Eric Idle has opened up on how one unlikely music legend saved Monty Python when all hope seemed lost.
Idle – alongside John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, and Sir Michael Palin – founded the comedy troupe in 1969, which came to prominence with sketch show Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Live shows, books, albums, musicals, and hit films followed, including Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and The Meaning of Life.
Despite the success of 1975’s Holy Grail, Life of Brian almost never came to be, with funding issues befalling the project.
That’s when The Beatles star George Harrison came in, with the musician giving the group around $4.5 million (£3.3M) to make the film a reality.
‘For a while, we had no money. Lew Grade read it and just went nuts. He said, we can’t possibly make this. I went to America to find money,’ Idle told Big Issue, The Standard reported.
‘I had been talking to George Harrison, who was a huge fan, and he said, “I’ll phone you in the morning, don’t worry.” And I thought, well, nobody’s got $4.5million (£3.3m).’
But when everybody had turned them down, Harrison called Idle to let him know he had obtained the money for them.
‘He had mortgaged his house and his business and raised the cash and put it all on a Python film. The most extraordinary thing to do,’ he continued.
It’s not the first hurdle that Life of Brian faced, a film which follows the titular Brian, who just so happens to be born in a stable on the same night as Jesus Christ.
It was immediately labelled blasphemous, both for its portrayal of Christianity as well as its shocking final scenes, which see Brian crucified, something many said ‘mocked Jesus’ suffering’.
It was banned in Norway and Ireland, and screenings were stopped in some parts of the UK.
Life of Brian continues to cause controversy due to its themes today, as well as transgender jokes that have become subject to furious debates.
Idle’s comments come after he revealed he went to hospital ‘twice in three days’ last month after an unexpected health scare.
He wrote on X: ‘I’d like to thank all the doctors, nurses and staff in the Cedars GI ward for their kindness and help to me today. The second time in three days.’
Eric is currently based in Los Angeles, California, and he thanked the hospital staff at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre before revealing the extent of his current health problems.
‘I think I’m suffering from gastroenteritis,’ he tweeted, before signing off with a message for his fans who were worried about him: ‘I love you people.’
Last year, the comedian said that he probably ‘shouldn’t be alive’ after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019, which left him needing surgery.
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