If you expect someone who came up with the bounties of comedy, drama and indeed some education to have nothing but unicorns and roses ready for people who, unless they ever bought something of his (and even if they did) more likely than not don't share his rigourous Oxford education and boyishness, then you should have gone to a Justin Bieber signing or something because I don't think you realise that his affability is more a kind of uniform of learnedness and 60s experimentation alike than it should ever be stitched in to his full personality. In short, he has pools of depth and range that your poor floppy ego just needs to sit in the presence of even when , like some schoolboy joke, it seems to bite you. He's, relatively speaking, a genius, ok. Whatever he does is more or less the sweet smelling vapour or exhaust fumes of genius. It's a cruel, unfair world, he's worked and probably studied with / been taught by some fine people, he knows the reductive pitfall of only being called nice and he has the right not to be Frank Spencer to your Betty just because you said hi. Even if, on this occasion, you do pay for something he made.

I have met all of the surviving Monty Python cast members several times and have always found Michael Palin to be the least friendly of them all. I was amazed, I always thought he would be the most friendly. I have always found John Cleese and Terry Gilliam the most friendly, John is always keen to chat and Terry is good for a laugh. Eric Idle and Terry Jones are also nice, but slightly more distant.

Well played!

I gave him my baby to kiss, and he bit it - in the head!

Having a quick chat with the guy isn't enough to know what he is really like as a human being. People shouldn't come to conclusions after such a quick "bump in".

It seems he is a very nice in his man travelogues. Especially when he is the only white man in a country that would kill his ass in a second if he was rude.

Doesn't surprise me. Don't have a book signing if you don't want to meet and talk to your fans who've lined up to see you. I think he's smug and overrated.

Don't know whether he's nice or not, but definitely a comedic genius!

Well, the man's in his 60's now and can't be expected to be 'on' all the time. Plus, I've noticed that these book signings are not set up very well for the comfort of the author. Don't know about Palin's case but sometimes they have the person sitting at a table where everyone else is standing and he has to keeping looking up at the person talking and then down at the book and then up, down, up, down, etc. Could give anyone a headache AND a neck ache. I was at a book signing with George Takei (Sulu from the original Star Trek) and they had him on a platform where he was eye level with his fans and I'm sure it was much more comfortable for him and easier for him to be nice and gracious to his fans.

I met Michael in 2008 and I was a bit disappointed, his agent kindly introduced me to him and we started talking, but what I sadly noticed was that he simply talked to me but he never listened to what I said.
Well, I was not too disappointed by it, because later I heard someone say: "He just loves to talk" and laughed about it.
But I also met Terry Jones on the same day and he was so much kinder, which truly surprised me. I met him again a few month later and he was really great again.
So, I am not sure if Michael is really the "nicest" Python, but one can say: "he talks the most of all"

It's

I actually just heard from the mouth of the Pythons that he gets quit grumpy if he doesn't have his meal. My husband is the same way. It's annoying but all you have to do is give him a handful of nuts or a couple slices of cheese and he's back to his normal, sweet self.

Nobody's perfect, he's entitled to have 'off' days.

To be perfectly honest, you cannot use 'oh he was having a bad day' as an excuse to being rude at a book signing. HE WASN'T FORCED TO BE THERE! He signed on to do it and should be professional about the proceedings.
It's understandable if a celebrity is rude to a fan, if the fan happens to intrude on them on a personal level e.g. approaching them in the street, etc but when they sign up for fan interaction, then they sho5b4uld expect to interact.

I am very sorry for you, Imhotepj.
I can imagine what a huge disappointment that was.
And yes, anyone can have a "bad day" - but there is no excuse for letting your fans down on a personal basis.
(And this is Michael's FAN talking, just so you know.)

Yes I would not let this cloud your judgement. from what I have heard he is a very nice man rl, as stated by someone else book signings are less than ideal place to gauge how someone is. He may have had a bad day, may have been under pressure to sign books when he did not want to. On another better day he might have been perfectly chatty and friendly.
Remember, celebrities are human too like us they have their off periods, I hope you start to see him in the same way you did before again.
Chris Thorpe
The lore of the mind counts further than the words of the mouth.

I've met Michael properly once, and he was pleasant enough. He had jetlag and was suffering from a stomach bug but was still very professional and friendly. I interviewed him a year or so later, and again he was pleasant but very professional. I think that's how he copes with celebrity. Yes, he is a very nice man I'm sure, but if he's very nice to everyone then he will never be left alone7ec. He just knows when to draw the line.
Terry Jones I've met a few times and he's one of the friendliest most generous people I've ever been fortunate enough to meet. A truly lovely bloke.

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Just re-watching "Life of Brian" and I felt a bit peckish - and you know what? That **** Palin was nowhere to be seen so I had to FIX MY OWN FOOD. Man, you'd think that, with my watching one of his seminal works, he'd be on hand to see to my nutritional needs but not a bit of it, the selfish arse.
"Someone has been tampering with Hank's memories."

He was very patient when i met him, he was probably getting a headache from writing his name 5 million times over. Id get a bit prickly putting up with doing that. Duckula youre right, hes still a stunner ;D

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People should not meet their idols. They will usually disappointed to find out they are human beings.
I saw Hank Azaria in the Miami airport, sitting on the floor, trying to be casual while shielding the side of his face from the side of the room with the most people. I suspect it's because 90 percent of fans are vapid and annoying and ask the same question, ad infinitum.
One day the celebrities will rise up in revolution against the oppression of overzealous fans.

Well my uncle is a very nice man but at the signing of "The Maverick and the Machine" (his book) after a while he wasn't so happy. Luckily we were able to cut because we're relatives. It's just pressing.
R.I.P. John Mack
CTW-Change The World
The Word of the Day is Legs. Spread the Word.