Eric Idle

English comedian, actor and writer (born 1943)

Eric Idle

Idle in 2012

Born|  (1943-03-29) 29 March 1943 (age 82)

South Shields, England

Alma mater| Pembroke College, Cambridge
Occupations|

* Actor
* comedian
* songwriter
* musician
* screenwriter
* playwright

Years active| 1967–present
Notable work| Monty Python
The Rutles
Spamalot
Spouses|

Lyn Ashley

(m. 1969; div. 1975)​

Tania Kosevich

(m. 1981)​

Children| 2
Relatives| Madge Ryan (former-mother-in-law)
Website| ericidle.com

Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles. Idle studied English at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and joined Cambridge University Footlights. He has received a Grammy Award as well as nominations for two Tony Awards.

Idle reached stardom in the 1970s when he co-created and acted in the Python sketch comedy series Flying Circus (1969–1974) and the films Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian, (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Known for his elaborate wordplay and musical numbers, Idle composed and performed many of the songs featured in Python projects, including "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

After Flying Circus ended, Idle created another sketch show Rutland Weekend Television (1975–1976), and hosted Saturday Night Live four times (1976–1979). He also worked in films The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Nuns on the Run (1990), Splitting Heirs (1993), Casper (1995), An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997), Ella Enchanted (2004), and Shrek the Third (2007).

Idle made his Broadway debut with his adaptation of Holy Grail into the musical, Spamalot (2005), which was a critical and commercial success earning the Tony Award for Best Musical, and Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. He also wrote Not the Messiah (2009) and performed at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony.

As of 2024 Idle lived in Los Angeles, US.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Eric Idle was born on 29 March 1943 in Harton Hospital, in South Shields.[1] His mother, Norah Barron Sanderson,[2] was a nurse,[1] and his father, Ernest Idle,[2][3] served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, only to be killed in a road accident while hitchhiking home for Christmas in December 1945.[4][5] Idle said his mother "disappeared for a while into depression" and consequently he was brought up by his grandmother in Swinton, Lancashire.[6] Idle spent part of his childhood in Wallasey, Cheshire,[7] and attended St George's Primary School.[8]

His mother had difficulty coping with a full-time job and bringing up a child, so when Idle was seven, she enrolled him in the Royal Wolverhampton School as a boarder. At that time the school was a charitable foundation dedicated to the education and maintenance of children who had lost one or both parents.[9] Idle said: "It was a physically abusive, bullying, harsh environment for a kid to grow up in. I got used to dealing with groups of boys and getting on with life in unpleasant circumstances and being smart and funny and subversive at the expense of authority. Perfect training for Python."[9]

Idle has stated that the two things that made his life at school bearable were listening to Radio Luxembourg under the bedclothes and watching the local football team, Wolverhampton Wanderers.[10] He disliked other sports, and would sneak out of school every Thursday afternoon to the local cinema. He was eventually caught watching the film BUtterfield 8 (rated as suitable for audiences of age 16 and over under the contemporary film certificates) and stripped of his prefecture, though by that time he was head boy. Idle had already refused to be senior boy in the school cadet force, as he supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and had participated in the yearly Aldermaston March.[9] He says there was little to do at the school, and boredom drove him to study hard and consequently win a place at Cambridge University.[9]

## Career

[edit]

### Pre-Python career (1965–1969)

[edit]

Idle attended Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied English. At Pembroke, he was invited to join the prestigious Cambridge University Footlights Club by the president of the Footlights Club, Tim Brooke-Taylor, and Footlights Club member Bill Oddie.

> I'd never heard of the Footlights when I got there, but we had a tradition of college smoking-concerts, and I sent in some sketches parodying a play that had just been done. Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie auditioned me for the Footlights smoker, and that led to me discovering about and getting into the Footlights, which was great.[11]

Idle started at Cambridge only a year after future fellow-Pythons Graham Chapman and John Cleese. He became Footlights President in 1965 and was the first to allow women to join the club.[12] He starred in the television comedy series Do Not Adjust Your Set co-starring his future Python castmates Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Terry Gilliam provided animations for the show. The show's cast included comic actors David Jason and Denise Coffey. Idle also appeared as guest in some episodes of the television series At Last the 1948 Show, which featured Cleese and Chapman in its principal cast.[13]

### Monty Python (1969–1983)

[edit]

Further information: Monty Python

Idle wrote for Python mostly by himself,[14] at his own pace, although he sometimes found it difficult to present material to the others and make it seem funny without the back-up support of a partner. The other Pythons usually worked in teams and Cleese admitted that this was slightly unfair – when the Pythons voted on which sketches should appear in a show, "he (Idle) only got one vote". However, he also says that Idle was an independent person and worked best on his own. Idle himself admitted this was sometimes difficult: "You had to convince five others. And they were not the most un-egotistical of writers, either." He occasionally wrote with Cleese.[15]

Idle's work in Python is often characterised by an obsession with language and communication: many of his characters have verbal peculiarities, such as the man who speaks in anagrams, the man who says words in the wrong order, and the butcher who alternates between rudeness and politeness every time he speaks. A number of his sketches involve extended monologues (for example the customer in the "Travel Agency" sketch who won't stop talking about his unpleasant experiences with holidays), and he would frequently spoof the unnatural language and speech patterns of television presenters. Idle is said to be the master of insincere characters, from the David Frost-esque Timmy Williams, to small-time crook Stig O'Tracy, who tries to deny the fact that organised crime master Dinsdale Piranha nailed his head to the floor.

