus-the-story-of-a-ship-to-the-torch-theatre/ |url-status=live }}

File:PalinCadogan051022 (7 of 12) (52408590540).jpg

Palin's first travel documentary was episode 4 of the 1980 BBC Television series Great Railway Journeys of the World, entitled "Confessions of a Trainspotter". Throughout the hour-long show, Palin humorously reminisces about his childhood hobby of train spotting while he travels throughout the UK by train from London to the Kyle of Lochalsh, via Manchester, York, Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh and Inverness. He rides vintage railway lines and trains including the Flying Scotsman. At the Kyle of Lochalsh, Palin bought the station's long metal platform sign and is seen lugging it back to London with him.

In 1994, Palin travelled through Ireland for the same series, entitled "Derry to Kerry". In a quest for family roots, he attempted to trace his great-grandmother – Brita Gallagher – who had set sail from Ireland 150 years earlier during the Great Famine (1845–1849), bound for a new life in Burlington, New Jersey. The series is a trip along the Palin family line.

Between 1989 and 2012, Palin appeared as a presenter in a series of travel programmes made for the BBC. It was after the veteran TV globetrotter Alan Whicker and journalist Miles Kington turned down presenting the first of these, Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin, that gave Palin the opportunity to present his first and subsequent travel shows.{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200508/ai_n14903488/pg_1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601220419/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200508/ai_n14903488/pg_1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 June 2013 |title=Watching over Whicker |publisher=Findarticles.com |date=6 August 2005 |access-date=25 October 2008 | first=Michael | last=Vestey}} In 2018, he was hired by ITN Productions to present travel documentaries commissioned by Channel 5, with journeys to North Korea and Iraq completed by 2022.{{cite web | url=https://www.itn.co.uk/press-releases/michael-palin-into-iraq-series-commissioned-by-channel-5/ | title='Michael Palin: Into Iraq' series commissioned by Channel 5 | access-date=20 January 2023 | archive-date=21 July 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721183422/https://www.itn.co.uk/press-releases/michael-palin-into-iraq-series-commissioned-by-channel-5/ | url-status=dead }}

• Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin (travel 1988; programme release 1989): travelling as closely as possible the path described in the famous Jules Verne story without using aircraft.
• Pole to Pole with Michael Palin (travel 1991; programme release 1992): travelling from the North Pole to the South Pole, following as closely as possible the 30-degree line of longitude, over as much land as possible, i.e., through Europe and Africa.
• Full Circle with Michael Palin (travel 1995/96; programme release 1997): in which he circumnavigated the lands around the Pacific Ocean anti-clockwise; a journey of almost {{convert|50000|mi|km}} starting on Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait and taking him through Asia, Oceania and the Americas.
• Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (1999): retracing the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway through the United States, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.
• Sahara with Michael Palin (travel 2001/02; programme release 2002): in which he trekked around and through the world's largest desert.
• Himalaya with Michael Palin (travel 2003/04; programme release 2004): in which he travels through the Himalaya region.
• Michael Palin's New Europe (travel 2006/07; programme release 2007): in which he travels through Central and Eastern Europe.
• Brazil with Michael Palin (2012) in which he travels through Brazil.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/aug/06/michael-palin-geography-force-broadening-mind-gcse-alevel-entries-rise|title=Geography a force for broadening the mind, says Michael Palin|last=Grierson|first=Jamie|date=5 August 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=5 September 2018}}
• Michael Palin in North Korea on Channel 5 (2018, this ITN production was released in the US as North Korea from the Inside with Michael Palin) in which he visits North Korea at the time of the April 2018 inter-Korean summit.{{cite news|url=https://www.irishnews.com/lifestyle/2018/09/13/news/michael-palin-on-north-korea-you-can-t-condemn-a-whole-nation-for-their-leaders-1429065/|title=Michael Palin on North Korea: You can't condemn a whole nation for their leaders|last=Dunn|first=Gemma|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=13 September 2018|access-date=13 September 2018|archive-date=13 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913024643/https://www.irishnews.com/lifestyle/2018/09/13/news/michael-palin-on-north-korea-you-can-t-condemn-a-whole-nation-for-their-leaders-1429065/|url-status=live}}
• Michael Palin: Into Iraq on Channel 5 (2022).{{cite web | url=https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/michaelpaliniraq-c5pt2 | title=Michael Palin Travels to Iraq for Channel 5 Series | date=15 August 2022 | access-date=15 August 2022 | archive-date=15 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815162106/https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/michaelpaliniraq-c5pt2 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=https://www.themichaelpalin.com/news/into-iraq-coming-15th-september-2022/ | title=Into Iraq – Coming 15th September 2022 | access-date=15 August 2022 | archive-date=15 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815160604/https://www.themichaelpalin.com/news/into-iraq-coming-15th-september-2022/ | url-status=live }}
• Michael Palin in Nigeria on Channel 5 (2024).{{cite news |date=9 April 2024 |title=Michael Palin tells David Attenborough where he found snails 'the size of steaks' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/michael-palin-david-attenborough-nigeria-b2525227.html |newspaper=The Independent |first=Tabitha |last=Wilson |access-date=17 April 2024 |archive-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417065656/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/michael-palin-david-attenborough-nigeria-b2525227.html |url-status=live }}
• Michael Palin in Venezuela on Channel 5 (2025).{{cite web | url=https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/michaelpalin-venezuela-5ann1 | title=Michael Palin Explores Venezuela for Latest Travel Series on 5 | date=12 March 2025 | access-date=2 April 2025 }}

