Dementia has robbed Monty Python star Terry Jones of his ability to hold a conversation, according to his longtime pal John Cleese.
Jones‘ representative went public with the funnyman’s health struggle a year ago (Sep16), revealing he has primary progressive aphasia – a type of dementia affecting the brain’s frontal lobe.
The news didn’t come as a surprise to Cleese as he and his other Monty Python co-stars, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, knew about Jones‘ condition, with Idle subsequently explaining they had nursed him through the troupe’s final reunion shows in 2014.
Cleese admits he hasn’t visited his old friend for a while, but he is truly saddened by Jones’ deteriorating mental health as they can no longer enjoy witty conversations together.
“I haven’t seen him for quite a long time,” he confessed in an interview with Vulture. “I saw him at a funeral probably 18 months ago. And… he’s not getting any better.
“He has a full-time caregiver, he goes for walks, enjoys his food, he can watch things on the box (TV) and read, but he can’t adjust to a conversation. He can be going down one conversational track and if you say something that’s not on that one track, he derails. It’s very sad. He’s a sweet guy, and very talented.”
