Cinematic Eric

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Since then, Eric hasn't been seen in any hit films - but he has been heard in some big box-office successes. He provided the voice of Dr Vosknocker in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) and that of Waddlesworth in 102 Dalmatians (2000), and featured as the Narrator in Ella Enchanted (2004).

Eric by the book

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In October 2003 Eric began a lengthy series of live shows in venues around the United States, and wrote an online tour diary that was regularly uploaded to the Pythonline website. In 2005, those thoughts from the road were published in a book whose irreverent name was derived from that of the tour: The Greedy Bastard Diary - A Comic Tour Of America.

Eric stage by stage

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Idle’s greatest stage success came in 2005 with the Broadway triumph of Monty Python’s Spamalot, a musical adapted – or ‘lovingly ripped off’, as the posters put it – from the movie Monty Python And The Holy Grail. Eric had long wanted to revive the Holy Grail concept, and tried to persuade the surviving Pythons to make a new film based on the later adventures of some of the characters from Holy Grail. But John Cleese could not be convinced that the new movie would work, and so Eric decided to turn the Grail into a stage show instead.

Idle wrote the script and wrote some new songs with help from his long-time musical collaborator John Du Prez. Cleese also contributed, recording the 'Voice of God' heard in the show. The show features some old Python songs alongside the new Idle-Du Prez numbers: ‘Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life’, ‘Finland’ and ‘Knights Of The Round Table’ are all included.

The first public performances of Spamalot came in the form of previews at the Chicago Shubert Theatre in December 2004. After great success there, the show then transferred to Broadway, with the five surviving Pythons reuniting for the Broadway premiere in March 2005 and joining the regular cast on stage for the finale of 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life'. The show enjoyed huge commercial success and critical acclaim, collecting three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.