Following each trip, Palin wrote a book about his travels, providing information and insights not included in the TV programme. Each book is illustrated with photographs by Basil Pao, the stills photographer who was on the team. (Exception: the first book, Around the World in 80 Days, contains some pictures by Pao but most are by other photographers.)

All seven of these books were also made available as audiobooks, and all of them are read by Palin himself. Around the World in 80 Days and Hemingway Adventure are unabridged, while the other four books were made in both abridged and unabridged versions.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/mar/14/bbc-michael-palin-monty-python-around-the-world-80-days|title=BBC accountants' shallow pockets gave Michael Palin a global hit {{!}} Media Monkey|last=Monkey|date=14 March 2014|work=The Guardian|access-date=5 September 2018}}

For four of the trips, a photography book was made by Pao, each with an introduction written by Palin. These are large coffee-table-style books with pictures printed on glossy paper. The majority of the pictures are of various people encountered on the trip, as informal portraits or showing them engaged in some interesting activity. Some of the landscape photos are displayed as two-page spreads.

Palin's travel programmes are responsible for a phenomenon called the "Palin effect", referring to areas of the world that he has visited suddenly become popular tourist attractions – for example, the significant increase in the number of tourists interested in Peru after Palin visited Machu Picchu.{{cite news | first=Ben | last=Webster | title=Globetrotter Palin brought down to earth by eco-lobby|date=14 January 2005 | url =https://www.thetimes.com/article/globetrotter-palin-brought-down-to-earth-by-eco-lobby-vltnwjg6kbd | work=The Times | access-date =14 August 2006 | location=London | url-access=subscription}} In a 2006 survey of "15 of the world's top travel writers" by The Observer, Palin named Peru's Pongo de Mainique (canyon below the Machu Picchu) his "favourite place in the world".{{cite news | last=Wilkinson | first=Carl | date=8 January 2006 | title=My favourite place in the world |work=The Observer |location=UK | url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/jan/08/observerescapesection5

| access-date=18 August 2007 }}

Palin notes in his book of Around the World in 80 Days that the final leg of his journey could originally have taken him and his crew on one of the trains involved in the Clapham Junction rail crash, but they arrived ahead of schedule and caught an earlier train.

