Bill Oddie
Oddie in December 2005
Born	(1941-07-07) 7 July 1941 (age 70) Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England
Occupation	Actor, writer, composer, musician, comedian, artist, ornithologist, conservationist, television presenter
Years active	1960s-present
Known for	I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, The Goodies, Springwatch, Ornithology
Spouse	Jean Hart (divorced) Laura Beaumont (1983-present)
Children	Bonnie, Kate and Rosie
Website
billoddie.com

William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE^[1] (born 7 July 1941, Rochdale, England^[2]) is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies.

A birdwatcher since his childhood in Quinton, Birmingham,^[3] Oddie has now established a reputation as an ornithologist, conservationist and television presenter on wildlife issues. Some of his books are illustrated with his own paintings and drawings.^[4]

Oddie's wildlife programmes for the BBC include: Springwatch/Autumnwatch, How to Watch Wildlife, Wild In Your Garden, Birding with Bill Oddie, Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie and Bill Oddie Goes Wild.

Career[link]

Comedy[link]

After attending Lapal Primary School, Halesowen Grammar School (now The Earls High School, Halesowen) then King Edward's School, Birmingham, Oddie studied English Literature at Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge, where he appeared in several Cambridge University Footlights Club productions.

One of these, a revue called A Clump of Plinths, was so successful at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that it was renamed Cambridge Circus and transferred to the West End in London, then New Zealand and Broadway in September 1964. Meanwhile, still at Cambridge, Oddie wrote scripts for TV's That Was The Week That Was.^[5]

His first television appearance was in Bernard Braden's On The Braden Beat in 1964. Subsequently, he was a key member of the performers in the BBC radio series I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (ISIRTA; 1965), where many of his musical compositions were featured. Some were released on the album Distinctly Oddie (Polydor, 1967). He was possibly one of the first performers to parody a rock song, arranging the traditional Yorkshire folk song "On Ilkla Moor Baht'at" in the style of Joe Cocker's hit rendition of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" (released on John Peel's Dandelion Records in 1970 and featured in Peel's special box of most-treasured singles), and singing "Andy Pandy" in the style of a brassy soul number such as Wilson Pickett or Geno Washington might perform. In many shows he would do short impressions of Hughie Green.

In one song on I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, Oddie performed "What a Wonderful World" with a voice fully reminiscent of Louis Armstrong. During the course of the song, the rest of the cast attributed the gravelly quality of his voice to a sore throat. In the background, during the rest of the song, it is possible to hear the cast dispense cough medicine, then call for a doctor, the arrival of the doctor and his decision that Oddie should go into hospital, the trip to hospital in an ambulance, and the operation extracting his tonsils. After this, the sound of his voice changed to a sound closer to that of Harry Secombe. He thanked the cast for curing him. On television Oddie was co-writer and performer in the comedy series Twice a Fortnight with Graeme Garden, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Jonathan Lynn. Later, he was co-writer and performer in the comedy series Broaden Your Mind with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, for which Oddie became a cast member for the second series.

Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden then co-wrote and appeared in their television comedy series The Goodies. The Goodies also released records, including "Father Christmas Do Not Touch Me"/"The In-Betweenies", "Funky Gibbon", and "Black Pudding Bertha", which were hit singles in 1974–75. They reformed, briefly, in 2005, for a successful 13-date tour of Australia.

Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden voiced characters on the 1983 animated children's programme Bananaman.^[6][7][8]

In the Amnesty International show A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick), Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden sang their hit song "Funky Gibbon". They also appeared on Top of the Pops with the song. Together with Garden (who is a qualified doctor), Oddie co-wrote many episodes of the television comedy series Doctor in the House, including most of the first season and all of the second season. He has occasionally appeared on the BBC Radio 4 panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, on which Garden and Brooke-Taylor are regular panellists. In 1982 Garden and Oddie wrote, but did not perform in, a 6-part science fiction sitcom called Astronauts for Central and ITV. The show was set in an international space station in the near future.^{[citation needed]}

Natural history[link]

Oddie's first published work was an article about the birdlife of Birmingham's Bartley Reservoir in the West Midland Bird Club's 1962 Annual Report.^[9] He has since written a number of books about birds and birdwatching, as well as articles for many specialist publications including British Birds, Birdwatching Magazine and Birdwatch.

