Grahame Chapman

Grahame Chapman, the star of Monty Python's "Life of Brian," last night attended a party in his honor at the Hasty Pudding Club--after being escorted there in a grey hearse.

"The last time I was in one of these was in Bradford," Chapman said, adding that "the people there thought we were doing a serious play or something."

The Din and Tonics performed at the party for Chapman, which members of the Hasty Pudding, the Harvard Lampoon and the Gilbert and Sullivan players attended.

Chapman is speaking at campuses in the U.S. and Canada this month about producing movies and about his recent book "A Liar's Autobiography," which he said "is sometimes a little more truthful than I would like to admit."

He is currently negotiating a new movie which will be filmed this winter in New Zealand "while it's wet in England," Chapman said. After this project Chapman plans to work with other members of Monty Python on the group's fifth movie.

Their last film, "The Life of Brian," was banned in Norway and drew criticism in England and the U.S. for its satirical treatment of Jesus' life.

The crucifixes used in the film were made of fiberglass since "it's hard work carrying a heavy cross," Chapman said, adding that "nine of them were stolen during the filming" in Tunisia. "It's eerie being raised on a cross; you keep wondering whether the crew is going to run away," he said.

Before the Pudding party, Chapman toured the Yard, where he noted that Emmanual College in Cambridge, England, had a dormitory room which not only included room for a student and his valet--as do Yard buildings such as Wigglesworth--but also "a special place for his cat."