graham was gay?

Ah, Monty Python. My colleague asked me to tape two episodes of Monty Python's Personal Best for her because she had to work late and I ended up watching most of them. The Eric Idle and the Graham Chapman episodes aired last night.

I distinctly recall an email conversation with an Amazon customer about Graham Chapman's death. It seems odd but I felt very sad about it. In subsequent years I've watched The Life of Brian and The Holy Grail with a different eye, developing my appreciation for Graham's understated, sometimes Peter Tork-like goofy and childlike style. I had a fairly well-formed opinion of the man, but I never realized he was gay.

Now, I can hear you asking yourself, does it really matter? Of course not--his style was his style and he's still funny as shoes on a cat no matter what--but I was still surprised, especially when I heard how opinionated he was about supposedly gay flamey characters. I know lots of folks who love Monty Python and some who think it's juvenile or just don't get it. I'm definitely one of the former types, and over time my appreciation grows rather than wanes. Graham Chapman has definitely played a big part in that.