LONDON (AP) -- Ian MacNaughton, a television director who helped bring the anarchic ``Monty Python's Flying Circus'' to the screen, has died. He was 76.

MacNaughton died Dec. 10 in Munich, Germany, from injuries sustained in a 2001 car accident, Monty Python member Terry Jones said.

MacNaughton directed all but the first four episodes of ``Monty Python's Flying Circus,'' which ran on BBC television from 1969 to 1974.

In an obituary published in The Guardian newspaper, Jones said the series began with ``a certain amount of friction'' between the director and the strong-willed comedians. But MacNaughton soon became a valued member of the Monty Python team, credited with helping give shape to the troupe's unruly talents -- and defending them to skeptical BBC executives.

MacNaughton also directed the first Python feature film, ``And Now For Something Completely Different,'' in 1971, and a German version of the series, ``Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus,'' in 1971-72.

MacNaughton spent his final years in Germany, the home of his second wife, Ike Ott. He is also survived by his ex-wife, Rita; and two children from his first marriage.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2003