In His 'Sortabiography,' Monty Python's Eric Idle Reflects On The Meaning Of Life
This hour originally aired Dec. 18, 2018.
Monty Python’s Eric Idle is still “Always Looking on the Bright Side of Life.” He’s out with a “sortabiography” and joins us.
Guests
Eric Idle, comedian, actor, writer and singer-songwriter. Member of Monty Python, the comedy group that created “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Author of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography.” (@EricIdle)
Interview Highlights
On the joy of making people laugh
“It’s quite something to be out there looking for love and affection from a lot of strangers in a dark room. Thriving on a laugh is a vital spark; I think you become kind of a laugh junkie. You need that. You go for that big belter. I certainly like that; it’s a reaffirmation. I’ve just been on a book tour of three different countries, and each time, you want those laughs.”
How would you describe Monty Python’s humor?
“I think it’s kind of an encyclopedic comedy; it only appears to be one show. Each of us write differently, and it’s all apparently linked together by these little animations of [Terry] Gilliam’s, so it makes it look like it’s about something. But really, there’s many different forms of humor. So while we’d often find people would enjoy it, we could never find
