Neil Innes

Neil Innes

Born: December 9, 1944
Died: December 29, 2019
in Danbury, Essex, England, UK
Neil James Innes was an English writer, comedian and musician. He first came to prominence in the pioneering comedy rock group Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the Monty Python troupe on their BBC television series and films, and is often called the "seventh Python" along with performer Carol Cleveland. He co-created the Rutles, a Beatles parody/pastiche project, with Python Eric Idle, and wrote the band's songs.

Movies for Neil Innes...

The Admiral: Pub, Drums and Food
Title: The Admiral: Pub, Drums and Food
Character: Himself/Ron Nasty (Archival Footage)
Released: January 29, 2018
Type: Movie
A documentary short catching up with John Halsey a.k.a. Barry Wom of The Rutles
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Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)
Title: Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)
Character: Mexican / Mountie
Released: March 25, 2010
Type: Movie
Not The Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) is a comic oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian, which retells the tragic tale of Mandy, impregnated by a Roman soldier, giving birth to Brian, a reluctant revolutionary of the People's Front of Judea who falls in love with Judith, gets mistaken for a Messiah and is arrested by the Romans and sentenced to be crucified. It ranges in reference from Handel, through a naughty Mozart duet, to the Festival of Nine Carols, Bob Dylan, and the classic finale "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".
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Title: Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)
Character: Self
Released: October 18, 2009
Type: TV
A 2009 television documentary series in six parts that covers 40 years of the surreal comedy group Monty Python, from Flying Circus to present day projects such as the musical Spamalot. The series highlights their childhood, schooling and university life, and pre-Python work. The series featured new interviews with surviving members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, alongside archive interview footage of Graham Chapman and interviews with several associates of the Pythons, including Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes and Chapman's partner David Sherlock, along with commentary from modern comedians.
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Title: We Need Answers
Character: Self - Contestant
Released: February 12, 2009
Type: TV
We Need Answers is a British television panel game presented by comedians Mark Watson, Tim Key and Alex Horne. The show features a pair of celebrities answering questions which have previously been texted in by the public, or the audience, to 63336, a text message service.
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Inside Shabby Road: The Music of 'The Rutles'
Title: Inside Shabby Road: The Music of 'The Rutles'
Character: Self
Released: November 1, 2008
Type: Movie
Short documentary on the music of the 'prefab four', The Rutles. Shabby Road is where the band recorded most of their music, and it is the name of an album by The Rutles, released on 26 September 1969, their last recorded album, but not last released (Let It Rot). Tracks 9-17 form a medley sometimes noted as one song called "The Shabby Road Medley". Tracks 14-16 are sometimes noted as one song called "The Bronze Blunders Medley". On the cover, Stig is depicted without trousers. This was one of the key "clues" which inspired the 'Stig is dead' conspiracy theory, which still lasts today in some circles. Stig later referenced these theories on his life album, Stig is not a wax replica please stop asking.
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Get Up and Go: The Making of 'The Rutles'
Title: Get Up and Go: The Making of 'The Rutles'
Character: Self
Released: November 1, 2008
Type: Movie
Short documentary about the making of the film 'The Rutles: All You Need is Cash'.
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The Seventh Python
Title: The Seventh Python
Character: Self
Released: June 26, 2008
Type: Movie
Sean Connors Films, Ltd. Presents a Frozen Pictures production of The Seventh Python, a nonfiction musical feature film based on the life, work and unplanned career of musical satirist Neil Innes. The Seventh Python traces one man’s winding path of whimsy as he flirts with destiny at the edge of fame with incredibly influential and unusually lasting work that keeps one foot each planted in the worlds of comedy and rock ‘n’ roll. From the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band to Monty Python's Flying Circus and The Rutles, to his Ego Warrior campaign and his insistence on wearing a plastic duck on his head, Neil Innes has proven to be the greatest musical comedy satirist of the past fifty years.
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The Roots of Monty Python
Title: The Roots of Monty Python
Character: Himself
Released: November 26, 2005
Type: Movie
A look back at the origins of the ground breaking BBC comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus.
