Michael Edward Palin is a British comedian and television presenter. He is famous for being a member of the Monty Python's Flying Circus team in which he generally played roles that called for manic enthusiasm (such as the lumberjack of the Lumberjack Song), or unflappable calmness (such as the Dead Parrot vendor or Cheese Shop proprietor). As the latter, he was often the perfect foil to the rising ire of characters portrayed by John Cleese.

Michael Palin was educated at Birkdale preparatory school and Shrewsbury public school. He went on to read History at Brasenose College, Oxford.

After Monty Python, Palin subsequently collaborated with Python writing partner Terry Jones on the television comedy series Ripping Yarns. He also appeared in All You Need Is Cash as the lawyer and press agent for The Rutles.

In later years, Palin rejoined Cleese for the movies A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures and played an information retrieval specialist in fellow Python Terry Gilliam's Brazil. He has assisted Transport 2000 and others with campaigns on transport policy issues, particularly those relating to urban areas.