Eric Idle: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

ANU/CANBERRA TIMES MEET THE AUTHOR

The Australian National University is pleased to be hosting Eric Idle, founding member of Monty Python and creator of Spamalot. 

Eric will be in conversation with Alex Sloan on "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". ASortabiography, an entertaining memoir of unparalleled wit and heartfelt candour. In it, Eric reflects on the meaning of his own life in a book that takes us on a remarkable journey from his childhood in an austere boarding school through his successful career in comedy, television, theatre and film. 

Coming of age as a writer and comedian during the Sixties and Seventies, Eric stumbled into the crossroads of the cultural revolution and found himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of George Harrison, David Bowie and Robin Williams, all of whom became lifelong friends. With anecdotes sprinkled throughout involving Mike Nichols, Mick Jagger, Steve Martin, Paul Simon and many more, as well as the Pythons themselves, Eric captures a time of tremendous creative output with equal parts hilarity and heart.

In Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, named after the song he wrote for Life of Brian which has since become the number-one song played at funerals in the UK, he shares the highlights of his life and career with the kind of offbeat humour that has delighted his audiences for five decades. This is a memoir chock-full of behind-the-scenes stories from a high-flying life featuring everyone from Princess Leia to Queen Elizabeth.

Eric Idle is a comedian, actor, author and singer-songwriter and founding member of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Following its success, the Pythons began making films that include Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983). Eric also co- wrote with John Du Prez the award-winning musical Spamalot and Not The Messiah, He's a Very Naughty Boy. In 2012. Eric appeared live in front of a billion people worldwide singing Always Look On the Bright Side of Life at the Closing Ceremony of the London Olympics. In Canberra, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life , will be performed on stage by Eric with a select group of 'Idle Choristers' from the Canberra Choral Society.

Alex Sloan is the 2017 Canberra Citizen of the Year and is one of Canberra's best-known and loved personalities. She retired from the ABC radio after 27 years at the end of 2016 and is a regular conversationalist for ANU meet the author events.

The event will be chaired by ANU Vice-Chancellor and Nobel Prize Winner Professor Brian Schmidt AC.

Ticket price includes a signed copy of Eric's book, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.