Ian MacNaughton
Edward Ian Macnaughton (30 December 1925 – 10 December 2002) was a Scottish actor-turned-television producer and director, best known for his work with the "Monty Python" team. MacNaughton was director and producer for all but four of the forty five episodes of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" from 1969 to 1974, director of the group's first feature film "And Now for Something Completely Different" in 1971 and director of their two German episodes, "Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus" in 1971 and 1972. In 1973 the production team shared the BAFTA Award for Best Light Entertainment Programme for "Monty Python's Flying Circus".
British comedy
One of the most influential groups in comedy is Monty Python. Their "Flying Circus" sketch show aired on the BBC between 1969-1974. The group itself consisted of six members, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. All were UK-born except Gilliam, who was US-born. Chapman, Cleese, and Idle attended the University of Cambridge, while Jones and Palin attended the University of Oxford. Gilliam was an alumnus of Occidental College. The Pythons went on to produce a large body of other legendary work including two TV specials for Germany, four feature films, a concert film, and various documentary specials detailing the group's history. Their unique brand of humor has had a profound influence on British comedy and on comedy in general. They themselves had been influenced by The Goons and Spike Milligan's "Q" series. Python found surprising popularity in the US in the 1970s, as did the less cerebral humour of Benny Hill and his ITV sketch series "The Benny Hill Show".