The second-youngest member of the Pythons, Idle was closest in spirit to the teenagers who made up much of Python's fanbase. Python sketches dealing most with contemporary obsessions like pop music, sexual permissiveness and recreational drugs are usually Idle's work, often characterised by double entendre, sexual references, and other "naughty" subject matter – most famously demonstrated in "Nudge Nudge". Idle originally wrote "Nudge, Nudge" for Ronnie Barker, but it was rejected because there was 'no joke in the words'.[16]

A talented guitarist, Idle composed many of the group's most famous musical numbers, most notably "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", the closing number of Life of Brian, which has grown to become a Python signature tune.[17] He was responsible for the "Galaxy Song" from The Meaning of Life and "Eric the Half-a-Bee", a whimsical tune that first appeared on the Previous Record album.

### Post-Python career (since 1973)

[edit]

Eric Idle in 2003

After the success of Python in the early 1970s, all six members pursued solo projects. Idle's first solo work was his own BBC Radio One show, Radio Five (pre-dating the real Radio Five station by 18 years). This ran for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 and involved Idle performing sketches and links to records, playing nearly all the multi-tracked parts himself.

On television, Idle created and wrote Rutland Weekend Television (RWT), a sketch show on BBC2 with music by Neil Innes. RWT was 'Britain's smallest television network'. The name was a parody of London Weekend Television, the independent television franchise contractor that provided Londoners with their ITV services at weekends; Rutland had been England's smallest county, but had recently been 'abolished' in an administrative shake-up. To make the joke complete, the programme went out on a weekday. Other regular performers were David Battley, Henry Woolf, Gwen Taylor and Terence Bayler. George Harrison made a guest appearance on one episode.

A legacy of RWT was the creation, with Innes, of The Rutles, an affectionate parody of the Beatles. The band became a popular phenomenon, especially in the U.S. where Idle was appearing on Saturday Night Live – fans would send in Beatles LPs with their sleeves altered to show the Rutles. In 1978, the Rutles' mockumentary film All You Need Is Cash, a collaboration between Python members and Saturday Night Live, was aired on NBC television, written by Idle, with music by Innes. Idle appeared in the film as "Dirk McQuickly" (the Paul McCartney-styled character of the group), as well as the main commentator, while Innes appeared as "Ron Nasty" (the band's stand-in for John Lennon). Actors appearing in the film included Saturday Night Live's John Belushi, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner, as well as fellow Python Michael Palin, and also real musicians of the 1960s such as former Beatle George Harrison, as well as Mick Jagger and Paul Simon. Idle wrote and directed the Rutles comeback in 2008 for a live show Rutlemania! to celebrate the 30th anniversary.[18] The performances took place in Los Angeles and New York City with a Beatles tribute band.[19]

In 1986, Idle provided the voice of Wreck-Gar, the leader of the Junkions (a race of robots built out of junk that can only speak in film catchphrases and advertising slogans) in The Transformers: The Movie. In 1987, he took part in the English National Opera production of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado, in which he appeared in the role of the Lord High Executioner, Ko-Ko; a performance of it was taped by Thames Television for broadcast, directed by John Michael Phillips, and subsequently released on DVD by A&E. In 1989, he appeared in the U.S. comedy television series Nearly Departed, about a ghost who haunts the family inhabiting his former home; the series lasted for six episodes as a summer replacement series.

> "Idle has always, it seemed, been happy to have been a Python, happy to talk about Python, happy to revisit the group's glory days. Even though he has gone on to his own work – dozens of films, plays, TV shows, albums, books and screenplays – he is perhaps the most active standard-bearer for the group. It was Idle who toured extensively in 2000 and 2003, performing Python songs with a band and back-up singers. He went on the road with the Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python Tour, then with the Greedy Bastard Tour, which was documented extensively on the Python website he launched in 1996."

—Dave Eggers in The Guardian, September 2006.[17]

Idle received good critical notices appearing in projects written and directed by others – such as Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989), alongside Robbie Coltrane in Nuns on the Run (1990) and in Casper (1995). He also played Ratty in Terry Jones' version of The Wind in the Willows (1996). However, his own creative projects – such as the film Splitting Heirs (1993), a comedy he wrote, starred in and executive-produced – were mostly unsuccessful with critics and audiences.

In 1994, Idle appeared as Dr. Nigel Channing, chairman of the Imagination Institute and host of an 'Inventor of the Year' awards show in the three-dimensional film Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!, which was an attraction at the Imagination Pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot from 1994 until 2010 and at Disneyland from 1998 until 2010. The film also stars Rick Moranis and other members of the cast of the 1989 feature film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. In 1999, he reprised the role in the short-lived second incarnation of the Journey into Imagination ride at Epcot, replacing Figment and Dreamfinder as the host. Due to an outcry from Disney fans, the attraction was reworked in 2001, reintroducing Figment into the ride while also retaining Idle's role as Nigel Channing. Idle is also writer and star of the 3-D film Pirates – 4D for Busch Entertainment Corporation.

