Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idleis an English comedian, actor, voice actor, author, singer-songwriter, musician, writer and comedic composer. Idle is a member of the English surreal comedy group Monty Python, a member of The Rutles and the author of the Broadway musical Spamalot...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth29 March 1943
choices
Everybody has their own free choice to do what they want...
drunk earned happy hate perfectly rest
Because we hate each other. I'm perfectly happy to get drunk with the rest of them. I was just in London, and we had a really spectacular dinner. But I think it should go no further. We've earned that.
moving reason show-business
One of the reasons we moved to L.A. in the first place [was] so that it was no big deal that I was in show business. We decided if we move[d] to L.A., then everyone in one way or another was involved in it.
fun pirate film
Filming a pirate film is always good fun, with ships and indecent clothing.
writing unique thinking
There's no gap between the writer and the performer, which is what I think makes [Monty] Python unique. Five or six people who write Python and five or six who act it. That's what makes it unique.
writing comedy performing
When we graduated [ from Cambridge], we were grabbed right into television. I was grabbed straight into the practice of writing comedy. It was all writing and performing. You wrote something in order for you to perform it.
kissing strange
At Cambridge, you have to kiss the vice-chancellor's fingers. But I missed out on that, 'cause I was doing a matinee. I don't want to kiss a strange man's fingers anyway.
fresh lovely people
The lovely thing for us is, because it is digital, it can still look really fresh and new. Some people don't know that we're just old farts.
angeles arts audio bits blair david four guys home los madison moved original pleasant quick radio recording south spent takes time took voice waiting
It took all of 15 minutes, but then I have my David Attenborough voice down and there wasn't a lot to do. Most of the time was spent waiting for the guys in Los Angeles to come on line. When they did we breezed through it in four quick takes in a pleasant recording studio, Audio for the Arts on South Blair Street, where they do The Onion. Madison was the original home of The Onion, before it moved to New York, and they still do the radio bits from here.
comedy man secret simplicity truth
I think he's the most intelligent man I've ever met. Honesty, simplicity and truth are the secret to his comedy.
accord amount claim claiming clearly comedy comment deal freedom function groups healthy humour immunity laughter licensed light obviously permits privileges release responsibility safety satirical searching society special survive taboo
At least one way of measuring the freedom of any society is the amount of comedy that is permitted, and clearly a healthy society permits more satirical comment than a repressive, so that if comedy is to function in some way as a safety release then it must obviously deal with these taboo areas. This is part of the responsibility we accord our licensed jesters, that nothing be excused the searching light of comedy. If anything can survive the probe of humour it is clearly of value, and conversely all groups who claim immunity from laughter are claiming special privileges which should not be granted.
comedy drunk fresh happy perfectly rest sorry sort
We're all over 60. I'm sorry to say this, but comedy is really a young man's game. It's sort of about what you had to say when you were fresh and young. And I'm perfectly happy to get drunk with the rest of them.
domestic-violence may stones
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will make me go in a corner and cry by myself for hours.
witty political said
A lot has been said about politics; some of it complimentary, but most of it accurate