In recent years, Palin has written and presented occasional documentary programmes about artists who interest him. The first, on Scottish painter Anne Redpath, was Palin on Redpath in 1997. In The Bright Side of Life (2000), Palin continued on a Scottish theme, looking at the work of the Scottish Colourists. Two further programmes followed on European painters; Michael Palin and the Ladies Who Loved Matisse (2004) and Michael Palin and the Mystery of Hammershøi (2005), about the French artist Henri Matisse and Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi respectively. The DVD Michael Palin on Art contains all these documentaries except for the Matisse programme. In 2013, he travelled to the United States and filmed in both Maine and Pennsylvania, to write and present "Michael Palin in Wyeth World", which is about the American painter Andrew Wyeth and the people who inspired his paintings.

In November 2008, Palin presented a First World War documentary about Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, when thousands of soldiers lost their lives in battle after the war had officially ended. Palin filmed on the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium for the programme, called the Last Day of World War One, produced for the BBC's Timewatch series.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/timewatch/last-day-of-ww1.shtml |title=Timewatch – The Last Day of World War One |publisher=BBC |access-date=1 November 2008 |archive-date=20 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020080926/http://www.bbc.co.uk/timewatch/last-day-of-ww1.shtml |url-status=live }}

In 1966, Palin married Helen Gibbins (born October 1942), whom he first met in 1959 on holiday in Southwold in Suffolk. This meeting was later fictionalised in Palin's teleplay for the 1987 BBC television drama East of Ipswich.{{sfn|Ross|1997|p=57}} Their marriage lasted for 57 years, until Helen's death from kidney failure on 2 May 2023.{{cite news |first=Nadeem |last=Badshah |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/may/02/the-bedrock-of-my-life-michael-palin-announces-the-death-of-his-wife-helen |title='The bedrock of my life': Michael Palin announces the death of his wife Helen |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2 May 2023 |accessdate=3 May 2023}}

Palin has three adult children: Thomas (born 1969), William (born 1970), and Rachel (born 1975); he also has four grandchildren. Rachel is a BBC TV director, whose work includes MasterChef: The Professionals.{{cite news|first=Rowan | last=Pelling |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/michael-palin-how-to-stay-married-for-49-years/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/michael-palin-how-to-stay-married-for-49-years/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=Michael Palin: How to stay married for 49 years (sex has nothing to do with it) | work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London, England|date=13 November 2015|access-date=25 March 2018}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web | url=http://www.thecnj.com/review/092707/books092707_01.html?headline=Home_truths_on_wanderlust | title=Home truths on Wanderlust | work=Camden New Journal | publisher=New Journal Enterprises | location=London, England | date=27 September 2007 | access-date=7 September 2008 | archive-date=21 March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321124404/http://www.thecnj.com/review/092707/books092707_01.html?headline=Home_truths_on_wanderlust | url-status=live }} William is Director of Conservation at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London,{{cite web | url = https://www.ornc.org/news/will-palin-conservation-director | work = Old Royal Naval College Website | title = Will Palin appointed as Conservation Director | date = 1 February 2014 | access-date = 30 March 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190330191856/https://www.ornc.org/news/will-palin-conservation-director | archive-date = 30 March 2019 | url-status = dead }} and oversaw the 2018–19 restoration of the Painted Hall.{{cite web | url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/need-helping-appreciating-a-museum-get-comfy-first/ | work=i News | title=Need helping appreciating a museum? Get comfy first | date=22 March 2019 | access-date=30 March 2019 | archive-date=30 March 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330191854/https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/need-helping-appreciating-a-museum-get-comfy-first/ | url-status=live }} A photograph of William as a baby briefly appeared in Monty Python and the Holy Grail as "Sir Not-appearing-in-this-film".{{cite news |title=Twiggy, Monty Python's Michael Palin among recipients on New Year's Honors List |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twiggy-monty-pythons-michael-palin-among-recipients-on-new-years-honors-list/ |work=CBS News |date=28 December 2018 |access-date=8 September 2019 |archive-date=2 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502080229/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twiggy-monty-pythons-michael-palin-among-recipients-on-new-years-honors-list/ |url-status=live }} The theatre designer Jeremy Herbert is a nephew.{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Palin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OD46CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |title=Travelling to Work: Diaries 1988–1998|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|location=London, England|date=2014|page=88|isbn=9781466888913}}