One of Oddie's first forays in the world of television natural history was on 30 July 1985, as the subject of a Nature Watch Special: Bill Oddie - Bird Watcher, in which he was interviewed by Julian Pettifer.^[10]

Oddie has since hosted a number of successful nature programmes for the BBC, many produced by Stephen Moss, including:^[11]

• The Great Bird Race (1983; Channel 4)
• The Great Kenyan Bird Safari (BBC)
• Favourite Walks: "A Bird Walk" (1985; BBC)
• Worldwise: "The Bird Business" (1985; Channel 4)
• Oddie in Paradise (1985; BBC)
• Wild Weekends (TV AM)
• Flight to Eilat (Channel 4)
• Bird in the Nest (two series, 1994 and 1995)
• Birding with Bill Oddie (three series, 1997, 1998 and 2000)
• Bill Oddie Goes Wild (three series, 2001, 2002 and 2003)
• Wild In Your Garden (2003)
• Britain Goes Wild (2004)
• "Bill Oddie In Tiger Country" (2004)
• Bill Oddie's How to Watch Wildlife (two series, 2005 and 2006; also on DVD)
• Seven Natural Wonders (London edition) (2005)
• The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs (2005; also on DVD)
• Springwatch (2005–2008)
• Autumnwatch (2006–2008)
• Bill Oddie Back in the USA (2007)
• "Bill Oddie's Top Ten Birds" (2007; BBC Four)
• "100 Years of Wildlife" (2007)
• Bill Oddie's Wild Side (2008)
• "Bill Oddie's Top 10" (2008)

On its first evening of broadcast in 2004, Britain Goes Wild set a record for its timeslot of 8 pm on BBC Two of 3.4 million viewers, one million more than the Channel 4 programme showing at that time. Britain Goes Wild, renamed Springwatch the following year, became a wildlife broadcasting phenomenon, attracting up to 5 million viewers.^{[citation needed]}

He became president of the West Midland Bird Club in 1999,^[12] having been Vice-President since 1991,^[12] and is a former member of the council of the RSPB. Oddie is also a vice-president of the League Against Cruel Sports^{[citation needed]} and a vice-president of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.^[13]

In 2003 Oddie set up a half-marathon to raise money for various wildlife charities in his birth-town of Rochdale. Celebrities who have participated in the event include Ray Mears, Catherine Jenkins and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

In 2011, Oddie featured as an investigator in Snares Uncovered: killers in the countryside.^[14] The film carried out an expose of snaring in Scotland and was commissioned by animal protection charity OneKind. During the investigation, Oddie discovered over 70 snare traps and several stink pits.

Music[link]

In the 1960s and early 1970s, Oddie released a number of singles and at least one album. One of the former, issued in 1970 on John Peel's Dandelion Records label (Catalogue No: 4786), was On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at,^[15] performed in the style of Joe Cocker's With a Little Help from my Friends. The B-side, Harry Krishna, featured the Hare Krishna chant, substituting the names of contemporary famous people called Harry, including Harry Secombe, Harry Worth, Harry Lauder, and Harry Corbett, as well as puns such as "Harry [Hurry] along now", "Harrystotle [Aristotle]" and ending with "Harry-ly [I really] must go now". Both tracks appear on the compilation CD Life Too, Has Surface Noise: The Complete Dandelion Records Singles Collection 1969–1972 (2007).

He played the drums and saxophone and appeared as Cousin Kevin in a production of The Who's rock opera Tommy at the Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park, London on 9 December 1972. He has also contributed vocals to a Rick Wakeman album, Criminal Record.

Oddie 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", taking over the role from Eric Idle. During the early 1990s, Oddie was a DJ for London-based jazz radio station 102.2 Jazz FM, but was dismissed after criticising the management on air after they told him he was playing too much jazz on his show.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007 Oddie appeared on the BBC series Play It Again.^[16] In the episode he attempts to realise his dream of becoming a rock guitarist. Initially teacher Bridget Mermikides tries to teach him using traditional methods but he rebels: instead he turns to old friends Albert Lee, Dave Davies (of The Kinks) and Mark Knopfler for advice and strikes out on his own. He succeeds in the target of playing lead guitar for his daughter Rosie's band at her 21st birthday party, and even manages to impress his erstwhile teacher.

In November 2010, he agreed, along with fellow members of The Goodies, to re-release their 1970s hit The Funky Gibbon to raise funds for the International Primate Protection League's Save the Gibbon appeal.

