HALFWAY TO HOLLYWOOD: Diaries 1980-1988 Volume Two

More fine phrases and sharp little sketches of scenes, these diaries are riddled with the astute wit and generosity of spirit that characterise Michael Palin. In this the second volume from the 1980s, it was a decade in which the ties binding the Monty Python's team loosened. They made their last film 'Monty Python's Meaning of Life' in 1983. For Michael, writing and acting took over much of his life, from The Missionary which he wrote and co-produced, to Alan Bennett's A Private Function and John Cleese's A Fish Called Wanda, for which he won a BAFTA. After a live performance at the Hollywood Bowl, the Pythons made their last performance together. Palin wrote much of the dialogue and acted in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits and acted in his next film, Brazil. In The Missionary, Palin played opposite Maggie Smith, who also appeared with him in A Private Function. For television, he wrote East of Ipswich inspired by his links with Suffolk. Such was his fame in the US, Palin was enticed into once again hosting the enormously popular show Saturday Night Live, in one edition of which his mother makes a highly successful surprise guest appearance. He films several journeys for television and became Chairman of the pressure group Transport 2000. His family remains a constant as he and Helen's children enter their teens. The diaries end with his final preparations for the documentary that was to change his life, Around the World in 80 Days. 24 pages of colour and black and white photos, 672pp, paperback.