Palin describes his religious belief as "agnostic with doubts".{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Palin|title=My seven of the best|newspaper=The Church Times|date=22 May 2015|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2015/22-may/features/features/michael-palin-my-seven-of-the-best|archive-date=18 January 2017|access-date=17 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118053916/https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2015/22-may/features/features/michael-palin-my-seven-of-the-best|url-status=live}} He has lived in Gospel Oak, London, since the 1960s.{{cite web|url=https://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/gospel-oak/|title=Gospel Oak | Hidden London|access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412135933/https://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/gospel-oak/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/23520192.sir-michael-palins-beloved-wife-helen-dies-aged-80/|title=Sir Michael Palin's beloved wife Helen dies aged 80|date=13 May 2023|work=Islington Gazette|accessdate=16 May 2023|archive-date=15 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515172513/https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/23520192.sir-michael-palins-beloved-wife-helen-dies-aged-80/|url-status=live}}

Palin is a supporter of Sheffield Wednesday, holding aloft a trophy and shouting the club's name while in Venice shooting Around the World in 80 Days.{{cite web |last1=Palin |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Palin |title=Michael Palin in Venice Around the World in 80 Days BBC Studios |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo_zT3o2n8Y |website=youtube.com |publisher=BBC Studios |format=video |date=20 September 2007 |access-date=27 September 2024 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709063651/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo_zT3o2n8Y |url-status=live }} He has also followed the fortunes of Sheffield United and Stenhousemuir F.C.{{cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/michael-palin-puts-money-into-his-scottish-team-1467676|title=Michael Palin puts money into his Scottish team|date=9 September 2016 |accessdate=25 January 2024|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208161547/https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/michael-palin-puts-money-into-his-scottish-team-1467676|url-status=live}}

On turning 80, Palin said, {{block quote|text=Eighty is a weird land to be in. People say to you 'you're a very young 70'. No one ever says 'you're a very young 80'.|source={{Cite web |last=Harari |first=Fiona |title='Eighty is a weird land to be in': Michael Palin is still looking on the bright side of life |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_MRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fhealth%2Feighty-is-a-weird-land-to-be-in-michael-palin-is-still-looking-on-the-bright-side-of-life%2Fnews-story%2F4d40c3164ac2f915a0c6f0a5cdb80663&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=GROUPA-Segment-2-NOSCORE&V21spcbehaviour=append |website=The Australian}}}}

Palin assisted Campaign for Better Transport and others with campaigns on sustainable transport, particularly those relating to urban areas, and has been president of the campaign since 1986.{{cite web|url=http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/take_action/see_michael_palin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017022350/http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/take_action/see_michael_palin|url-status=dead|title=Campaign for Better Transport website|archive-date=17 October 2008}}

On 2 January 2011, he became the first person to sign the UK-based Campaign for Better Transport's Fair Fares Now campaign. In July 2015, he signed an open letter and gave an interview to support "a strong BBC at the centre of British life" at a time when the government was reviewing the corporation's size and activities.{{cite news | url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33547098 | title= Michael Palin: 'BBC still lets us experiment' | work= BBC News | date= 16 July 2015 | access-date= 17 July 2015 | archive-date= 16 July 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150716112009/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33547098 | url-status= live }}

In July 2010, Palin sent a message of support for the Dongria Kondh tribe of India, who were resisting mining on their land by the company Vedanta Resources. Palin said, "I've been to the Nyamgiri Hills in Orissa and seen the forces of money and power that Vedanta Resources have arrayed against a people who have occupied their land for thousands of years, who husband the forest sustainably and make no great demands on the state or the government. The tribe I visited simply want to carry on living in the villages that they and their ancestors have always lived in."[http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6269 Michael Palin sends message to support Dongria Kondh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725080147/http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6269 |date=25 July 2010 }}, Survival International

