Monty Python star Terry Jones dies aged 77

Image: Terry Jones attends a screening of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"
Terry Jones attends a screening of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" in New York in 2015. Copyright Andy Kropa
Copyright Andy Kropa
By Patrick Smith with NBC News World News
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Jones' wife and three children said they had lost "a kind, funny, warm, creative and truly loving man."

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LONDON — Monty Python star Terry Jones has died at the age of 77, his family said in a statement on Wednesday. The actor, comedy writer, director and author was diagnosed with dementia in 2015.

Jones' wife and three children said they had lost "a kind, funny, warm, creative and truly loving man whose uncompromising individuality, relentless intellect and extraordinary humor has given pleasure to countless millions across six decades."

Actor and writer Terry Jones at a script conference for "Monty Python\'s Flying Circus" in 1974.
Actor and writer Terry Jones at a script conference for "Monty Python\'s Flying Circus" in 1974.Chris Ridley

Born in Wales, Jones was a central part of Monty Python's anarchic brand of comedy as seen on the eponymous TV show in the early 1970s as both a writer and performer.

Jones was regarded as an accomplished director, co-directing perhaps the group's best-known movie, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" alongside Terry Gilliam. He was the sole director on 1979s "Life of Brian" and "Monty Python's Meaning of Life" in 1983.

He wrote and directed a long list of TV and film projects after the Pythons, including the 1989 movie "Erik the Viking," starring Tim Robbins and Mickey Rooney, a wrote a series of books.

Jones received the BAFTA awards for Outstanding Contribution to TV in 2016, when Jones took to the stage accompanied by his son, who gave the acceptance speech on his behalf.

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