Other television and audio appearances[link]

Oddie appeared as the hapless window cleaner in the Eric Sykes' comedy story The Plank in 1967. He also presented the live children's Saturday morning entertainment show Saturday Banana (ITV/Southern Television) during the late 1970s. In the late 1980s he was a presenter of the BBC TV show Fax (a show about 'facts').

In the 1990s he became better known as a presenter of birdwatching, and later wildlife-related, programmes such as Springwatch. Although he remains almost unknown to US audiences, in 1992 he was a guest star in the US comedy television series Married with Children for a 3-part episode set in England.^[17]

In 1997-98 he appeared on the Channel 4 archaeological programme Time Team, as the team excavated a Roman villa site in Turkdean, Gloucestershire.

He was the compère of a daytime BBC gameshow, History Hunt (in 2003); and has appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Doctor Who and the Pirates. In 2004, he appeared in the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?, in which he looked into his ancestry – he was visibly moved by its revelations. In 2005, he took part in Rolf on Art – the big event at Trafalgar Square. and later that year was also a celebrity guest along with Lynda Bellingham on the ITV1 programme Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

In 2006 Oddie appeared in the BBC show Never Mind The Buzzcocks,^[18] and also appeared on the topical quiz show 8 out of 10 Cats. Bill also is the voice behind many B&Q adverts throughout 2006/2007. On 25 May 2007, Oddie made a cameo appearance on Ronni Ancona's new comedy sketch show, Ronni Ancona & Co.

He hosted the genealogy-based series My Famous Family, broadcast on UKTV History in 2007. In 2008, Oddie was a guest on Jamie Oliver's television special Jamie's Fowl Dinners, talking about free-range chickens. He also recorded a voice for Lionhead Studios' Fable II.^{[citation needed]}

He also appeared on Would I Lie To You? in 2011 where he revealed that he was saved from drowning by Freddy from popular children's series Rainbow while on holiday in the Seychelles.

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Oddie's mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia.^[19]

Oddie is married to Laura Beaumont^[20] (Beaumont-Gilles),^[21] with whom he has worked on a variety of projects for children, including film scripts, drama and comedy series, puppet shows and books. They have a daughter, Rosie,^[21][22] and live in Hampstead, London.

Oddie also has two daughters from his first marriage (1967 to Jean Hart):^[23] Bonnie, and the actress Kate Hardie, plus three grandchildren, Lyle, Ella and Gracie.

Depression[link]

Oddie has suffered from depression for most of his life, being diagnosed with clinical depression in 2001.^[24] On 11 March 2009, it was reported that he had been admitted to Capio Nightingale psychiatric hospital to deal with his depression. His agent David Foster said: "Bill gets these bouts every two or three years where he gets down for about two weeks and recovers. He sometimes goes into hospital or takes a break or has a change of scenery to recharge his batteries."^[25] In January 2010, Oddie spoke to the media, revealing that he had in fact had two separate stays in different hospitals, only being discharged "in time for Christmas". He said that he was dealing with depression and bipolar disorder, describing the period as "probably the worst 12 months of my life". Oddie stated that he was planning to meet with BBC executives to discuss his return to television work.^[26][27]

His illness meant that he did not appear in the 2009 and 2010 series of Springwatch, although he made a guest appearance in the penultimate episode of the latter.

Honours[link]

In 2001, Oddie became the third person to decline to appear on This Is Your Life. He changed his mind a few hours later and agreed to appear on the show. On 16 October 2003, Oddie was made an OBE for his service to Wildlife Conservation in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. He played down the event, choosing to wear a camouflage shirt and crumpled jacket to receive his medal. In June 2004, Oddie and Johnny Morris were jointly profiled in the first of a three part BBC Two series, The Way We Went Wild, about television wildlife presenters. In May 2005, he received the British Naturalists' Association's Peter Scott Memorial Award, from BNA president David Bellamy, "in recognition of his great contribution to our understanding of natural history and conservation."^[28][29] He is a recipient of the RSPB Medal.^[30]

On 30 June 2009, he was proposed for inclusion in the Birmingham Walk of Stars, with the public invited to vote.^[31]

Bibliography[link]

(incomplete list)

• Bill Oddie's Introduction to Birdwatching (Subbuteo Books, 2002)
• Bill Oddie's Colouring Guide to Birds (Piccolo, 1991)
• Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book
• Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book (paperback with additional material)
• Bill Oddie's Gone Birding
• The Big Bird Race (with David Tomlinson; Collins, 1983)
• Follow That Bird!
• Gripping Yarns
• Bird in the Nest
• Bill Oddie's How to Watch Wildlife
• One Flew into the Cuckoos Egg (Autobiography)

Bill Oddie also co-wrote the Springwatch & Autumnwatch book with Kate Humble and Simon King.