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Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
Title: Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
Character: Self
Released: December 9, 2004
Type: Movie
The Secret Policeman benefit shows for Amnesty International brought together comedy grand masters - from Python and Beyond the Fringe - and performers then relatively unknown, like Rowan Atkinson. Narrated by Dawn French, the programme includes interviews with many of the comedians and musicians who took part: John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Michael Palin, Sting, Lenny Henry and many more. The shows and their stars had a huge effect on modern British comedy. There are few comics today whose careers have not been heavily influenced by the anarchic and surreal humour of these events.
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The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch
Title: The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch
Character: Ron Nasty (archive footage)
Released: August 16, 2003
Type: Movie
Twenty-three years after the release of the original Beatles mockumentary, 'The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash', famous artists, actors and musicians speak out on how The Rutles influenced them.
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Vivian Stanshall: The Canyons of his Mind
Title: Vivian Stanshall: The Canyons of his Mind
Released: January 1, 2003
Type: Movie
Documentary about the life of the Bonzo Dog Band singer.
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Title: Away With Words
Released: September 15, 1998
Type: TV
Presenter Neil Innes has fun exploring the origins of well-known words; and phrases in AWAY WITH WORDS. The 13-part series follows him on his travels from Yarmouth to Ely, Southend, Newmarket, Luton, Southwold, Duxford, Ipswich, Norwich, Corby, Bletchley, Cambridge and Colchester. But it won't be a map so much as a dictionary that he will have as a guide as he looks for the unlikely sources of all sorts of everyday names and sayings, and talks to some of the people who can throw light on them.
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Title: Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Released: November 12, 1996
Type: TV
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show is infamous for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on the pop industry.
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Erik the Viking
Title: Erik the Viking
Character: Hy-Brasilian
Released: September 1, 1989
Type: Movie
Erik the Viking gathers warriors from his village and sets out on a dangerous journey to Valhalla, to ask the gods to end the Age of Ragnorok and allow his people to see sunlight again. A Pythonesque satire of Viking life.
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The Mysterious Tadpole
Title: The Mysterious Tadpole
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: September 14, 1986
Type: Movie
It's Louis's birthday and Uncle McAllister has brought him a very special gift - a tadpole all the way from Scotland! Louis can hardly wait for Alphonse to grow into a frog. But it soon becomes clear that Alphonse is not turning into any ordinary frog. First Alphonse outgrows his jar, then the sink, and then the bathtub!
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Title: The Raggy Dolls
Character: Narrator
Released: April 3, 1986
Type: TV
The Raggy Dolls is a 1980s British cartoon series for children, following the adventures of a motley collection of rejects from a toy factory, who live in a reject bin.
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The Missionary
Title: The Missionary
Character: Singer at Gin Palace
Released: November 2, 1982
Type: Movie
In 1905, after 10 years of missionary work in Africa, the Rev. Charles Fortesque is recalled to England, where his bishop gives him his new assignment - to minister to London's prostitutes.
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Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Title: Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Character: Various Roles
Released: June 25, 1982
Type: Movie
Monty Python perform many of their greatest sketches at the Hollywood Bowl, including several from pre-Python days.
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The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
Title: The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
Character: Himself
Released: March 1, 1982
Type: Movie
Following the success of the 1979 show and the financial benefits accruing to Amnesty from the spin-off movie, TV special and record albums – Cleese, Lewis and Walker planned the next show to be a more spectacular event. Cleese focused on broadening the comedic talent to be presented at the show. In addition to the Amnesty show stalwarts drawn from the Oxbridge/Monty Python/Beyond The Fringe orbit, he invited newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson’s colleagues from the BBC TV show Not the Nine O'Clock News including Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones; comedian Victoria Wood and regional comic Jasper Carrott. Lewis secured a return appearance by Billy Connolly and a debut appearance by "alternative" comedian Alexei Sayle who Lewis had recently discovered and was managing. Building on the success of Pete Townshend's 1979 appearance Lewis recruited other rock musicians to perform at the 1981 show including Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Donovan and Bob Geldof.
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Life of Brian
Title: Life of Brian
Character: A Weedy Samaritan
Released: August 17, 1979
Type: Movie
Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.