Palin is a longstanding Vice President of the National Churches Trust.{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/about-us/our-presidents-and-patrons |title=Our Presidents and Patrons |accessdate=7 December 2023 |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208000208/https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/about-us/our-presidents-and-patrons |url-status=live }}

Palin is a co-founder of The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering.{{cite web|url=https://michaelpalincentreforstammering.org/about-the-michael-palin-centre/how-the-mpc-started/|title=The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering|accessdate=3 January 2024|archive-date=3 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103210036/https://michaelpalincentreforstammering.org/about-the-michael-palin-centre/how-the-mpc-started/|url-status=live}} When it opened in 1993 Palin became Vice President of Action for Stammering Children. Palin's awareness and understanding of stammering stemmed from his father’s experience as a person who stammers. Over the years Palin has provided support and connection to young people and families of people who stammer.

• The Weekend (2017, adapted from his 1994 stage play)
• John Finnemore's Double Acts – "The Wroxton Box" (Series 2, Episode 6; 2017)
• Torchwood: Tropical Beach Sounds and Other Relaxing Seascapes #4 (April 2020)

• Around the World in 80 Days (1989) {{ISBN|0-563-20826-0}}
• Pole to Pole (1992) {{ISBN|0-563-37065-3}}
• Full Circle (1997) {{ISBN|0-563-37121-8}}
• Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (1999) {{ISBN|0-297-82528-3}}
• Sahara (2002) {{ISBN|0-297-84303-6}}
• Himalaya (2004) {{ISBN|0-297-84371-0}}
• New Europe (2007) {{ISBN|0-297-84449-0}}
• Brazil (2012) {{ISBN|0-297-86626-5}}
• North Korea Journal (2019) {{ISBN|978-1786331908}}
• Into Iraq (2022) {{ISBN|978-1529153118}}
• Michael Palin in Venezuela (2025) {{ISBN|978-1529154726}}

All but the latest two of his travel books can be read with no charge, complete and unabridged, on [https://www.palinstravels.co.uk Palin's Travels website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101121158/https://www.palinstravels.co.uk/ |date=1 November 2020 }}.

• The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons (2003) {{ISBN|0-7528-5293-0}}

• Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years. 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-297-84436-5}}
• Diaries 1980–1988: Halfway to Hollywood – The Film Years. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-297-84440-2}}
• Diaries 1988–1998: Travelling to Work. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2014. {{ISBN|978-0-297-84441-9}}
• Diaries 1999–2009: There and Back. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2024. {{ISBN|978-1-474-61275-3}}

• Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls with Terry Jones, illus Martin Honeysett, Frank Bellamy et al. (1974) {{ISBN|0-413-32740-X}}
• Dr Fegg's Encyclopaedia of All World Knowledge (1984) (expanded reprint of the above, with Terry Jones and Martin Honeysett) {{ISBN|0-87226-005-4}}
• Hemingway's Chair (1995) {{ISBN|0-7493-1930-5}}
• The Truth (2012) {{ISBN|978-0297860211}}

• Erebus: The Story of a Ship (2018, UK) {{ISBN|978-1847948120}}
• Erebus: One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time (2018, US/Canada) {{ISBN|978-1771644419}}
• Great-Uncle Harry: A Tale of War and Empire (2023) {{ISBN|978-1039001985}}

• Small Harry and the Toothache Pills (1982) {{ISBN|0-416-23690-1}}
• Limerics or The Limerick Book (1985) {{ISBN|0-09-161540-2}}
• Cyril and the House of Commons (1986) {{ISBN|1-85145-078-5}}
• Cyril and the Dinner Party (1986) {{ISBN|1-85145-069-6}}
• The Mirrorstone with Alan Lee and Richard Seymour (1986) {{ISBN|0-224-02408-6}}

• The Weekend (1994) {{ISBN|0-413-68940-9}}

File:153335 'Michael Palin' at Cambridge.JPG]]