In 1995, Idle appeared in Casper opposite Cathy Moriarty and voiced Rincewind the "Wizzard" in a computer adventure game based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. In 1996, he reprised his role as Rincewind for the game's sequel,[20] and composed and sang its theme song, "That's Death". In 1998, Idle appeared in the lead role in the poorly received film Burn Hollywood Burn. That same year, he also provided the voice of Devon, one of the heads of a two-headed dragon, with Don Rickles as the other head Cornwall, in the Warner Bros. animated film Quest for Camelot, and as Slyly, the albino Arctic fox in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie.

In later years Idle provided voice work for animation, such as in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, in which he voiced Dr. Vosknocker. He has made four appearances on The Simpsons as documentarian Declan Desmond. Idle provided the voice of Merlin the magician in the DreamWorks animated film Shrek the Third (2007) with his former Python co-star John Cleese, who voiced King Harold. He also narrated the audiobook version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.[21]

In late 2003, Idle began a performing tour of several American and Canadian cities entitled The Greedy Bastard Tour.[17] The stage performances consisted largely of music from Monty Python episodes and films, along with some original post-Python material. In 2005, Idle released The Greedy Bastard Diary, a book detailing the things the cast and crew encountered during the three-month tour.[17]

Idle (right) and Terry Jones performing the "Nudge Nudge" sketch at the Python reunion in 2014

In 2004, Idle created Spamalot, a musical comedy based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The medieval production tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they journey on their quest for the Holy Grail.[17] Spamalot features a book and lyrics by Idle, music by Idle and John Du Prez, direction by Mike Nichols, and choreography by Casey Nicholaw.[22]

Idle's play What About Dick? was given a staged reading at two public performances at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood on 10–11 November 2007. The cast included Idle, Billy Connolly, Tim Curry, Eddie Izzard, Jane Leeves, Emily Mortimer, Jim Piddock and Tracey Ullman.[23] The play returned on 26–29 April 2012 in the Orpheum Theatre, most of the cast returning except Emily Mortimer, who was replaced by Sophie Winkleman. Russell Brand also joined the cast. The play was made available for digital download on 13 November 2012.

Idle performed at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in London on 12 August, singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".[24][25] He was the creator and director of the live show Monty Python Live (mostly) – One down, Five to go which was performed at the O2 Arena, London, between 1 and 20 July 2014.[26]

In December 2016, Idle was the writer and co-presenter of The Entire Universe, a "comedy and musical extravaganza with the help of Warwick Davis, Noel Fielding, Hannah Waddingham and Robin Ince, alongside a chorus of singers and dancers", broadcast by BBC Two.[27]

In 2020, it was announced that Idle would adapt his script for Spamalot into a feature film for Paramount Pictures, with Nicholaw directing and Dan Jinks producing.[28]

In 2022, Idle competed in season eight of The Masked Singer as "Hedgehog". He did a cover of the Beatles' "Love Me Do" with help from the USC Trojan Marching Band. When eliminated in the first episode alongside William Shatner as "Knight" and Chris Kirkpatrick as "Hummingbird", Idle mentioned to Nick Cannon that he had to get approval from Paul McCartney to do "Love Me Do" for a competition, in exchange for telling McCartney what the competition was so that he can avoid it. In addition, Idle did an unmasked performance of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Life of Brian.[29]

In February 2024, Idle made headlines in the UK after revealing that he was still working at the age of 80 for financial reasons, saying "Python is a disaster. I never dreamed that at this age the income streams would tail off so disastrously", but also "I don't mind not being wealthy. I prefer being funny".[30]

## Other credits

[edit]

### Writing

[edit]

Idle has written several books, both fiction and non-fiction. His novels are Hello Sailor and The Road to Mars.[citation needed] In 1976, he produced a spin-off book to Rutland Weekend Television, titled The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book.[citation needed] In 1982, he wrote a West End farce Pass the Butler, starring Willie Rushton. During his Greedy Bastard Tour of 2003, he wrote the diaries that would be made into The Greedy Bastard Diary: A Comic Tour of America, published in February 2005.[citation needed]

Idle also wrote the book and co-wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Monty Python's Spamalot, based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It premiered in Chicago before moving to Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004–05 season. Idle won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics.[citation needed]

In a 2005 poll to find "The Comedians' Comedian" (UK), he was voted 21 in the top 50 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.[31][32]

### Songwriting

[edit]

Idle is a songwriter with about 150 songs to his credit.[17] He composed and performed many of Pythons' most famous comic pieces, including "Eric the Half-a-Bee", "The Philosophers' Song", "Galaxy Song", "Penis Song" and, probably his most recognised hit, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", which was written for the closing scene of the Monty Python film Life of Brian, and sung from the crosses during the mass crucifixion. The song has since been covered by Harry Nilsson, Bruce Cockburn, Art Garfunkel, and Green Day. Idle, his fellow Pythons, and assorted family and friends performed the song at Graham Chapman's memorial service.[citation needed] Idle performed the song at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on 12 August 2012 and as the farewell song of the last show of the Python's reunion at the O2 arena, 20 July 2014.[24][25]

