“Monty Python and the Holy Grail” co-director Terry Jones has been diagnosed with dementia.
Jones’ diagnosis was revealed by a representative in a comment on Jones being chosen to receive the BAFTA Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television from BAFTA Cymru, the Welsh arm of the organization.
“Terry has been diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia, a variant of Frontotemporal Dementia,” the representative said in a BAFTA blog post. “This illness affects his ability to communicate and he is no longer able to give interviews. Terry is proud and honoured to be recognised in this way and is looking forward to the celebrations.”
Jones was a staple of the Monty Python crew, the second Terry of the bunch. He and Terry Gilliam co-directed “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” which starred other Pythons John Cleese, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman and Michael Palin. He directed “The Life of Brian” and “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life” on his own.
But Jones wasn’t just a Python. Born in Colwyn Bay, Wales, Jones attended Oxford — where he and Palin met and performed together — and wrote for David Frost’s news programs. After the Python years, he went on to direct films like “Eric the Viking” and “The Wind in the Willows,” pen history books, and write documentaries like the “Surprising History of…” series.