Eric Idle in Auckland

Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, writer and songwriter, born in South Shields in 1943. He is best known as a member of Monty Python and for films including Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. He wrote “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” and adapted the troupe’s Arthurian comedy into the stage musical Spamalot. Monty Python performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 1980, where Idle appeared in sketches and sang his comic songs. In 2007 he performed in the Toronto premiere of Not the Messiah, the comic oratorio he wrote with John Du Prez; the work was later presented at the Royal Albert Hall in 2009. Idle reunited with the surviving Python members for Monty Python Live (Mostly), their 2014 run at The O2 in London.