Idle (left) and Carol Cleveland performing the "Galaxy Song" (from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life) at Monty Python Live (Mostly) in 2014

As Ko-Ko in the 1987 English National Opera production of The Mikado, Idle wrote his own 'Little List' on "As some day it may happen". In 1989, Idle co-wrote and sang the theme tune to the popular British sitcom One Foot in the Grave and although the series became immensely popular, the song did poorly in the charts. However, when "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was adopted as a football chant in the late 1980s, Idle's then neighbour Gary Lineker suggested Idle re-record and release the popular track. With help from BBC Radio 1 breakfast show host Simon Mayo, who gave the song regular airplay and also used the chorus within a jingle, it became a hit, some 12 years after the song's original appearance in Life of Brian, reaching number 3 in the UK charts and landing Idle a set on Top of the Pops in October 1991.[33] The following month Idle, accompanied by opera singer Ann Howard, sang the song at the Royal Variety Performance.[34] He recorded a special version for Mayo's own use on air ("Come on Simon, get another song on now; why don't you put on a nice Cliff Richard record?") and changed the line "life's a piece of shit" to "life's a piece of spit" in order to get daytime airplay on radio.[35]

Idle performing "Bruces sketch" in 2014. Involving stereotypical "ocker" Australians, Idle said he based it on his Australian friends from the 1960s "who always seemed to be called Bruce".[36]

In 2004, Idle recorded a protest song of sorts, the "FCC Song", in which he lambasts the U.S. FCC for fining him $5,000 for saying "fuck" on national radio. The song contains 14 uses of the word.[37]

In the same year, the musical comedy Spamalot debuted in Chicago; it opened in New York's Shubert Theatre on 14 February 2005.[38] Idle wrote the lyrics and book for Spamalot, collaborating with John Du Prez on much of the music. The original 2005 Broadway theatre production was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won three: Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Sara Ramirez), and Best Direction of a Musical (Mike Nichols).[citation needed]

In 2006 he wrote, produced and performed the song "Really Nice Day" for the movie The Wild.[citation needed]

In June 2007, Not the Messiah, a comic oratorio by Idle and Du Prez.[39] premiered at the inaugural Luminato arts festival in Toronto. Idle performed live during this 50-minute oratorio, along with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Du Prez was also present. Shannon Mercer, Jean Stilwell, Christopher Sieber, and Theodore Baerg sang the principal parts. The American premiere was at Caramoor (Westchester County, New York) on 1 July 2007. Soloists were the same as in the Toronto performance, but the accompanying chorus was made up of members of New York City's Collegiate Chorale. The show was revised and expanded for a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2007, including two sell-out nights at the Sydney Opera House.[40] A tour during the summer of 2008 included performances with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.[41][42][43][44]

Idle contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "Raining in My Heart" for the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released 6 September 2011.[citation needed] He also wrote and sang a variant of the "Galaxy Song" for Professor Brian Cox's show Wonders of Life, as well as the new theme for Cox's radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage.[45]

## Personal life

[edit]

Idle has been married twice. His first marriage was in 1969 to actress Lyn Ashley, with whom he had one son before their divorce in 1975. He met Tania Kosevich, a former model, in 1977 and they married in 1981.[46][47] They had a daughter.[48][49] From 1995 they lived in a five-bedroom, 7,000-square-foot (650 m2) mansion in the Hollywood Hills, which they sold in 2023 due to financial difficulty.[48][30] Idle has held permanent residency in the United States since about 1997.[30] During and because of Donald Trump's second presidency, Idle was strongly critical of Trump in a question-and-answer session, saying, after permanent residents (and citizens) were deported after criticising the Trump presidency, "I'd be proud to be thrown out because I'd be in very select company. The last English comedian to be thrown out of America for political reasons was Charlie Chaplin."[50]

Idle is a first cousin of Canadian conductor Peter Oundjian[51][52] and Nigel Wray, former chairman of Saracens Rugby Club.[53] David Bowie made Idle godfather to his son, film director Duncan Jones.[54]

Idle is an atheist, but does not like using the term and is quoted as saying "I don't like that word, it implies that there's a God not to believe in."[55]

In 2019, Idle was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed early and underwent successful surgery to remove the tumour, needing no further treatment after this procedure.[56]

As of 2024, Idle lived in Los Angeles, US.[30]

In 2025, he said that he did not watch comedy and watched very little, mainly Netflix thrillers. "I don't go to the movies because they're very boring and for 12-year-olds. I don't watch news and I don't read newspapers.[50]

## Tributes

[edit]

