Mark Forstater
Mark Irwin Forstater (born 1943) is an American film and TV producer, author, audio producer, music producer and tech entrepreneur, notable for producing the classic comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail [1] and then in 2012 suing the five living members of Monty Python over a dispute regarding royalties from merchandising income, including the Spamalot musical, which was "lovingly ripped off from" the Holy Grail movie.[2] He is a graduate of London Film School. He has resided in the United Kingdom since 1964.[3]
Mark Forstater
Childhood and education[edit]
Forstater was born in Philadelphia and is Jewish.[4] He was educated in Philadelphia public schools and graduated in the 216 class of Central High School. He attended and graduated from Temple University, also in Philadelphia. He moved to England in 1964 to read English Literature at the University of Manchester as a visiting student.[5]
Legal battles[edit]
On 4 July 2013, he won the High Court of Justice case[6][7] against the surviving members of Monty Python over royalty payments to Spamalot as a derivative work of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.[8][9] They owed £1.3 million in past royalties and legal fees, which prompted them to produce Monty Python Live (Mostly) in 2014 to pay their debt.[2][10][11]
Personal life[edit]
Forstater lives in London. He has been married twice, has four daughters,[12] including Maya Forstater, and three grandsons.
Forstater has said that the protracted Spamalot royalties case was greatly detrimental to his well-being both financially and mentally.[13]