Top 10 Eric Idle Monty Python Moments
#10: Michelangelo’s Last Supper
“Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl” (1982)
As you may be aware, “The Last Supper” is one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings. On this live sketch, the Pythons explore why Michelangelo wasn’t hired for the job. The sketch was written by Cleese, but for the “Hollywood Bowl,” Idle hilariously played the painter. It’s fascinatingly inspired by a true story, which surrounded painter Paolo Veronese (pa-olo varan-eas-ay) rather than Michelangelo. In the 16th century, he painted “The Feast in the House of Levi”, which was meant to be of Jesus’ last supper. Catholics got quite upset at it, however, since he included a plethora of whimsical characters like jesters, drunkards, soldiers, et cetera. As such, it was renamed instead of altered.
#9: Man Who Speaks in Anagrams
“Monty Python’s Flying Circus” (1969-74)
Our next entry comes from the comical garden show “Blood, Devastation, Death, War, and Horror”, the theme of a “Flying Circus” episode. They interview Idle, playing a character who only speaks in anagrams. It’s classic Python humor, with Idle spouting utter nonsense while the pair maintain remarkably straight faces. Eventually, Idle accidentally utters a spoonerism, a total embarrassment, and he walks straight off. This is also a great example of how much the Pythons struggled to end sketches, so they’d come up with wacky and abrupt ways to get it over and done with.
#8: Not the Noel Coward Song
“Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life” (1983)
Few can forget the wafer-thin mint sketch in “The Meaning of Life”; it’s easily one of their most iconic bits. One of the more underrated parts of the sketch is the innuendo-filled song that Idle starts the scene with. It’s an imitation of old-fashioned Noel Coward-style lounge musicians, except way ruder. It comes completely out of nowhere, like most of the silliness in this film. The skit is an excellent example of how much charm Idle and his songs brought to the troupe. It’s wonderfully witty but also incredibly childish at the same time.
#7: “Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy)” (2007)
It’s no secret that Idle was the most musically inclined Python. Idle’s so talented, he composed an oratorio of their iconic film “Life of Brian”. It was first performed in 2007 and became an instant classic. It went down so well, in 2009 Idle got four of the remaining Pythons on board to perform the musical at the Royal Albert Hall. This version’s now on DVD, so you don’t have to wait for a performance in your area. It’s a cherished production among Python fans, so if you haven’t seen it already, we can’t recommend it enough.
#6: Travel Agent Sketch
“Monty Python’s Flying Circus” (1969-74)
This next sketch was an absolute side splitter. Idle takes on the role of Mr Smoke-Too-Much, a hilariously annoying character who simply wants to book a trip to India. It’s another testament to Idle’s talents, the way he keeps a straight face while playing an exceptionally wacky character. Even Palin, playing the travel agent, has a grin on his face the whole sketch. That’s until his character gets increasingly annoyed and calls the police. One of the most impressive parts is how well Idle memorised such a ridiculously huge script, unless he was just improvising, but both take major talent.
#5: “Spamalot” (2004)
We’ve already mentioned the “Life of Brian” musical, but did you know Idle also turned “The Holy Grail” into a musical 3 years earlier? It was called “Spamalot”, and its initial run accumulated $168 million in revenue. The original production even featured the titan of cinema, Tim Curry, as the main character, King Arthur. It’s since become one of only eight musicals the Royal Mail has featured on stamps. Interestingly, it briefly held a world record for the “World’s Largest Coconut Orchestra”, involving 1,789 people. It was broken a year later by the cast, who got 5,877 people involved in Trafalgar Square.
#4: Sir Robin
“Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975)
It’s hard to just pick one iconic Idle moment from “The Holy Grail”. He played the Brave Sir Robin, notably Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot. Robin is surprisingly the only Arthurian knight invented for the film, with the rest all being from folklore. Despite his name, he’s not brave at all. Eventually, when he tries to prove his bravery at the Bridge of Death, he gets hilariously thrown into the Gorge of Eternal Peril. Other iconic moments of his include fleeing from the Three-Headed Giant and getting constantly berated by his minstrels. It’s not hard to imagine Idle came up with that himself.
#3: “Galaxy Song”
“Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life” (1983)
It’s nigh on impossible to discuss Idle’s greatest works without mentioning his music. For “The Meaning of Life”, he wrote a plethora of iconic tracks like “Every Sperm Is Sacred”. Our favorite is easily “Galaxy Song.” It begins with Idle mysteriously popping out of a fridge, in a super snazzy outfit. It was so adored that it’s since been remade multiple times. The figures he states are surprisingly accurate as well, but not entirely so. This led to the inclusion of a segment in “Monty Python Live (Mostly)” where Stephen Hawking details the song's various inaccuracies. It was also Cleese’s favorite song of Idle’s, and it’s easy to see why.
#2: Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink
“Monty Python’s Flying Circus” (1969-74)
The phrase “nudge nudge, wink wink” has become ingrained in British pop culture history. It was the final sketch of “Flying Circus”’s third episode, and instantly became a classic. Idle wrote it himself and played the lead character, sometimes called “Arthur Nudge”. Hilariously, it’s one of the only sketches that has an actual punchline, rather than just ending abruptly and bizarrely. It’s since reappeared in both “And Now For Something Completely Different” and numerous live shows. It’s surprising to learn it was originally written for Ronnie Barker, but he rejected it; thus, the Pythons became the lucky ones to bring it to life. According to Idle, even Elvis Presley was a fan.
#1: “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (1979)
“Monty Python’s Life of Brian” (1979)
No one should be surprised at what’s taking our top spot, it’s not only Idle’s most successful song, but it’s one of the most famous movie tracks ever made. It’s entirely ingrained in culture across the globe. Even people who have never seen a Python film are fans of the tune. It reached number 3 on the charts in 1991, and Idle even played it at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. This makes it surprising when you learn it took fellow troupe members a while to warm up to the tracks. When Chapman died, the remaining Pythons sang it at his public memorial, giving him a heartfelt send-off worthy of one of Britain’s kings of comedy.
What’s your favorite Eric Idle song or sketch? Let us know in the comments below!