* An asteroid, 9620 Ericidle, is named in his honour.[57]
* The default Integrated development environment (IDE) of the programming language Python is called IDLE. Although officially IDLE stands for "Integrated DeveLopment Environment", the name has been chosen in allusion to Eric Idle, as the name of the programming language Python itself has been chosen in allusion to Monty Python.[58][59]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1971  | And Now for Something Completely Different | Various roles  | Also co-writer
1975  | Monty Python and the Holy Grail
1979  | Monty Python's Life of Brian
1982  | Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl | Concert film; also co-writer
1983  | Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | Also co-writer
Yellowbeard | Commander Clement  |
1985  | National Lampoon's European Vacation | The Bike Rider  |
1986  | The Transformers: The Movie | Wreck-Gar  | Voice[60]
1988  | The Adventures of Baron Munchausen | Berthold / Desmond  |
1990  | Nuns on the Run | Brian Hope  |
Too Much Sun | Sonny  |
1992  | Mom and Dad Save the World | King Raff  |
Missing Pieces | Wendel  |
1993  | Splitting Heirs | Tommy Butterfly Rainbow Peace Patel  | Also writer and executive producer
1994  | Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! | Dr. Nigel Channing  | Short film
1995  | Casper | Paul "Dibs" Plutzker  |
1996  | The Wind in the Willows | Mr. Rat  |
1997  | Pirates 4-D | Pierre  | Short film; also writer
1998  | An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn | Alan Smithee |
The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue | Evil Martin  | Voice, direct-to-video[60]
Quest for Camelot | Devon  | Voice[60]
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie | Slyly
1999  | Dudley Do-Right | Prospector Kim J. Darling  |
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut | Dr. Vosnocker  | Voice[60]
2000  | 102 Dalmatians | Waddlesworth
2002  | Pinocchio | Medoro  | English dub
2003  | Concert for George | Himself / Barber / Mountie  | Documentary
Hollywood Homicide | The Celebrity  | Cameo
2004  | Ella Enchanted | Narrator  | Voice
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King | Drosselmeyer  | Voice, direct-to-video; English dub[60]
2005  | The Aristocrats | Himself  | Documentary
2006  | The Wild | Wildebeest  | Composer/performer: "Really Nice Day"
2007  | Shrek the Third | Merlin | Voice[60]
2008  | Delgo | Spig
2014  | Monty Python Live (Mostly) | Various roles  | Concert film; also writer and director[61]
The Boxtrolls |  | Composer: "The Boxtrolls Song"
2015  | Absolutely Anything | Salubrious Gat  | Voice[60]

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1967–1969  | Do Not Adjust Your Set | Various roles  | 27 episodes; also writer
1967–1970  | No – That's Me Over Here! | Co-creator and writer
1968  | We Have Ways of Making You Laugh | 12 episodes
1969–1974  | Monty Python's Flying Circus | 45 episodes; also co-creator and writer
1972  | Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus | 2 episodes; also co-creator and writer
1975–1976  | Rutland Weekend Television | Dirk McQuickly / Various roles  | 14 episodes; also co-creator and writer
1976–1979  | Saturday Night Live | Himself  | 6 Episodes
1978  | All You Need Is Cash | Dirk McQuickly / The Narrator
Stanley J. Krammerhead III, Jr  | Television film; also writer and director
1981  | Laverne & Shirley | Derek DeWoods  | Episode: "I Do, I Do"
1982  | Faerie Tale Theatre | Narrator  | Episode: "The Tale of the Frog Prince"
also director and writer
1985  | Faerie Tale Theatre | The Pied Piper | Episode: "The Pied Piper of Hamelin"
1989  | Around the World in 80 Days | Jean Passepartout | 3 episodes
Nearly Departed | Grant Pritchard  | 6 episodes
1991  | One Foot in the Grave | Mervyn Whale  | Episode: "The Man in the Long Black Coat"
1996  | Frasier | Chuck  | Voice, episode: "High Crane Drifter"[60]
1998  | Monty Python Live at Aspen | Himself  | Television special
Pinky and the Brain | Pinky's Mom and Dad  | Voice, episode: "The Family That Poits Together,
Narfs Together"[60]
The Angry Beavers | Spanque  | Voice, episode: "Dumbwaiters"[60]
1998–1999  | Hercules | Mr. Parentheses  | Voice, 11 episodes
Recess | Galileo  | Voice, 2 episodes
1999–2000  | Suddenly Susan | Ian Maxtone-Graham  | 22 episodes
2000  | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Guzelian  | Voice, episode: "War and Peace and War"[60]
2001–2002  | House of Mouse | Pluto Angel  | Voice, 2 episodes
2002  | MADtv | Zookeeper  | Episode: "#8.18"
The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch | Narrator / Various  | Television film; also writer, director and producer
The Scream Team | Coffin Ed  | Television film
2003  | National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2 | Plane passenger
2003–2012  | The Simpsons | Declan Desmond  | Voice, 4 episodes
2004–2005  | Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! | Scrapperton  | Voice, 3 episodes[60]
2016  | The Entire Universe | Himself (host)  | Television special; also writer
2022  | The Masked Singer | Himself/Hedgehog  | Eliminated in first episode

### Theatre

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2000  | Seussical |  | Co-conceiver
2004  | Spamalot |  | Writer and co-lyricist
2007  | Not the Messiah | Various roles  | Also writer
2009  | An Evening Without Monty Python |  | Director
2012  | What About Dick? | Piano  | Also writer and co-director
2013  | The Pirates of Penzance | Sergeant of Police  | Delacorte Theatre Concert
2014  | Monty Python Live (Mostly) | Various roles  | Also co-writer and director
2015  | Spamalot | Historian  | Hollywood Bowl

### Video games

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1995  | Discworld | Rincewind | Voice
1996  | Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!?
Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail | Various roles  | Voice
Also producer and writer
1997  | Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | Voice

