Eric Idle Is Looking On The Bright Side
The 50th anniversary of Monty Python, which debuted on the BBC in 1969, is coming soon, but don’t expect Eric Idle, one of the troupe’s founding members, to celebrate.
“Absolutely not,” Mr. Idle said with a laugh, when asked if the group had any plans to celebrate. “There’s no reason we actually should.”
That doesn’t mean the Python spirit isn’t still alive inside Mr. Idle. He was on the phone from Los Angeles, where he was penning new music for the still-in- development film based on his hit musical, “Spamalot.”
He recently began a book tour for his new memoir, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography.” It’s named after the song he composed that closes the Python film, “Life of Brian,” and has since become an anthem of its own: sung at soccer matches and funerals.
The comedy ground has shifted since Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Mr. Idle united in the 1960s. This didn’t escape BBC’s comedy commissioner, Shane Allen, who raised the ire of multiple Pythons when he said, “If you’re going to assemble a team now, it’s not going to be six Oxbridge white blokes,” referring to Monty Python. “It’s going to be a diverse range of people who reflect the modern world.”
Mr. Idle discussed his reaction to Mr. Allen’s comments in a wide-ranging chat — condensed and edited for clarity and length.