Biography

Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, playwright, director, and songwriter. co-creator of Monty Python on TV, stage, and five films, including The Life of Brian and The Holy Grail, which he later adapted for the stage with John Du Prez as Monty Python's Spamalot, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005, a Grammy, a Drama Desk Award, and playing for almost five years on Broadway. They also wrote the comic oratorio Not the Messiah, He's a Very Naughty Boy, in 2007, which played round the world and at The Hollywood Bowl and was filmed live at The Royal Albert Hall, and a musical play What About Dick? available soon on iTunes. He created and directed the first mockumentary The Rutles for NBC, starred as Ko-Ko in the English National Opera version of The Mikado in London and Houston, and appeared last year in The Pirates of Penzance in Central Park and in Not the Messiah at Carnegie Hall. He is also one of the conceivers of the musical Seussical. In 2012 he appeared live in front of a billion people worldwide singing his song Always Look on the Bright Side of Life at the Closing Ceremony of the London Olympics. Last year he created, directed, and appeared in the sold-out final Monty Python reunion show One Down Five to Go at London's O2 Arena for 10 nights, whose final performance was broadcast live round the world.

He has also acted in several movies, including Nuns on the Run, Splitting Heirs, Casper, Shrek the Third, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; and written two novels, The Greedy Bastard Diary and Pass the Butler, a West End play.
- IMDb mini biography by: PythonProfessor

Eric was born at at Harton Hospital, South Shields which was where his mother was born . Despite the majority of his childhood being spent in the Midlands where. when he was 7. his mother enrolled him at the Royal Wolverhampton School as a boarder he has always considered himself to be a Geordie even now when he now lives in Los Angeles near writer Ian Le Frenais who wrote Auf Wierdensen Pet. His mother's family had sweet shops in South Shields while his father's side of the family were dentists Another side were in the circus and treated him like royalty and more so when the Pythons made the Flying Circus. He and John Du Prez who had been writing songs for about 30 years without being taken seriously did a musical which took Broadway by storm and won Best Musical at the 2005 Tony Awards
- IMDb mini biography by: Tonyman 5

After leaving Cambridge as president of the Footlights in 1965 he began to write professionally for radio's I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again before moving to TV writing for The Frost Report, Marty Feldman and The Two Ronnies then writing and performing Do Not Adjust Your Set for Thames which led to the tv series Monty Python's Flying Circus, a series of Python films, books and CD's. He's been in many films including The Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Nuns on the Run, Splitting Heirs (which he also wrote and produced) and Casper the Friendly Ghost. He's had his own tv series, Rutland Weekend Television, a play in the West End (Pass the Butler) a hit song at the top of the charts (Always Look on the Bright Side of Life) played Ko-Ko in The Mikado at the English National Opera and the Grand Opera, Houston, hosted Saturday Night Live 4 times and guest starred twice. He wrote and directed the Beatles parody The Ruttles in All You Need is Cash for NBC and the premiere episode of Faerie Tale Theatre (The Frog Prince} starring Robin Williams and Terri Garr and played The Pied Piper for the same series and was Passepartout in Around the World in Eighty Days for NBC.Hewrote and sang the theme tune for the BBC series One Foot in the Grave and is president of Prominent Features. He has an American wife , a young daughter and an older son. He plays the guitar and is crazy about football. and has acted in some 17 films including The Meaning of Life (1983) which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
- IMDb mini biography by: Tonyman 5

While being best known for his work on television he's also done quite a bit of work in the theatre which includes appearances at the Edinburgh Festival in 1963 and 64. He's also been in quite a few films including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Nuns on the Run Splitting Heirs, which he also wrote and produced, and Casper the Friendly Ghost. Prior to all that he'd been at Cambridge University where he was president of The Footlights in 1965 after which he wrote for the radio series I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again. He then moved into television where he had his own series, (Rutland Weekend Television) which was followed by a book.(Rutland Dirty Weekend) a play in London's West End, Pass the Butler which ran for 5 months, a hit song, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life and played Ko-Ko in Jonathan Miller's Mikado for the English National Opera and the Grand Opera, Houston. He also hosted Saturday Night Live four times and guest starred twice. In addition he wrote and directed the Beatles parody The Ruttles and wrote and directed the premiere episode of Faerie Tale Theatre (The Frog Prince) starring Robin Williams and Teri Garr and appeared as Passepartout to Piers Brosnan's Phileas Fogg in NBC's Around the World in Eighty Days and wrote and sang the theme tune for the BBC's tv series One Foot in the Grave on top of which he is President of Prominent Features. He also played Ratty in Terrry Jones' production of Wind in the Willows. He is President of Prominent Features, has an American wife a 24 year old son and a 7 year old daughter.. He plays guitar, chess and is silly about football
- IMDb mini biography by: Tonyman 5