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Association  | Year  | Category  | Project  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Grammy Awards | 1976 | Best Comedy Album | The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief | Nominated  | [62]
1981 | Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album | Nominated  | [63]
1984 | Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | Nominated  | [64]
1998 | Best Spoken Word Album for Children | The Owl and the Pussy-Cat | Nominated  | [65]
2004 | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Nominated  | [66]
2006 | Best Musical Theater Album | Monty Python's Spamalot | Won  | [67]
Tony Awards | 2005 | Best Musical | Spamalot | Won  |
Best Book of a Musical | Nominated
Best Original Score | Nominated
Drama Desk Award | 2005  | Outstanding Lyrics | Won  |
Outstanding Book of a Musical | Nominated

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Hello Sailor, novel, 1975, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-76929-4
* The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book, 1976, Mandarin ISBN 0-413-36570-0
* Pass the Butler, play script, 1982, ISBN 0-413-49990-1
* The Quite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat, children's book, 1996, Dove Books, ISBN 0-7871-1042-6
* The Road to Mars, novel, 1998, ISBN 0-7522-2414-X, Boxtree (hardcover), ISBN 0-375-70312-8 (paperback)
* Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python Souvenir Program, Green Street Press (U.S.), 2000
* The Greedy Bastard Tour Souvenir Program, Green Street Press (U.S.), 2003
* The Greedy Bastard Diary: A Comic Tour of America, journal, 2005, ISBN 0-06-075864-3
* The Writer's Cut, e-Book, 2015, ISBN 9781910859247
* Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography, memoir, 2018, ISBN 9781984822581
* The Spamalot Diaries, Diary, 2024

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "My Life". Eric Idle. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
2. ^ a b Barratt, Nick; "Family detective" The Daily Telegraph, 17 February 2007 (Retrieved: 19 August 2009)
3. ^ Eric Idle Biography (1943–), Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
4. ^ "Casualty Details: Idle, Ernest". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 27 November 2024. Idle's father, who was 36 years old at the time of his death, was buried in the cemetery at Thornaby-on-Tees \- the inscription chosen for his gravestone was: "SAY NOT GOODNIGHT, BUT IN SOME FAIRER CLIME GOOD MORNING".
5. ^ see also p. 4 of Idle's autobiography.
6. ^ "Read an Excerpt from Eric Idle's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". The Crown Publishing Group. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
7. ^ "Eric Idle on Twitter". Twitter. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
8. ^ "65 famous people Wirral has given to the world". liverpoolecho. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
9. ^ a b c d McCabe, Bob (2005). The Pythons' Autobiography by the Pythons. London: Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7528-6425-9.
10. ^ "Holy grail of Eric Idle story". Expressandstar.com. 1 October 2014.
11. ^ Perry, George (1994). The Life of Python. London: Pavilion Books. ISBN 978-1909815452.
12. ^ Monty Python. "Eric Idle". Retrieved 27 December 2016.
13. ^ "Missing episodes of Monty Python precursor At Last the 1948 Show found", The Guardian, 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
14. ^ "The life of Python". The-tls.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
15. ^ "For Eric Idle, life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true". The Independent. 6 October 2018.
16. ^ Comment made by Eric Idle during an interview shown on the ABC-TV program "7.30 Report" on 28 November 2007.
17. ^ a b c d e f "And now for something completely difficult ..." The Guardian. 13 September 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
18. ^ Original Rutles reunite for 30th anniversary, Vol 3 Issue 1, 3 March 2008, Rutles News
19. ^ "Rutlemania". Archived from the original on 1 April 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
20. ^ "Discworld II: Mortality Bytes!". 24 September 1997.
21. ^ McCall, Douglas (2013). Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969–2012, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 166.
22. ^ ERIC IDLE, Monty Python's Spamalot Archived 9 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
23. ^ "Eric Idle asks 'What About Dick?'". Variety. 23 October 2007. Archived from the original on 24 October 2007.
24. ^ a b Goldsmith, Belinda (13 August 2012). "London says goodbye with musical extravaganza". Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
25. ^ a b "London ends Olympics on extravagant notes". Al Jazeera English. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
26. ^ Cavendish, Dominic (2 July 2014). "The almost-definitive guide to Monty Python Live (Mostly)". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
27. ^ "The Entire Universe". BBC. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
28. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr.; Kroll, Justin (6 January 2021). "Paramount Acquires Monty Python Musical 'Spamalot'; Casey Nicholaw Directing Eric Idle Script". Retrieved 28 January 2024.
29. ^ Huff, Lauren (22 September 2022). "Eric Idle shares why he did The Masked Singer after secretly beating cancer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
30. ^ a b c d Rufo, Yasmin (12 February 2024). "Eric Idle: Monty Python star working at 80 for financial reasons". BBC News.
31. ^ "Cook tops poll of comedy greats". The Guardian. 2 January 2005.
32. ^ "Cook voted 'comedians' comedian'". BBC News. 2 January 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
33. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 75 (13 October 1991 – 19 October 1991)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
34. ^ "Ann Howard – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 2 April 2014. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
35. ^ SB (12 August 2023). "THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «Always Look On the Bright Side of Life» by Monty Python". Rocking In the Norselands. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
36. ^ Johnson, Kim "Howard" (1989). The First 20 Years of Monty Python. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 107. ISBN 0-312-03309-5.
37. ^ "The FCC Song" – via Internet Archive.
38. ^ Dziemianowicz, Joe (7 December 2023). "Everything you need to know about 'Spamalot' on Broadway". New York Theatre Guide. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
39. ^ Eric Idle, [Email letter to] "The Pythons", 20 December 2006. Reprinted in Roy Thompson Hall Performance Program Insert, summer 2007. p. 6.
40. ^ "Something Completely Different". Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
41. ^ "'Not the Messiah': Eric Idle Revs Up". The Washington Post. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
42. ^ "Monty Python's Eric Idle Resurrects 'Life of Brian'". NPR. 24 July 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
43. ^ "Tonight and Friday: Eric Idle with the Houston Symphony". 17 July 2008. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
44. ^ "Amado returns to helm of Delaware Symphony Orchestra". Waynesboro Record Herald – Waynesboro, PA. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
45. ^ "Eric Idle performs theme song for The Infinite Monkey Cage, The Infinite Monkey Cage – BBC Radio 4". 30 June 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
46. ^ "Eric's naughty bits". Theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
47. ^ "Idle, Eric". Who's Who 2024 and Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U21409. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4.
48. ^ a b Paynter, Sarah (10 February 2023). "Monty Python's Eric Idle Lists Los Angeles Home for $6.495 Million". Mansion Global. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
49. ^ "Marriage is no laughing matter when you're a Python". Daily Express. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
50. ^ a b Shoard, Catherine (11 July 2025). "'I'd be proud to be thrown out of America!' Eric Idle on Trump, life after Python and not talking before lunch (question-and-answer session)". The Guardian.
51. ^ Zekas, Rita (5 December 2013). "A symphony of comfort and cheer". Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
52. ^ "Peter Oundjian (b.1955)". Classic FM. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
53. ^ "Nigel Wray receives unlikely backing of comedy legend". Rugby Pass. 11 November 2019.
54. ^ Hoyle, Ben (6 October 2018). "Eric Idle interview: Monty Python, his new book Always Look on the Bright Side of Life and hanging out with George Harrison and Mick Jagger". The Times.
55. ^ "Eric Idle on Terry Jones, Brian Cox, religion and The Entire Universe". Radio Times. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
56. ^ "Eric Idle: I Survived Pancreatic Cancer. It's a Funny Story". Time. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
57. ^ "(9620) Ericidle = 1993 FU13". 17 June 2007. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012.
58. ^ Lutz, Mark & Ascher, David (2004). Learning Python, p. 40. O'Reilly Media, Inc. ISBN 0-596-00281-5.
59. ^ Hammond, Mark & Robinson, Andy (2000). Python Programming On Win32: Help for Windows Programmers, p. 59. O'Reilly Media, Inc. ISBN 978-1565926219.
60. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Eric Idle (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 19 October 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
61. ^ "Monty Python Live (Mostly)". IMDb.com. 20 July 2014.
62. ^ "18th Annual Grammy Awards". Recording Academy. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
63. ^ "23rd Annual Grammy Awards". Recording Academy. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
64. ^ "26th Annual Grammy Awards". Recording Academy. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
65. ^ "40th Annual Grammy Awards". Recording Academy. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
66. ^ "46th Annual Grammy Awards". Recording Academy. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
67. ^ "48th Annual Grammy Awards". Recording Academy. Retrieved 29 April 2025.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Eric Idle.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eric Idle.

