Monty Python star Terry Jones dies aged 77

A file photo of former Monty Python star Terry Jones in front of a "time machine" before an interview with Reuters at Sao Luis theatre in Lisbon Jan 10, 2008. - Reuters

LONDON (Reuters): Terry Jones, one of the British Monty Python comedy team, has died at the age of 77, the BBC said on Wednesday (Jan 22).

Born in Wales, Jones was also a film director and historian. He had long suffered from a rare form of dementia, FTD.

Jones was one of the creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the British TV show that rewrote the rules of comedy with surreal sketches, characters and catchphrases, in 1969.

He co-directed the team's first film Monty Python and the Holy Grail with fellow Python Terry Gilliam, and directed the subsequent films Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life.

Python Michael Palin, who met Jones at Oxford University, said he was "kind, generous, supportive and passionate about living life to the full". - Reuters