Comedy legend Michael Palin detailed a frightening moment when he was held at gunpoint while filming his latest travel show in Venezuela.
But he may have been saved by one of his most absurd moments: the “Fish Slapping Dance” from his time with Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Palin told The Mirror that he and his crew were stopped by police while in the country, but it eventually turned into something bigger ― with the National Guard and “men with rifles, bulletproof vests and helmets” on the scene.
“It was the kind of thing you’d expect to encounter if an embassy was being bombed,” he told the newspaper. “It was quite alarming.”
He and his team were taken to the headquarters of SEBIN, the notorious national intelligence agency, where the agents Googled their captive and started watching old clips, including an interview of him talking about “The Life Of Brian.”
“They watched it and decided I wasn’t very funny,” he said, according to the Independent.
Fortunately, they kept watching.
“Eventually they got on to Monty Python clips and they watched the fish-slapping dance, which is always a good thing to show people,” he said. “Nearly everyone in the world, from North Korea to Venezuela, cracks up when they see that.”
He and his crew were released. The new travelogue, “Michael Palin In Venezuela,” will air on TV in the U.K. next week.