Owen Wilson’s Dad Gave Monty Python Their American Break
While we clearly don’t need any more reasons for the U.S. to be feuding with foreign countries right now, two Monty Python fans recently got into a spat on social media over whether or not Americans “get” the Pythons’ humor. This prompted Eric Idle to step in and settle the “silly” argument once and for all.
As Idle pointed out, while Monty Python’s Flying Circus began in the U.K., it’s been consistently popular in the U.S. ever since it began airing on public television in 1975, which also coincided with the release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
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Idle also explained that Monty Python’s American popularity originated with a PBS station in Dallas. And, as he confirmed to one follower, it was in fact the father of future stars Owen and Luke Wilson who was responsible for making it happen.
Robert A. Wilson, who passed away in 2017, was a “landmark public television station executive” who “introduced Monty Python’s Flying Circus to their first American audience” during his time as president and general manager of KERA in Dallas.
While Owen Wilson wasn’t too aware of Monty Python growing up, he now seems quite proud of his dad’s connection to the group. “Years later, I met Terry Gilliam, and he said, ‘We’re incredibly grateful. Your dad gave us a big break,’” Wilson once said in an interview.
After his dad had a meeting with the Pythons in Dallas, Luke Wilson recalled that he used to talk about “the night he went out with these wild guys from England” who were the “funniest guys he’d ever met in his life.”
But Luke Wilson was also quick to point out that, while airing Monty Python’s Flying Circus was ultimately his father’s decision, the idea first came from his “really funny” friend Ron Devillier. According to The Dallas Morning News, in 1974, a representative from Time Life contacted Devillier about airing the show on KERA after it had been rejected by every other public broadcaster in the states. Had the station not taken it, Devillier was told that the BBC would “take it back and they will bury it wherever they bury shows they can’t sell.”
Just two days later, he was sent a box full of videocassettes and “wound up falling in love with them.” While Devillier said he would like to buy the show, he first had to clear it with Wilson. So Devillier cautiously showed the president two Python clips: “The Lumberjack Song” and “Cheese Shop.”
Wilson reportedly “threw his notebook across the room and was rolling around laughing” leading the pair to buy the show that very same day. The Dallas deal was so huge for the Pythons that the group appeared on KERA’s pledge drive the following year.
Although Idle and John Cleese were absent for the event, thankfully the other Pythons were able to get a stuffed armadillo to fill in.
