On the night of December 7, 1969, the world (or at least late-night BBC viewers) was introduced to the Dead Parrot sketch when the eighth episode of a new comedy sketch show titled Monty Python's Flying Circus aired. This sketch would go on to become a staple of the Pythons, becoming one of the most widely-known and revered comedic sketches of all time. In fact, it was voted the top alternative comedy sketch of all time in a Radio Times Poll. It has endured unlike anything else, so how is a sketch written fifty-one years ago about, of all things, a dead parrot, still a favorite of Python and comedy fans in general?
The Sketch
The Dead Parrot sketch, written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman, is quite simple in its premise. Mr. Praline, played by Cleese, goes to a pet store where he has an argument with a shopkeeper, played by Michael Palin, about whether or not a parrot he just purchased is dead. For several minutes, they go back and forth with Palin producing every reason under the sun why the parrot is not moving, with Cleese rebuffing every explanation. The peak of the sketch comes when Cleese, using nine different colorful phrases in quick succession, asserts that the parrot is most definitely dead, ending with the eternally quotable "this is an ex-parrot!" Only then does Palin concede the point, and depending upon which version of the sketch you are watching, it may end with a different line or transition to a different sketch. In the original television version, Cleese is told to go to Palin's brother's pet shop in Bolton for a replacement, leading to an extended ending. The various live versions have different endings, and the iteration from the 1971 film And Now for Something Completely Different (this version of the sketch available in full here if you have not seen any version) ends with a segway into the equally amusing Lumberjack song. It is quite versatile in the way it blends into several endings, but the argument itself remains the same among them all.
The heart of the Dead Parrot sketch, the back-and-forth between Cleese and Palin, is what has kept it so fresh and enjoyable for the past five decades. So much of Python and its lasting quality was catching these lightning-in-a-bottle dynamics and interactions, but the Dead Parrot sketch is one of the most prominent examples of that. Looking at the sketch that provided the inspiration for what would become the Dead Parrot sketch, the Car Salesman sketch from John Cleese's 1969 How to Irritate People, it is clear that its later descendant has a special quality to it. Despite pre-dating Python & Flying Circus, the Car Salesman sketch stars Michael Palin and Graham Chapman, with Chapman bringing in a run-down car with several issues that Palin again tries to downplay. However, it does not play nearly as well, as it lacks that certain quality that the Dead Parrot sketch would go on to take.
The sketch is driven almost entirely by dialogue with the exception of the points at which Palin hits the cage and Cleese begins to slam the parrot on the counter. You can listen to it and still get everything out of it, which can be immensely difficult to do in comedy especially. From the moment it starts, it does not stop- the energy only increases as they shoot rapid-fire dialogue back and forth. What makes the sharp dialogue of this sketch even funnier, though, is the fact that neither of them is "getting mad" per se- the whole thing is very controlled, so the comedy does not come from Cleese raising his voice or lashing out, but rather the firm insistence on both Cleese and Palin's parts that they are correct. In that way, it is a very egalitarian sketch in the fact that neither of them is acting as a straight man, the part that makes its predecessor the Car Salesman sketch fall a little flat- Chapman is acting as the straight man, so it loses that absurdist quality that the Dead Parrot sketch really survives and thrives upon, and it is that quality that has always made Python so good and so lasting. In that way, the Dead Parrot sketch is one of the best, if not the best, encapsulations of the absurdist humor of the Pythons that makes fun of everyone, no matter who you are. Everyone is a fool in the world of Python, and most especially in the Dead Parrot sketch.
Additionally, the Dead Parrot sketch greatly benefits from the pairing of John Cleese and Michael Palin. While Monty Python formed out of existing partnerships of John Cleese & Graham Chapman and Terry Jones & Michael Palin working alongside Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam, their best performances tend to come when they mix outside of their writing partnerships. This is just as true of the Cleese & Chapman-penned Dead Parrot sketch. I struggle to think of any Python sketches that are more aptly suited to the skills of its performers as this one. Cleese has this preternatural ability to deliver very wordy portions of dialogue with the utmost clarity and in a seamless way, a skill which is best showcased by his use of nine different phrases all meaning "dead" in rapid succession. Palin, on the other hand, is incredibly skilled at quick dialogue and playing characters who are keenly aware both of the irony and their power within a situation, making his shopkeeper doubly funny as we watch him make every possible effort to convince Cleese's Mr. Praline that his parrot is perfectly healthy. This sketch perfectly employs and maximizes both Cleese's and Palin's specialties and pushes them even further as they feed off of each other, making this a career-highlight for both of them and still one of the best sketches they ever did. It is their frenetic yet controlled energy within this sketch every time they perform it that keeps it a staple and just as funny every time.
The Legacy
The Dead Parrot sketch has become an incredibly important keystone in the Python legacy. Just as viewers and audiences still find it uproariously funny, so do the Pythons despite having performed it for the past five decades. John Cleese said this himself in a 2015 interview with Seth Meyers. One of the most wholesome Python videos comes from a performance of the sketch in a 1976 Amnesty International benefit show titled A Poke in the Eye (With A Sharp Stick). One of the most impressive parts of the Pythons' live work has always been their professionalism. In an era where we have long compilations of modern actors on live shows breaking character, the Pythons rarely did so- with this live performance being one of the exceptionally limited examples. Palin succumbs to how funny the sketch is and Cleese makes him break, giving us a few glorious moments of Palin laughing at Cleese's Mr. Praline. Even they recognize how funny the bit is, and that makes it even more timeless for the rest of us. We rarely get to see them laugh at their own work, and it is one of the most delightful things.
Without a doubt, though, the best iteration of the Dead Parrot sketch came in 1989. Graham Chapman died at the age of forty-eight on October 4, 1989. At his funeral, John Cleese delivered a eulogy for his life-long friend and writing partner that is equal parts touching and humorous, and he opens it "Graham Chapman, co-author of the parrot sketch, is no more" and proceeds to use the rest of the synonyms for death that he repeats every time he performs the sketch. A sketch that had always been so funny immediately became something so deeply touching. It is in that legacy of both its comedic value and its place within the lives and careers of the Pythons that the Dead Parrot sketch endures and will continue to do so for years to come.
I could write a conclusion about just how good the Dead Parrot sketch is and how it represents in so many ways the best of Python, but I will leave that reflection to them as Cleese, Palin, and Terry Jones talk about it in a way only they could.
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