Palin was instrumental in setting up the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in 1993.{{cite web | url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23552778-details/Palin%27s+centre+for+stammerers+wins+%C2%A3340%2C000+grant/article.do | title=Palin's centre for stammerers wins £340,000 grant | access-date=9 September 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913183801/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23552778-details/Palin%27s+centre+for+stammerers+wins+%C2%A3340%2C000+grant/article.do | archive-date=13 September 2008 }} Also in 1993, each member of Monty Python had an asteroid named after them. Palin's is Asteroid 9621 Michaelpalin.{{cite web |url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=9621 |title=JPL Small-Body Database Browser |access-date=17 October 2006 |work=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124040113/http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=9621 |url-status=live }} In 2003, inside the Globe Theatre a commemorative stone was placed – Palin has his own stone, to mark donors to the theatre, but it is misspelt as "Michael Pallin". The story goes that John Cleese paid for the stone, and mischievously insisted on misspelling his name.{{cite news | url=http://londonist.com/2015/10/hiding-in-plain-site#gallery=2133548,2133558 | work=Londonist | title=11 Secret Features of Famous London Landmarks | date=20 October 2015 | accessdate=20 October 2015 | archive-date=21 January 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121185152/http://londonist.com/2015/10/hiding-in-plain-site#gallery=2133548,2133558 | url-status=live }}

In honour of his achievements as a traveller, especially rail travel, Palin has two British trains named after him. In 2002, Virgin Trains' new £5 million high-speed Super Voyager train number 221130 was named Michael Palin{{snd}} it carries his name externally and a plaque is located adjacent to the onboard shop with information on Palin and his many journeys.{{cite web|url=http://www.virgintrainsmediaroom.com/index.cfm?articleid=179 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016090511/http://www.virgintrainsmediaroom.com/index.cfm?articleid=179 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 October 2006 |title=Virgin Trains |access-date=13 December 2006 }} Also, National Express East Anglia named a British Rail Class 153 (unit number 153335) after him. (He is a model railway enthusiast.{{cite web|url=http://www.009.cd2.com/young.htm|title=can we attract youth to railway modelling?|website=www.009.cd2.com|access-date=30 December 2018|archive-date=15 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915112659/http://www.009.cd2.com/young.htm|url-status=live}}{{Self-published inline|date=August 2020}})

File:Sheffield Legends Michael Palin.jpg plaque in Palin's home city of Sheffield, England]]

In 2008, he received the James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society in Dublin. In recognition of his services to the promotion of geography, Palin was awarded the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in March 2009, along with a Fellowship of this Society (FRGS).{{cite web|url=http://www.rsgs.org/awardsandmedals/ |title=Royal Scottish Geographical Society: Medals & Awards |access-date=29 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212031439/http://www.rsgs.org/awardsandmedals/ |archive-date=12 February 2010 }}

In June 2013, he was similarly honoured in Canada with a gold medal for achievements in geography by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.{{cite news|last=Ouzounian|first=Richard|title=Michael Palin, from Monty Python to travel series host|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2013/06/21/the_big_interview_with_monty_pythons_michael_palin.html|access-date=26 June 2013|newspaper=The Toronto Star|date=26 June 2013|archive-date=26 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626082344/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2013/06/21/the_big_interview_with_monty_pythons_michael_palin.html|url-status=live}} In June 2009, Palin was elected for a three-year term as President of the Royal Geographical Society.{{cite web | url=http://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/A9C558E3-889B-4EAC-81B6-BFAEF347B38D/0/090601_MichaelPalin.pdf | title=Michael Palin announced as new president of Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) | access-date=25 November 2009 | archive-date=6 March 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110306034412/http://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/A9C558E3-889B-4EAC-81B6-BFAEF347B38D/0/090601_MichaelPalin.pdf | url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/a-new-journey-of-exploration-for-michael-palin-1731265.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220514/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/a-new-journey-of-exploration-for-michael-palin-1731265.html |archive-date=14 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=A new journey of exploration for Michael Palin|work=The Independent|access-date=5 September 2018}} Because of his self-described "amenable, conciliatory character" Michael Palin has been referred to as unofficially "Britain's Nicest Man".{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/6055546/Michael-Palin-hes-not-a-Messiah-just-a-very-nice-man.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/6055546/Michael-Palin-hes-not-a-Messiah-just-a-very-nice-man.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Marc |last=Lee |title=Michael Palin: he's not a Messiah, just a very nice man |date=24 August 2009 |accessdate=8 October 2010}}{{cbignore}} In a 2018 poll for Yorkshire Day he was named the greatest Yorkshireman ever, ahead of Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart.{{cite news |title=Ed Sheeran named among the greatest Yorkshiremen of all time |url=https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/lifestyle/ed-sheeran-named-among-the-greatest-yorkshiremen-of-all-time/31/07/ |access-date=28 August 2019 |work=London Economic |archive-date=27 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827213747/https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/lifestyle/ed-sheeran-named-among-the-greatest-yorkshiremen-of-all-time/31/07/ |url-status=dead }}

