The sketch first appeared on British television on 11 January 1970 in episode 13 of the first series, "Intermission." It features John Cleese and Terry Jones. Despite its short running time (40 seconds) it has proven to be quite memorable for Python fans and was frequently performed during the team's live shows.
The sketch
A man, played by John Cleese, is dressed as an ice-cream girl in a cinema, although instead of the regular cinema snacks she is selling a dead albatross which is tied to a hawker tray around her neck. A man (Terry Jones) approaches her and asks for two choc ices. The girl aggressively makes clear she only sells an albatross and continues shouting to draw attention to her merchandise, while the potential customer keeps asking questions about the product, like "What flavour is it?" and "Do you get wafers with it?". Finally, the man buys two albatrosses for nine pence each. The salesgirl then shouts she is selling "gannet on a stick."[1]
Later during the episode, several other characters in other sketches shout "Albatross!" for seemingly no reason at all.[2]
Other appearances
Albatross sketch at Monty Python Live (Mostly), London, in 2014.
^ abChapman, Graham; Cleese, John; Gilliam, Terry; Idle, Eric; Jones, Terry; Palin, Michael (1989). Wilmut, Roger (ed.). The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words, Volume One. New York, New York: Pantheon Books. p. 167. ISBN0-679-72647-0.
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