Eric Idle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eric Idle
Idle in 2012
Born	(1943-03-29) 29 March 1943 (age 82) South Shields, England
Alma mater	Pembroke College, Cambridge
Occupation	Actor comedian songwriter musician screenwriter playwright
Years active	1967–present
Notable work	Monty Python The Rutles Spamalot
Spouse(s)	Lyn Ashley ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1975)​ Tania Kosevich ​ (m. 1981)​
Children	2
Relatives	Madge Ryan (former-mother-in-law)

Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, and musician. He is famous for being a member of the British comedy group Monty Python. He was also part of the parody rock band the Rutles.

Eric Idle became a star in the 1970s. He helped create and acted in the comedy show Flying Circus (1969–1974). He also starred in the Monty Python films like Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979). He worked with other famous comedians like John Cleese and Michael Palin. Eric Idle was known for his clever use of words and musical songs. He wrote and sang many Python songs, including "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

After Flying Circus ended, Eric Idle created other shows like Rutland Weekend Television. He also hosted Saturday Night Live several times. He appeared in many movies, such as Casper (1995) and Shrek the Third (2007).

In 2005, he brought Holy Grail to the stage as a musical called Spamalot. This musical was a big hit and won a Tony Award for Best Musical. Eric Idle also performed at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London.

Early Life and School

Eric Idle was born on 29 March 1943, in South Shields, England. His mother was a health visitor. His father was in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Sadly, his father died in an accident in 1945.

Eric's mother found it hard to raise him while working. So, when he was seven, he went to the Royal Wolverhampton School. This school helped children who had lost a parent. Eric said it was a tough place to grow up. But it taught him to be smart and funny, which helped him later in his comedy career.

He loved listening to Radio Luxembourg and watching the local football team, Wolverhampton Wanderers. He didn't like other sports. He would often sneak out of school to watch movies. Once, he was caught watching a film meant for older audiences. Even so, he was a good student. He studied hard and earned a spot at Cambridge University.

Comedy Career

Before Monty Python (1965–1969)

Eric Idle went to Pembroke College, Cambridge to study English. There, he joined the famous Cambridge University Footlights Club. This was a comedy club where many future stars got their start. Eric became the president of the club in 1965. He was the first president to let women join the club.

He also starred in a children's TV comedy show called Do Not Adjust Your Set. His future Monty Python friends, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, were also in the show. Terry Gilliam made the cartoons for it. Eric also appeared in some episodes of At Last the 1948 Show, which featured John Cleese and Graham Chapman.

Joining Monty Python (1969–1983, 2014)

Eric Idle often wrote his comedy sketches by himself for Monty Python. The other members usually worked in pairs. This sometimes made it harder for Eric to get his ideas chosen. He had to convince five other funny writers that his sketches were good!

His comedy often focused on language and how people communicate. Many of his characters spoke in strange ways. For example, a man who spoke in anagrams (mixing up letters in words). Or a butcher who was rude one moment and polite the next. He also made fun of how TV presenters talked. Eric was great at playing characters who seemed insincere or a bit sneaky.

Eric was one of the younger members of Monty Python. He was good at connecting with the younger fans. He wrote many of the group's most famous songs. The most well-known is "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". This song was in the film Life of Brian. It became a signature song for Monty Python. He also wrote the "Galaxy Song" from The Meaning of Life. Another funny song he wrote was "Eric the Half-a-Bee".

After Monty Python (1973–present)

Eric Idle in 2003

After Monty Python became very successful, all six members started their own projects. Eric Idle's first solo work was a radio show called Radio Five. He performed sketches and played music, often doing all the voices himself.

On TV, Eric created Rutland Weekend Television (RWT). This was a sketch show on BBC2. It was a funny parody of a real TV network. A famous part of RWT was the creation of The Rutles. This was a loving parody of the Beatles. Eric worked with musician Neil Innes on this.

In 1978, The Rutles made a TV movie called All You Need Is Cash. It was a fake documentary, also known as a mockumentary. Eric wrote and starred in it as "Dirk McQuickly," who was like Paul McCartney. Many famous people appeared in the film, including George Harrison from the Beatles, and Saturday Night Live stars like John Belushi.

Eric Idle has also done a lot of voice acting. He was the voice of Wreck-Gar in The Transformers: The Movie (1986). He played Ratty in The Wind in the Willows (1996). He voiced Rincewind the "Wizzard" in video games based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. He was also the voice of Merlin the magician in the animated film Shrek the Third (2007). He has appeared on The Simpsons as Declan Desmond.

In 1994, Eric appeared in the 3-D film Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! at Walt Disney World's Epcot. He played Dr. Nigel Channing. He also wrote and starred in another 3-D film called Pirates – 4D.

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

In 2004, Eric Idle created Spamalot, a musical comedy. It was based on the Monty Python film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The musical tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights. They go on a funny quest for the Holy Grail. Spamalot was a huge success. It won a Tony Award for Best Musical.

Eric performed at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. He sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". He also helped create and direct the live show Monty Python Live (mostly) – One down, Five to go in 2014. This was a big reunion show for Monty Python.

In 2022, Eric Idle appeared on The Masked Singer as "Hedgehog". He sang "Love Me Do" by The Beatles. After he was unmasked, he sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" again.

Other Works

Writing

Eric Idle has written several books. These include the novels Hello Sailor and The Road to Mars. He also wrote The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book, which was a spin-off from his TV show.

He wrote the book and helped write the music and lyrics for the musical Monty Python's Spamalot. This musical won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005. Eric also won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics for his work on Spamalot.

Songwriting

Eric Idle has written about 150 songs. His most famous song is "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". It was originally in the film Life of Brian. The song became very popular. People even sang it at Graham Chapman's memorial service. Eric performed it at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony. He also sang it at the final Monty Python reunion show in 2014.

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

In 1989, Eric helped write and sang the theme song for the British TV show One Foot in the Grave. "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" became a hit song in the UK in 1991. It reached number 3 on the music charts.

In 2007, Eric Idle and John Du Prez created a comic musical piece called Not the Messiah. It was based on Life of Brian. Eric performed in this show with orchestras in different cities.

Idle performing "Bruces sketch" in 2014.

Personal Life

Eric Idle has been married twice. His first marriage was to actress Lyn Ashley in 1969. They had one son and later divorced in 1975. He then married Tania Kosevich in 1981. They have an adult daughter.

He is a cousin of Canadian conductor Peter Oundjian. David Bowie made Eric Idle the godfather to his son, film director Duncan Jones.

Eric Idle does not believe in God. In 2019, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed early and had successful surgery to remove the tumor. He did not need any further treatment after that.

Tributes

• An asteroid, 9620 Ericidle, is named after him.
• The default program for the programming language Python is called IDLE. The name was chosen because the programming language itself was named after Monty Python.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

See also

In Spanish: Eric Idle para niños