Co-written with the other members of The Goodies:

• The Goodies File
• The Goodies Book of Criminal Records
• The Goodies Disaster Movie

Co-written with Laura Beaumont:

• The Toilet Book (or 11 & 1/2 minutes a day and how not to waste them) (Methuen, 1984, ISBN 978-0-413-56910-3)

Contributions[link]

• Confessions of a Scilly Birdman, David Hunt; Croom Helm, 1985. ISBN 0-7099-3724-5 (foreword and postscript)
• Bird in the Yorkshire Museum, Michael Denton; North Yorkshire County Council, 1995. ISBN 0-905807-10-3 (foreword)
• Bird Brain of Britain, Charles Gallimore & Tim Appleton; Christopher Helm, 2004. ISBN 0-7136-7036-3 (foreword)
• Blokes and Birds, Stephen Moss; New Holland Publishers. ISBN 1-84330-484-8 (foreword)
• The New Birds of the West Midlands, Graham and Janet Harrison (West Midland Bird Club, 2005) ISBN 0-9507881-2-0 (foreword^[32])

In popular culture[link]

In the fictional world of comedy character Alan Partridge, Oddie is an unseen presence in Alan's life.

He has also been referenced, often humorously, by the hosts of Top Gear. Jeremy Clarkson even used a mask with Bill Oddie's face to escape speed cameras while racing the Nissan GT-R against the Bullet train in Japan in the 4th episode of Top Gear's 11th series. James May also raced in Finland against a Bill Oddie lookalike, who won the race.

References[link]

• Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus — Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980. London: Eyre Methuen. ISBN 0-413-46950-6. 
• Hewison, Robert (1983). Footlights! — A Hundred Years of Cambridge Comedy. London: Methuen. ISBN 0-413-51150-2. 

External links[link]

• Official website
• Bill Oddie at the Internet Movie Database
• Bill Oddie at the Internet Broadway Database
• Bill Oddie at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Bill Oddie's family history at the BBC website for the programme Who Do You Think You Are?
• Bill Oddie Goes Wild – on BBC's Science and Nature website
• In-depth interview, The Telegraph, 28 April 2005
• Gigrin Farm chapter from Gripping Yarns
• Oddie on UKTV

Eric Idle
Idle after a show in Rutland, Vermont, 2003
Born	(1943-03-29) 29 March 1943 (age 69) South Shields, County Durham, England
Nationality	British
Education	Pembroke College, Cambridge
Occupation	Actor, Author, Comedian, Singer, Writer
Years active	1969–present
Notable work(s)	Monty Python The Rutles Spamalot
Spouse	Lyn Ashley (1969–1975) Tania Kosevich (m.1981)
Children	Carey Idle (b.1973) Lily Idle (b.1990)
Website
http://pythonline.com/

Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live, and the author of the Broadway musical Spamalot.

Early life and education[link]

Idle was born in South Shields, County Durham (now Tyne and Wear) in Harton Village, the son of Nora Barron (née Sanderson), a health visitor, and Ernest Idle.^[1][2] His father served in the Royal Air Force and survived World War II, only to be killed in a hitch-hiking accident when Idle was only two years old.^[3] His mother had difficulty coping with a full-time job and raising a child, so when Idle was seven, she enrolled him into the Royal Wolverhampton School as a boarder. At this time the school was a charitable foundation dedicated to the education and maintenance of children who had lost one or both parents.^[4] Idle is quoted as saying: "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."^[4]

Idle stated that the two things that made his life bearable were listening to Radio Luxembourg under the bedclothes and watching the local football team, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite this, he disliked other sports and would sneak out of school every Thursday afternoon to the local cinema. Idle was eventually caught watching the X-rated film BUtterfield 8 and stripped of his prefecture, even 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.^[4] Idle maintains that there was little to do at the school and boredom drove him to study hard, and consequently won a place at Cambridge University.^[4]

Career[link]

Pre-Python career (1965–1969)[link]

Idle attended Pembroke College at 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.

