Terry Jones, a founding member of famed British comedy troupe Monty Python, has died aged 77.

Jones's agent said he died at his home in London on Tuesday evening (local time).

In a statement, his family said he died "after a long, extremely brave but always good-humoured battle with a rare form of dementia."

Jones was diagnosed in 2016 with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a severe form of dementia that affected his ability to communicate.

With Eric Idle, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and the late Graham Chapman, Jones formed Monty Python, whose anarchic humour helped revolutionise British comedy.

Jones wrote and performed for the troupe's early-70s TV series Flying Circus and films including Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975, Life of Brian in 1979 and The Meaning of Life in 1983. He directed all three films.

As his Life of Brian character Mandy — a parody of Jesus's mother, Mary — Jones uttered one of the Python's most famous quotes.

"He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"

Terry Jones, right, as Mandy in Life of Brian with the late Graham Chapman. ( Supplied: IMDB )

In a tweet soon after the news of Jones's death broke, Cleese said the way Jones directed Life of Brian was one of his greatest gifts.

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In a statement, Palin said Jones was one of his closest, most valued friends.

"He was kind, generous, supportive and passionate about living life to the full," Palin said.

"He was far more than one of the funniest writer-performers of his generation. He was the complete Renaissance comedian — writer, director, presenter, historian, brilliant children's author, and the warmest, most wonderful company you could wish to have."

Idle tweeted the death of "our dearly beloved brother Terry" was a cruel and sad thing, but "let's remember just what joy he brought to all of us".

"So many laughs, moments of total hilarity onstage and off we have all shared with him," he said.

"It's too sad if you knew him, but if you didn't you will always smile at the many wonderfully funny moments he gave us."

Terry Gilliam tweeted that Jones was "someone totally consumed with life … a brilliant, constantly questioning, iconoclastic, righteously argumentative and angry but outrageously funny and generous and kind human being...and very often a complete pain in the ass. One could never hope for a better friend".

Graham Chapman — who played the lead roles in Holy Grail and Life of Brian — died of cancer in 1989. He was 48.

Last year Monty Python marked its 50th anniversary since the premiere of Flying Circus.

Sorry, this audio has expired 'Just heaven': Shaun Micallef remembers performing with the late Terry Jones

Tributes are also pouring in from Australia, with Mad as Hell's Shaun Micallef recalling an encounter he had with Jones in 2003 when he was in Australia for the Melbourne Writer's Festival.

"The crowd loved him," Micallef told Virginia Trioli.

"He invited me to be in one of the sketches that he was going to do on stage … for a fanboy this is just heaven."

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'The great foot has come down to stamp on you'

Jones's wife, Anna Soderstrom, and children Bill, Sally and Siri, said "we have all lost a kind, funny, warm, creative and truly loving man whose uncompromising individuality, relentless intellect and extraordinary humour has given pleasure to countless millions across six decades".

"His work with Monty Python, his books, films, television programs, poems and other work will live on forever, a fitting legacy to a true polymath," they said.

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News of Jones's death prompted an outpouring of emotion from his peers and fans around the world.

Author and comedian Stephen Fry said "the great foot has come down to stamp on you", a reference to the animated foot that would crush characters during Python shorts.

"You helped shape my ideas and dreams. Your brilliance will be appreciated for generations to come," New Zealand comedian Rhys Darby tweeted.

Physicist Brian Cox tweeted: "Ah damn it. RIP Terry Jones".

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A creative life

Born in Wales in 1942, Jones attended Oxford University, where he began writing and performing with fellow student Michael Palin.

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After leaving university, he wrote for seminal 1960s comedy series, including The Frost Report and Do Not Adjust Your Set. At the end of the decade he and Palin, Idle, Cleese, Chapman and Gilliam, formed Monty Python's Flying Circus, spawning a beloved TV series and three films.

During the 1970s, Jones also created the show Ripping Yarns with Palin and wrote sketches for comedy duo The Two Ronnies.

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After the Pythons largely disbanded in the 1980s, Jones wrote books on medieval and ancient history, presented documentaries, wrote poetry and directed films, including Personal Services, about a suburban brothel madam, and the comedy adventure Erik the Viking. He also scripted the Jim Henson-directed fantasy film Labyrinth, which starred David Bowie.

In 2014, more than three decades after their last live performance, the five surviving Pythons reunited for a string of stage shows that revived their old skits for adoring audiences.

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Palin would recall that during the stage run, Jones struggled for the first time with remembering lines.

Two years later, Jones's family announced he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, which gradually robbed him of the ability to write and speak.

ABC/wires