About
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, writer and musician, best known as a founding member of Monty Python. Born in South Shields, he studied English literature at Cambridge and presided over the Footlights comedy club. Within Monty Python, he wrote alone, distinguishing himself with wordplay, monologues and comic songs. He composed 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' for Life of Brian (1979), which became a hit. He co-created the parody band The Rutles and adapted Monty Python and the Holy Grail into the Broadway musical Spamalot, which won a Tony Award. Author of an autobiography, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia in 2018.
* 1943-03-28
Major works
- Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (1979)song
- All You Need Is Cash (1978)TV film
- Spamalot (2005)musical
- Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography (2018)autobiography
Key milestones
- 1969Co-founds the Monty Python troupe.
- 2005Spamalot wins the Tony Award for Best Musical.
- 2018Receives an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia.
Themes
Absurd humorSatireWordplayComic musicParody
Sources: npg.org.uk · unisa.edu.au · broadwayworld.com