Jonathan Miller, who some consider the grandfather of \Monty Python,"" will be in residence at UW-Madison as the Institute of Research in the Humanities starting Feb. 25.
Miller, who was born in London, achieved fame in the 1960s as a college student at Cambridge University when he co-authored and appeared in ""Beyond the Fringe,"" a satirical inspiration for ""Monty Python."" The revue opened at the Edinburgh Festival in 1960 and then transferred to London and New York.
""Everybody who was in their 20s in the 1960s in England really liked those shows,"" said David Woodward, a UW-Madison geography professor from England who said he was looking forward to meeting Miller. ""It's the type of humor that took a long time to catch on here'deprecating, dry. I think at the beginning, no one really knew how to deal with it.""
In addition to being a theater director, opera director, television producer, curator and art critic, Miller is a neurologist.
""He's just amazing,"" said Sally Banes, director of the Institute for Research in the Humanities, the interdisciplinary research institution sponsoring the visit. ""The guy knows everything.""
Organizers were able to bring Miller to the university with the help of the Humanistic Fund, which has been newly given to the institute by Phil Certain, dean of the UW-Madison College of Letters and Science, Banes said. As a result of the fund, Banes said she hoped the institute would be able to bring more visiting scholars to UW-Madison in the future.
""We think he's really going to be our catalyst,"" Banes said.
From Feb. 25 until March 1, Miller will lead directing workshops, teach an opera class and work with other departments on campus in what Banes calls a ""very intense one-week residency."" He will also lecture on topics related to the history of medicine and the history of science. All events are free and open to the public, with the exception of Miller's office hours and the video viewing and CD listening of Miller's work, which are by appointment only.
""We thought to have him on campus for a week he could speak to so many different constituencies, both students and faculty,"" Banes said.
Some other sponsors of his visit include the Center for the Humanities, the Arts Institute and the School of Music.
Miller's first appearance at UW-Madison will be Monday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mordridge Auditorium, 1100 Grainger Hall. He will present ""Laughing Matters: Humor and Comedy.""
For more information call the Institute for Research in the Humanities at 262-3855.