In September 2013, Moorlands School, Leeds, named one of their school houses "Palin" after him.{{cite web| url=http://www.moorlands-school.co.uk/forms-and-houses/| title=Moorlands School Forms and Houses| access-date=24 April 2015| archive-date=29 April 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429065458/http://www.moorlands-school.co.uk/forms-and-houses/| url-status=live}} The University of St Andrews awarded Palin an honorary Doctor of Science degree during their June 2017 graduation ceremonies, with the degree recognising his contribution to the public's understanding of contemporary geography.{{cite news |url=http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/education/former-python-looks-on-the-bright-side-after-uni-honour-1-4484889 |title=Former Python looks on the bright side after uni honour |work=Fife Today |location=Kirkcaldy |publisher=Johnston Press |date=23 June 2017 |access-date=25 June 2017 |archive-date=21 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821043713/http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/education/former-python-looks-on-the-bright-side-after-uni-honour-1-4484889 |url-status=dead }} He joins his fellow Pythons John Cleese and Terry Jones in receiving an honorary degree from the Fife institution.[https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2017/title,1283540,en.php] {{Dead link|date=November 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} In October 2018, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society awarded Palin the first Louie Kamookak Medal for advances in geography, for his book on the history of the polar exploration vessel HMS Erebus.{{cite web|url=https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/michael-palin-wows-audiences-tale-hms-erebus|title=Michael Palin wows audiences with tale of HMS Erebus|work=Canadian Geographic|date=20 October 2018|access-date=2 December 2018|archive-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203060101/https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/michael-palin-wows-audiences-tale-hms-erebus|url-status=live}}

Palin was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for "services to television drama and travel documentaries".{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/584037.stm|title=Trio of Dames lead showbiz honours|work=BBC News|date=31 December 1999|access-date=1 July 2019|archive-date=30 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630030830/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/584037.stm|url-status=live}} He then was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2019 New Year Honours for "services to travel, culture and geography". Palin is the only member of the Monty Python team to receive a knighthood.{{cite web|url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/monty-python-s-michael-palin-gets-knighthood-in-new-year-honours-1-9512598|title=Monty Python's Michael Palin gets knighthood in New Year Honours|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=29 December 2018|access-date=29 December 2018|archive-date=29 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229120111/https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/monty-python-s-michael-palin-gets-knighthood-in-new-year-honours-1-9512598|url-status=live}}

In 2017, the British Library acquired Palin's archive consisting of project files relating to his work, notebooks, and personal diaries. The papers in the archive (Add MS 89284) relate to his work with Monty Python, his later TV work, and his children's and humorous books.[http://searcharchives.bl.uk/IAMS_VU2:IAMS032-003389071] {{Dead link|date=November 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}

