(CelebrityAccess) – Musician Neil Innes, best known for his work with Monty Python and sketch rock band The Rutles, has passed away at the age of 75.
According to his agent, Nigel Morton, his death was unexpected.
In a statement, Innes’ family said: “It is with deep sorrow and great sadness that we have to announce the death of Neil James Innes on 29th December 2019. We have lost a beautiful kind, gentle soul whose music and songs touched the heart of everyone and whose intellect and search for truth inspired us all. He died of natural causes quickly without warning and, I think, without pain. His wife Yvonne and their three sons Miles, Luke and Barney and three grandchildren Max Issy and Zac give thanks for his life, for his music and for the joy he gave us all.”
A frequent collaborator of Monty Python, Innes wrote for the group’s Previous Record and The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief. He appeared in classic Monty Python films such as Life Of Brian and The Holy Grail as well as Terry Gilliam’s Jabberwocky, and performed and wrote songs and sketches for the Pythons’ final TV series in 1974 after John Cleese temporarily left.
Innes was also in The Bonzo Dog Dada Band, whose 1968 hit “I’m the Urban Spaceman,” was co-produced by Apollo C. Vermouth – a pseudonym used by Paul McCartney. The band’s song “Death Cab for Cutie,” also inspired the alt-rock band of the same name.
A film about Innes called The Seventh Python was released in 2008.
