Graham Chapman, a founding member of the zany British comedy group Monty Python, died of cancer at age 48 as his former colleagues talked to him about the good old days, his adopted son said Thursday.
Chapman was rushed to Maidstone General Hospital in southeast England from his nearby home on Tuesday and died there Wednesday night, said his manager, Don Epstein. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.When Chapman died, fellow Monty Python comics Michael Palin and John Cleese were at his bedside, said the adopted son, John Tomiczek. Another member of the troupe, Terry Jones, visited him earlier.
Chapman, an admitted homosexual and reformed alcoholic who smoked a pipe, told reporters in August that a dentist found a cancerous growth on his tonsils during a routine examination. Later tests showed he was also suffering from cancer of the spine, he said.
Chapman was educated at Cambridge University and qualified as a doctor before turning to comedy.
In 1968, he teamed up with Cleese, Palin, Jones, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam to film the television series "Monty Python's Flying Circus."
The show made its debut on the British Broadcasting Corp. on Oct. 5, 1969, in a slot previously filled by a Sunday religious discussion.
The group's madcap and irreverent approach to comedy was a hit both in Britain and abroad.
Chapman often appeared as a stuffy army officer with a comical upper-class accent. He sometimes appeared in full uniform to announce that a sketch was being stopped because it was too silly.
Later, he played the lead in Monty Python's first two films, King Arthur in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and Brian in "Life of Brian."
The group celebrated its 20th anniversary three weeks ago by filming a television special for release this year.