Idle started at Cambridge a year after his future Pythons fellows Graham Chapman and John Cleese. He became Footlights President in 1965 and was the first to allow women to join the club. Idle starred in the children's television comedy series Do Not Adjust Your Set co-starring his future Python fellows Terry Jones and Michael Palin (who were both former Oxford University students). Terry Gilliam provided animations for the show. Other members of the cast were comic actors David Jason and Denise Coffey.

Monty Python (1969–1983)[link]

Idle wrote for Monty Python mostly by himself, at his own pace, although he sometimes found it difficult in having to present material to the others and make it seem funny without the back-up support of a partner. John Cleese, another member of The Python Group, admitted that this was slightly unfair – when the team voted on which sketches should appear in a show, “he only got one vote” – but 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."

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. Additionally, like Palin, 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 organized crime master Dinsdale Piranha nailed his head to the floor.

As the second-youngest member of the group (just over a month older than Palin), Idle was closest in spirit to the students and 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 characterized by double entendre, sexual references, and other "naughty" subject matter – most famously demonstrated in "Nudge Nudge." Eric Idle originally wrote "Nudge, Nudge" for Ronnie Barker, but it was rejected because there was 'no joke in the words'.^[6]

A competent 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. He was responsible for the "Galaxy Song" from The Meaning of Life and (with Cleese) "Eric the Half-a-Bee", a whimsical tune that first appeared on the Monty Python's Previous Record album.

[edit] Post-Python career (1983–present)

After Python ceased to exist as a regularly active ensemble in the early 1980s, 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, with himself playing nearly all the multi-tracked parts.

On television, Idle created Rutland Weekend Television (RWT), a sketch show on BBC2, written by himself, 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 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, and 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, as 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. Actors appearing in the film included Saturday Night Live's John Belushi, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner, as well as George Harrison and Mick Jagger. Idle wrote and directed The Rutles comeback in 2008 for a live show Rutlemania! to celebrate the 30th anniversary.^[7] The performances took place in Los Angeles and New York with a Beatles tribute band.^[8]

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 movie 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. 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 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 movie Splitting Heirs (1993), a comedy he wrote, starred in and executive-produced – were mostly unsuccessful with critics and audiences.

In 1994, he 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 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 second (and controversial) version of the Journey Into Imagination ride at Epcot, replacing Figment and Dreamfinder as the host. Due to an outcry from Disney fans, Figment was reinstated into the ride. Idle is also writer and star of the 3-D film film Pirates – 4D for Busch Entertainment Corporation.

In 1995, he 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, 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 (see Criticism). That same year, he also provided the voice of Devon, a dragon, in Warner Bros. Animated film Quest for Camelot and as Slyly the albino arctic fox in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie.

In recent years, Idle has worked with people who regard him as a huge inspiration, such as Trey Parker and Matt Stone in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, in which he voiced Dr. Vosknocker. He has also made three appearances on The Simpsons as famous documentarian Declan Desmond, so far the only appearance on the show by a Python. From 1999 to 2000, he played Ian Maxtone-Graham on the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan. He has also acted as Narrator to the AudioNovel version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and Waddlesworth the parrot in 102 Dalmatians and the video game of the same name.

In late 2003, Idle began a performing tour of several American and Canadian cities entitled The Greedy Bastard Tour. The stage performances consisted largely of music from Monty Python episodes and movies, 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.

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. Spamalot features a book and lyrics by Eric Idle, music by Idle and John Du Prez, direction by Mike Nichols, and choreography by Casey Nicholaw.^[9]

More recently, 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.

Idle's play What About Dick? was given a staged reading at two public performances 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.^[10]

Other credits[link]

Writing[link]

Idle has written several books, both fiction and non-fiction. His novels are Hello Sailor and The Road to Mars. In 1976, he produced a spin-off book to Rutland Weekend Television, entitled The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book. 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.

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.

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

An example of Idle's idiosyncratic writing is "Ants In Their Pants" – a poem about the sex life of ants. It starts as follows:

'Where does an ant get its rocks off?

How does the ant get it on?

Do ants have it away, say three times a day,

Is it once a week sex, or p'raps none?'

