MONTY PYTHON IS INDUCTED IN ROSE D'OR HALL OF FAME
by Hans ten Cate
Sunday, 8 May 2005

Terry helps unveil the glass sculpture on which Monty Python's Flying Circus is engraved, in an ice cave on Mount Titlis, Switzerland

Terry Jones braved freezing temperatures and a blizzard to attend a ceremony for the induction of Monty Python's Flying Circus into the Hall of Fame of the Rose d'Or entertainment festival on May 5.

The honor is part of the festival's tradition of recognizing organizations, individuals or shows, which have contributed most in the entertainment industry. Monty Python’s Flying Circus won a Rose d’Or Award in 1971 and received the Honorary Rose d’Or in 1995. “It’s a pleasure to welcome Terry Jones back to the Festival, as the genius of Monty Python’s Flying Circus is celebrated in the Rose d’Or Hall of Fame,” said Rose d'Or CEO Georges Luks in a statement.

Terry is still on Mount Titlis, stuck to the telescope...

The ceremony was held in an ice cave situated 10,000ft above ground on Mount Titlis, near Lucerne, Switzerland. The Hall was opened last year as a permanent tribute to past Golden Rose winners. The names of the honoured are engraved in a glass sculpture housed in the glacier cave which currently attracts 600,000 visitors a year.

After the ceremony, Terry Jones posed for photos and had time to share some anecdotes with the press, several of which surprised the media. One such story involved the fact that the BBC execs initially didn't particularly like Monty Python's Flying Circus and that the BBC had a habit of wiping old shows to make room in their archives. “The shows nearly got wiped,” Terry is quoted as saying. “I smuggled the tapes out of the BBC before they could be erased. I copied them on to a Phillips VCR, the only home video then available. For a long time I thought the copies in my cellar would be the only evidence of the show.” Of course, the original tapes survived and have since become one of the biggest international selling videos and DVDs.