John Cleese waiting to begin when Cleese's offer arrived. Palin agreed to work with Cleese and Chapman in the meantime, bringing with him Gilliam, Jones, and Idle. "Monty Python's Flying Circus" ran for four seasons from October 1969 to December 1974 on BBC Television, though Cleese quit the show after the third. Cleese's two primary characterisations were as a sophisticated and a stressed-out loony. He portrayed the former as a series of announcers, TV show hosts, and government officials (for example, "The Ministry of Silly Walks"). The latter is perhaps best represented in the "Cheese Shop" and by Cleese's Mr Praline character,
John Mealing Shop Boys. Between 1986 and 1993, he composed the music to the hit BBC Television quiz shows "Every Second Counts" and "Bob's Full House". He is credited with the music for the 1991 "The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball". He is also credited as co-composer of the theme tune to the British TV comedy-drama series "Press Gang" which ran from 1989 to 1993. John Mealing John Mealing (born 5 April 1942 in Yeovil, Somerset) is a keyboards player, composer and arranger. After leaving the Don Rendell-Ian Carr Quintet in the late sixties, he joined the pioneering British jazz-rock band If until