Bibliography[link]

• Hello Sailor, novel, 1975  ISBN 0-297-76929-4
• The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book, 1976  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  ISBN 0-7871-1042-6
• The Road to Mars, novel, 1998  ISBN 0-7522-2414-X (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
• Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), co-written, play/musical parody of Monty Python's Life of Brian

Songwriting[link]

Idle is an accomplished songwriter, having composed and performed many of the Pythons' most famous comic pieces, including "Eric the Half-a-Bee", "The Philosophers' Song", "Galaxy Song", "Penis Song (Not the Noel Coward 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 funeral.

In 1990, Idle sang and co-wrote the theme tune to the popular British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The song was later released, but 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 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. He recorded a special version of the song 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. Idle presented Mayo with a model human foot, akin to the one used in the Monty Python title sequence, as a thank you gift for promoting the song.

In 2004, Idle recorded a protest song of sorts, the "FCC Song", in which he lambastes the US Federal Communications Commission for fining him $5,000 for saying the word "fuck" on national radio. Fittingly, the short song contains 14 uses of that expletive. The song can be downloaded in MP3 and OGG Vorbis format at the Internet Archive.^[11]

In 2004, the musical comedy Spamalot debuted in Chicago and opened in New York's Shubert Theatre on 14 February 2005. 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).

He wrote, produced and performed the song "Really Nice Day" for the movie The Wild.^[12]

In June 2007, "Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)", a comic oratorio by Idle and John Du Prez premiered at the inaugural Luminato arts festival in Toronto. Idle himself performed during this 50-minute oratorio, along with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. The composer, John 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.^[13] A tour during the summer of 2008 included performances with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia, and Houston.^[14][15][16]

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.

Tributes[link]

• An asteroid, 9620 Ericidle, is named in his honour.^[17]
• Idle was voted the 21st favourite comedian out of 50 in The Comedian's Comedian 2005 poll by comedians and comedy insiders.^[18]

Family[link]

Eric Idle married Lyn Ashley, an Australian, in 1969. Ashley occasionally appeared in small roles on Monty Python's Flying Circus, where she was credited as "Mrs Idle". They divorced in 1975. They have one son, Carey, born in 1973.

Idle married his current wife, Tania Kosevich, an American, in 1981. They have one daughter, Lily, born in 1990. Idle has resided in Los Angeles since the early 1990s.

Criticism[link]

In recent years Idle has been criticised for commercialising the legacy of Monty Python. In Slate, Sam Anderson wrote in the article "And Now For Something Completely Deficient" that though Idle "has earned a spot in Comedy Heaven for his Python days... his jokey 'exposure' of his own exploitation (he has called tours 'Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python' and 'The Greedy Bastard Tour') is more irritating than funny." Of Spamalot, Anderson opined that "Python was formed in reaction to exactly the kind of lazy comedy represented by Spamalot – what Michael Palin once described as the 'easy, catch-phrase reaction' the members had all been forced to pander to in their previous writing jobs".^[19]

Spamalot had mixed reactions from other Python members. John Cleese lent his support by voicing God in a recorded performance that was integrated into the musical. Michael Palin observed: "It's a great show. It's not ‘Python’ as we would have written it. But then, none of us would get together and write a ‘Python’ stage show."^[20] Terry Gilliam had a mixed reaction to the show, calling it "Python-like".^[21] Terry Jones described it as "utterly pointless and full of air".^[22][23]

In 1998, Idle appeared in the lead role in the film Burn Hollywood Burn. The film was nominated as 'Worst Picture of the Decade' in the Golden Raspberry Awards (known as the Razzies) – and was awarded five Razzies including 'Worst Picture of the Year'.

In 2000 The AV Club gave the album Eric Idle Sings Monty Python: Live In Concert the title of 'Least Essential Solo Album' of the year.^[24]

There has also been criticism of Idle from the other Rutles, who reunited for the Archaeology album in the mid-1990s without him. On the Channel 4 programme What The Pythons Did Next, Rutles drummer John Halsey (aka "Barry Wom") said that he had to switch off Idle's The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch after ten minutes. Neil Innes was more diplomatic on the same show, saying "we used to think he had delusions of grandeur, now we know it's only grandeur".^[25]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Eric Idle

• PythOnline
• Eric Idle singing his "FCC Song" in MP3 format from Archive.org
• Eric Idle – BBC Guide to Comedy
• Eric Idle – Comedy Zone
• Eric Idle at the Internet Movie Database
• Eric Idle at the Internet Broadway Database
• Eric Idle at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Eric Idle at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• My Girl Herbert – 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)