Eric Idle Says He’s Not “Loaded” from Monty Python
Eric Idle has set the record straight for anyone who thought he had a cushy life from his earnings as a member of Monty Python, saying that he still has to work for a living.
“I don’t know why people always assume we’re loaded. Python is a disaster,” the 80-year-old actor and comedian wrote on Twitter. “Spamalot made money 20 years ago. I have to work for my living. Not easy at this age.”
Later on, Idle clarified that though the British comedy troupe owns “everything” they ever made as part of the group, changes to royalty distribution — and what he sees as mismanagement of the company — have made a drastic impact on their earnings.
“I never dreamed that at this age the income streams would tail off so disastrously,” he wrote. “But I guess if you put a Gilliam child in as your manager you should not be so surprised. One Gilliam is bad enough. Two can take out any company.”
For context, Holly Gilliam, the daughter of Python member Terry Gilliam, took on a management role with the comedy group in 2013.
Get Spamalot Here
Idle also shared that he thinks of Python as a “very unique group” that worked well together, but clashed on a personal level. “I think of us as an ex Liverpool team. We played together well,” he said. “But it was never very supportive of people’s feelings and emotions. Not Brothers. Colleagues.”
He went on to say he hasn’t seen follow member John Cleese in “seven years,” and wrote, “No thanks” in reply to a fan who suggested they “get the band back together for some fun and antics.”
Idle was a Python original alongside Graham Chapman, Cleese, Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Following the breakout success of their sketch comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the collective went on to make a series of movies including Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.
Last fall, the Idle-written musical Monty Python’s Spamalot returned to Broadway for the first time in 14 years. Get your seats here.
I don’t know why people always assume we’re loaded. Python is a disaster. Spamalot made money 20 years ago. I have to work for my living. Not easy at this age. https://t.co/nFDbV9BOfC
— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) February 9, 2024
We own everything we ever made in Python and I never dreamed that at this age the income streams would tail off so disastrously. But I guess if you put a Gilliam child in as your manager you should not be so surprised. One Gilliam is bad enough. Two can take out any company. https://t.co/J5tQauTH2D
— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) February 10, 2024
I dont mind not being wealthy. I prefer being funny.
I don’t like being assumed to be wealthy. It’s different.
I think Python was Executive free comedy. https://t.co/Ke6cq58etv— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) February 11, 2024
A fool and his money are easily parted. Imagine how quickly a group can do it… https://t.co/sGSm07nDqS
— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) February 11, 2024
I still love and am proud of what we did as Python. It was a very unique group. I think of us as an ex Liverpool team. We played together well. Way back in the day. But it was never very supportive of people’s feelings and emotions. Not Brothers. Colleagues. https://t.co/Cyhr9Da0g1
— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) February 11, 2024
I haven’t seen Cleese for seven years. https://t.co/5x86u3trRI
— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) February 12, 2024
No thanks. https://t.co/VHHbsrgr3u
— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) February 12, 2024