* Eric Idle's profile on Monty Python's official website
* Eric Idle at IMDb
* Eric Idle at the Internet Broadway Database
* Eric Idle at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
* Eric Idle at Playbill Vault
* Eric Idle at the British Film Institute[better source needed]
* Eric Idle at the BFI's Screenonline
* Eric Idle at British Comedy Guide
* Eric Idle singing his "FCC Song" in MP3 format from Archive.org
* "My Girl Herbert". Archived from the original on 4 January 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2006. – the 1965 Cambridge Footlights Club revue during the time when Eric Idle was President of the Footlights, as well as being a member of the revue cast

* v
* t
* e

Monty Python

* Graham Chapman
* John Cleese
* Terry Gilliam
* Eric Idle
* Terry Jones
* Michael Palin

* Carol Cleveland
* Neil Innes

Television series|

* Flying Circus
* episodes
* Fliegender Zirkus
* Personal Best

Films|

* And Now for Something Completely Different
* Holy Grail
* Life of Brian
* Live at the Hollywood Bowl
* The Meaning of Life
* The Crimson Permanent Assurance

Studio albums|

* Another Record
* Previous Record
* Matching Tie and Handkerchief
* Holy Grail
* Life of Brian
* Contractual Obligation
* The Meaning of Life

Compilation albums|

* Instant Record Collection
* Final Rip Off
* Sings
* Ultimate Rip Off
* Instant CD Collection
* Total Rubbish

Live albums|

* Flying Circus
* Live at Drury Lane
* Live at City Center

Specials|

* Parrot Sketch Not Included
* Live at Aspen
* Python Night

Documentaries|

* The Pythons
* Life of Python
* Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut)
* And Now for Something Rather Similar
* The Meaning of Live

Stage productions|

* Spamalot
* Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)
* An Evening Without Monty Python
* Live (Mostly)

Literature|

* Big Red Book
* Brand New Bok
* Holy Grail (Book)
* Life of Brian/SCRAPBOOK
* The Meaning of Life
* Just the Words
* Song Book
* A Pocketful of Python
* The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons
* Live!

