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Director Terry Gilliam’s daughter blogs her father’s archives

It's always fun to rummage through boxes of your parents' old stuff. From letters and paperwork, to embarrassing and awkward photos, trophies, toys, and keepsakes, there's always something interesting to be found.

But what if one of your parents is a famous director and member of a legendary comedy troupe? Well, you might just find some genuine pieces of movie and television history in those old boxes.

Holly Gilliam, the daughter of artist, filmmaker, and Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam, has been doing some rummaging of her own, and she's finding some truly amazing stuff. She's taken it upon herself to organize her dad's gargantuan personal archives and has started posting some of her finds on a blog called "Discovering Dad."

The "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" director began his career as an animator and cartoonist in England before joining the Python crew in 1969. Gilliam's meticulously handcrafted "stream of consciousness" animations became an integral part of the the "Flying Circus" TV series and subsequent films created by the comedy troupe.

His daughter has so far unearthed some of his original artwork used in the title sequences of "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "Monty Python & the Holy Grail," and "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life," as well as numerous pieces of used and unused animation. She's also found storyboards and doodles from Gilliam's 2010 film "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus." It's a sobering reminder that almost every frame of animation Gilliam created was a real and painstakingly crafted physical object.

But why exactly is Holly Gilliam doing this?

"Why!? Because I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by my father's amazing work all my life and I think it should be seen by everyone," Gilliam's daughter says in the first blog entry. She is also interested in reorganizing the archive so that the materials can be collected for a book and exhibition of his works at some point in the future.

To allow the public to see bits of pieces of Gilliam's incredible career in its original form is a wonderful gift to fans of film and television. We can't wait to see more.

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