Monty Python, the six-man British comedy group starringJohn Cleese,Terry Gilliam,Michael Palin,Graham Chapman,Terry Jones, andEric Idle, are known fortheir sketch comedy showMonty Python’s Flying Circusand beloved films such asMonty Python and the Holy GrailandMonty Python and the Meaning of Life.However, fans may be less familiar with the fact that there has always been an honorary seventh member of the group.Carol Clevelandis the only recurring guest actor to feature in every season ofFlying Circusas well as all four feature films Monty Python made. While she was never given enough of a spotlight to fully express her talent, Cleveland is a shining star in all her skits.She challenged the Pythons to write funnier and more complex roles for women, and without her work, Monty Python would not have the legacy it has today.
Carol Cleveland Was Hired for a Few Skits but Ended up as a Regular
In aninterview withVulture, Cleveland explained that her work onBBC comedy productionsgot Monty Python interested in her comedy skill, and she was hired to be in four sketches ofFlying Circus. In addition to primarily growing up in the United States, which automatically gave her outsider status in the group, Cleveland was one of the few women on set. Monty Python tended to only hire women to play younger characters, as the cast themselves almost always played older female characters. Cleveland recalled toVulturethat when she was first hired, “They were looking for a pretty girl to play ‘the pretty girl.’ I don’t think they were looking for a funny actress, but they discovered they had one.”
While originally only hired to do four skits, Cleveland stayed on as a regular at the insistence of the rest of the group.In an interview withThe Guardian,Cleveland explained that once the Pythons saw how well she could match theirsilly absurdity, they quickly realized they were not doing enough for her on the show. She described a moment when Michael Palin said during a rehearsal, “Carol, I’m sorry we don’t have more for you to do, but we’re just not very good at writing parts for women.” Cleveland added that Eric Idle and John Cleese told her everyone wanted her to be a recurring star on the show. As the first season went on,the Pythons began to write sketches specifically with Cleveland in mind. In episode 9, “The Ant, an Introduction,” Cleveland got her first real dialogue playing Iris, a more complex character the Pythons had written for her. From then on, Cleveland became a series regular, appearing in 33Flying Circussketches as well asAnd Now For Something Completely Different, a film collection ofFlying Circussketches.
Carol Cleveland Pushed Monty Python To Write Better Female Characters
Monty Python has a track record of writing pretty terrible parts for women, tending tosexualize younger female charactersand give them very little agency or lines while having their male cast members do stereotyped impersonations of older women. Unfortunately, and especiallyin the first season ofFlying Circus, Monty Python heavily objectified Cleveland, putting her in roles where the male characters focused on her physical appearance and her only personality trait was flirtation. This choice not only had a notable streak of misogyny but alsomade it harder for Cleveland tobring her unique humorto her roles. However, with Cleveland leading the way, Python began improving their representation of women on the show.
In Season 2 ofFlying Circus, Cleveland’s acting opportunities increased, with her often appearing as multiple characters within one episode and getting much more screen time and dialogue. She was also given more versatility in her roles, from a female boxer in “Live from the Grill-o-Mat” to part of a family who only speak in parrot-like squawks with their heads cocked to the side in “The Attila the Hun Show.“She not only leaned intophysical comedyin her roles in the second season, but also wordplay and absurdity. In “How Not to Be Seen,” Cleveland and Idle play a couple who enter the living room to see Cleveland’s father dead on the floor. Despite their shock, the couple then resort to discussing train schedules only moments afterward. In Season 4’s “The Light Entertainment War,” Cleveland plays an aristocratic woman having tea with her family who abhors words such as “tinny” and “litter bin” and squeals in pain every time she hears the words. All in all,in the latter seasons ofFlying Circus, Cleveland more than proved her comedy chops and created a permanent place for herself in the Monty Python lineup, which would lead to her landing parts in all the Monty Python films as well.
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Carol Cleveland Is a Versatile Comedy Gem in Monty Python
One aspect that iscentral to Monty Python’s comedy style is the cast’s ability to switch into different characters quickly and with ease. Carol Cleveland was always able to match Monty Python’s energy, even though she admitted toThe Guardianthat, at first, she didn’t understand their humor, as there was rarely a linear structure or punchline to the sketches. Two of the zaniest and most hilarious skits she did are in Season 2’s “Scott of the Antarctic.” In the first scene, Cleveland sits in a chair in a junkyard with very long hair, holding a cabbage in her lap and staring into the distance. Michael Palin’s character, approaching her, remarks in French, “I see that you have a cabbage.” Both laugh awkwardly before getting quiet again, and Cleveland looks away, vaguely frowning, while seagulls squawk overhead.The scene doesn’t make any sense, and that’s part of its charm. Also in this episode, Cleveland plays Miss Evans, a starlet filming a movie in Antarctica, forced to walk in a trench of ice on stilts, all of which she does while making witty cultural references.
Cleveland’s roles in Monty Python films are small but memorable, particularly her portrayal of the twins Zoot and Dingo inThe Holy Grail, fair maidens at the Castle Anthrax who also happen to be a bit kinky. InMonty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, Cleveland does a gangly,Chaplin-esquedance performance during “The Urban Spaceman” song, complete with clownishly exaggerated expressions and her legs and arms flying. This physical acting was something Cleveland had learned from idolizingLucille BallandMarilyn Monroeas a child. Cleveland alsodid her own stunts, revealing in theVultureinterview that once, she had to do a backflip off John Cleese’s shoulders over and over.
While she was definitely made to be a Python, Cleveland has also had a prolific comedic and dramatic career outside of her work with the group. Not only has she been a hilarious part of Monty Python’s legacy, butshe deserves more recognition for being a pioneer for women in the male-dominated comedy space and pushing Monty Python to do better with their female characters.
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circusis available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.
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