BAFTA Awards

File:Michael Palin-sm.jpg

• 1984 Nominated – BAFTA Award for "Best Original Song" (the award was discontinued after the 1985 ceremonies) for Every Sperm is Sacred from The Meaning of Life (shared with André Jacquemin, Dave Howman and Terry Jones)
• 1989 Won – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for A Fish Called Wanda (as Ken Pile){{cite web|title=BAFTA Film Awards – Best Supporting Actor 1989|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1989/film/actor-in-a-supporting-role|publisher=BAFTA|access-date=15 May 2013|archive-date=12 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112210537/http://awards.bafta.org/award/1989/film/actor-in-a-supporting-role|url-status=live}}
• 1992 Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for GBH
• 2005 Won – BAFTA Special Award
• 2009 Won – BAFTA Special Award as part of the Monty Python team for outstanding contribution to film and television{{cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/access-all-areas/videos/monty-python-special-award,877,BA.html |title=Monty Python Special Award |access-date=20 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091108103158/http://www.bafta.org/access-all-areas/videos/monty-python-special-award%2C877%2CBA.html |archive-date=8 November 2009 }}
• 2013 Won – BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award{{cite news|title=TV Baftas 2013: all the winners|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/may/12/baftas-2013-all-the-winners|work=The Guardian|date=12 May 2013|access-date=15 May 2013|archive-date=30 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030090559/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/may/12/baftas-2013-all-the-winners|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Michael Palin To Receive Academy Fellowship at the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards|url=http://www.bafta.org/press/michael-palin-to-receive-academy-fellowship-at-the-arqiva-british-academy-television-awards,265,SNS.html|publisher=BAFTA|access-date=15 May 2013|archive-date=31 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140831162057/http://www.bafta.org/press/michael-palin-to-receive-academy-fellowship-at-the-arqiva-british-academy-television-awards,265,SNS.html|url-status=live}}

Other awards

• 2011 Awarded the Aardman Slapstick Visual Comedy Legend award for "significant contributions made to the world of comedy".{{cite web|url=http://www.slapstick.org.uk/awards/visual-comedy-award/|title=Aardman Slapstick Visual Comedy Award|work=slapstick.org.uk|date=18 June 2015|access-date=21 February 2017|archive-date=1 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701055005/https://www.slapstick.org.uk/awards/visual-comedy-award/|url-status=live}}
• 2020 National Television Awards Special Recognition Award
• 2024 Association for International Broadcasting Lifetime Achievement Award

{{Reflist}}

• Jones, Mark (2010). The Famous Charisma Discography The Record Press/Bristol Folk Publications {{ISBN|978-0-9563531-1-5}} – discography of Monty Python's record label, includes foreword by Michael Palin
• Novick, Jeremy (2001). Life of Michael: an Illustrated Biography of Michael Palin Headline Publishing (a division of Hodder Headline) {{ISBN|0-7472-3529-5}}
• {{cite book|last=Ross |first= Robert |year=1997 |title=Monty Python Encyclopedia |publisher= B.T. Batsford Ltd |location= London |isbn=1-57500-036-9}}
• Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus: Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960–1980 Eyre Methuen Ltd {{ISBN|0-413-50770-X}}

{{wikiquote}}

{{Commons category|Michael Palin}}

• {{Official|http://www.themichaelpalin.com/}}
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/people/michael_palin_person_page.shtml Michael Palin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129213502/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/people/michael_palin_person_page.shtml |date=29 January 2020 }} – BBC Guide to Comedy
• [http://www.comedy-zone.net/standup/comedian/pq/palin-michael.htm Michael Palin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926113125/http://comedy-zone.net/standup/comedian/pq/palin-michael.htm |date=26 September 2006 }} – Comedy Zone
• {{IMDb name|1589|Michael Palin}}
• {{Screenonline name|id=510300}}
• {{IBDB name}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111007215834/http://www.stammeringcentre.org/mpc-home Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children]
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mwvb Michael Palin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805081612/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mwvb |date=5 August 2019 }} interview on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs, 23 November 1979
• [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/michael-palin Michael Palin | Culture | The Guardian]

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