Video games|

* Flying Circus
* Complete Waste of Time
* Quest for the Holy Grail
* The Meaning of Life
* Cow Tossing
* The Ministry of Silly Walks

Characters|

* Mr Praline
* The Colonel
* Mr Creosote
* Rabbit of Caerbannog
* Other characters

Sketches|

* Albatross!
* Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses
* Architects
* Argument Clinic
* Bruces
* Cheese Shop
* Colin "Bomber" Harris vs Colin "Bomber" Harris
* Crunchy Frog
* Dead Parrot
* Dirty Fork
* Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook
* Election Night Special
* Fish Licence
* Fish-Slapping Dance
* Four Yorkshiremen
* The Funniest Joke in the World
* How Not to Be Seen
* Kilimanjaro Expedition
* Lifeboat
* Marriage Guidance Counsellor
* Ministry of Silly Walks
* Mouse Problem
* Nudge Nudge
* Patient Abuse
* Philosophers' Football Match
* Piranha Brothers
* Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days"
* Seduced Milkmen
* Spam
* Spanish Inquisition
* Undertakers
* Upper Class Twit of the Year
* Vocational Guidance Counsellor
* World Forum/Communist Quiz

Songs|

* "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"
* "Brian Song"
* "Bruces' Philosophers Song"
* "Decomposing Composers"
* "Eric the Half-a-Bee"
* "Every Sperm Is Sacred"
* "Finland"
* "Galaxy Song"
* "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio"
* "I Like Chinese"
* "I've Got Two Legs"
* "The Lumberjack Song"
* "Medical Love Song"
* "Oliver Cromwell"
* "Sit on My Face"

Related|

* List of Monty Python projects
* The Foot of Cupid
* Cambridge Circus
* I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
* The Frost Report
* At Last the 1948 Show
* Twice a Fortnight
* Do Not Adjust Your Set
* We Have Ways of Making You Laugh
* Broaden Your Mind
* How to Irritate People
* The Complete and Utter History of Britain
* The Fred Tomlinson Singers
* Teach Yourself Heath
* Python (Monty) Pictures
* Tiny Black Round Thing
* Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls
* Rutland Weekend Television
* Fawlty Towers
* Ripping Yarns
* Out of the Trees
* A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)
* Monty Python v. ABC
* Python On Song
* All You Need Is Cash
* The Secret Policeman's Ball
* A Liar's Autobiography: Volume VI
* The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album
* The Wind in the Willows
* Monty Python Live
* Concert for George
* Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years
* The Seventh Python
* Holy Flying Circus
* A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
* Absolutely Anything

* v
* t
* e

The Rutles

* Neil Innes
* Eric Idle
* John Halsey
* Ricky Fataar
* Ollie Halsall
* David Battley

TV series|

* Rutland Weekend Television

Films|

* All You Need Is Cash
* The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch

Music|

* The Rutland Weekend Songbook (1976)
* The Rutles OST (1978)
* Rutles Highway Revisited (1990)
* Archaeology (1996)
* Eric Idle Sings Monty Python (2000)

* v
* t
* e

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics

1969–2000|

* Fred Ebb (1969)
* Stephen Sondheim / Bertolt Brecht (1970)
* Stephen Sondheim (1971)
* John Guare (1972)
* Stephen Sondheim (1973)
* Al Carmines (1974)
* Charlie Smalls (1975)
* Edward Kleban (1976)
* Martin Charnin (1977)
* Carol Hall (1978)
* Stephen Sondheim (1979)
* Tim Rice (1980)
* Stephen Sondheim / Maury Yeston (1982)
* Howard Ashman (1983)
* Stephen Sondheim (1984)
* Roger Miller (1985)
* Stephen Sondheim (1988)
* David Zippel (1990)
* William Finn (1991)
* Susan Birkenhead (1992)
* Joel Paley (1993)
* Stephen Sondheim (1994)
* Jonathan Larson (1996)
* Gerard Alessandrini (1997)
* Lynn Ahrens (1998)
* Gerard Alessandrini (1999)
* Stephen Sondheim (2000)

2001–present|

* Mel Brooks (2001)
* Jason Robert Brown (2002)
* Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman (2003)
* Stephen Schwartz (2004)
* Eric Idle (2005)
* Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison (2006)
* Steven Sater (2007)
* Stew (2008)
* Stephen Sondheim (2009)
* John Kander and Fred Ebb (2010)
* Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone (2011)
* Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (2012)
* Tim Minchin (2013)
* Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak (2014)
* Lin-Manuel Miranda (2015)
* Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (2016)
* David Yazbek (2017)
* Peter Kellogg (2018)
* David Yazbek (2019)
* Michael R. Jackson (2020)
* No Award (2021)
* Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (2022)
* Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman (2023)
* David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna (2024)
* Will Aronson and Hue Park (2025)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Sweden
* Poland
* Israel
* Finland

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* Grammy Awards
* FID

People|

* Trove
* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template