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Title: The Innes Book of Records
Character: Himself/Nick Cabaret/Bob Nylon
Released: January 17, 1979
Type: TV
Neil Innes performs parody songs old and new, all set to specially-shot footage, and including special guest performers. Plotless and surreal, Innes described the programme as "songs and pictures, about people and things".
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Yellow Submarine Sandwich
Title: Yellow Submarine Sandwich
Character: Ron Nasty
Released: March 22, 1978
Type: Movie
An animated Yellow Submarine spoof produced for The Rutles' 1978 mockumentary All You Need Is Cash and featuring their song "Cheese and Onions". Screened as a standalone short film at the 1979 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and The Museum of Modern Art.
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The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash
Title: The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash
Character: Ron Nasty
Released: March 22, 1978
Type: Movie
The story of the rise and fall of the Pre-Fab Four.
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Jabberwocky
Title: Jabberwocky
Character: 2nd Herald
Released: March 28, 1977
Type: Movie
A medieval tale with Pythonesque humour: After the death of his father the young Dennis Cooper goes to town where he has to pass several adventures. The town and the whole kingdom is threatened by a terrible monster called 'Jabberwocky'. Will Dennis make his fortune? Is anyone brave enough to defeat the monster?
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Title: The Secret Policeman's Ball
Character: Self
Released: April 1, 1976
Type: TV
A series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but later included leading musicians and actors. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.
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Title: Saturday Night Live
Character: Self - Musical Guest
Released: October 11, 1975
Type: TV
A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.
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Title: Saturday Night Live
Character: Ron Nasty (uncredited)
Released: October 11, 1975
Type: TV
A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.
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Title: Rutland Weekend Television
Character: Various Characters
Released: May 12, 1975
Type: TV
Comedy sketch series purporting to show the programming of a low key regional television service. Written by Eric Idle of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' fame. A popular feature was the music of Neil Innes (one time member of the eccentric Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band), especially his Beatles parody The Rutles. They later featured in their own film: 'The Rutles (All You Need Is Cash)'.
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Title: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Character: First Monk / Singing Minstrel / Page Crushed by the Rabbit / Peasant #4
Released: March 14, 1975
Type: Movie
King Arthur, accompanied by his squire, recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot and Sir Galahad the Pure. On the way, Arthur battles the Black Knight who, despite having had all his limbs chopped off, insists he can still fight. They reach Camelot, but Arthur decides not to enter, as "it is a silly place".
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Monty Python & the Holy Grail Location Report
Title: Monty Python & the Holy Grail Location Report
Character: Self
Released: December 19, 1974
Type: Movie
An documentarian from the BBC visits the set of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). This documentary shouldn't be viewed as a making of the film, but rather a goof-off session that is simply there to conjure up laughter.
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Title: Monty Python's Flying Circus
Released: October 5, 1969
Type: TV
A British sketch comedy series with the shows being composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines.
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The Adventures of the Son of Exploding Sausage
Title: The Adventures of the Son of Exploding Sausage
Released: January 1, 1969
Type: Movie
The Bonzo Dog Band freak out at the farm and strange sounds abound.
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Title: Do Not Adjust Your Set
Released: December 26, 1967
Type: TV
Innovative and influential, and originally envisaged as children’s show, Do Not Adjust Your Set was a madcap early-evening comedy sketch show that quickly acquired a cult following with Swinging Sixties adults, who rushed home from work to see it. Written by and starring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, with great performances and additional material by David Jason and Denise Coffey, it also provided an early showcase for the hilarious animations of Terry Gilliam, and the brilliantly bizarre musical antics of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
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Magical Mystery Tour
Title: Magical Mystery Tour
Character: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Released: December 25, 1967
Type: Movie
Originally produced for television, this short film as an off-the-wall road movie starring the Beatles and a couple dozen friends on a psychedelic bus tour.
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The Flying Alberts
Title: The Flying Alberts
Released: January 1, 1965
Type: Movie
The Alberts (Bruce Lacey, Tony Gray and his brother Dougie Gray) attempt to take off. There are two edits of this film, both with their own distinct ending.