The first night of the Saratoga Book Festival rolled into town on Thursday, October 1. Spearheaded by the Friends of the Saratoga Spring Public Library, venues throughout downtown Saratoga will be hosting a trove of events, and boasting presenters such as Joan Lunden, Julia Alvarez, Chris Bohjalian, John Searles, and the subject of the sold-out performance that opening night- the legendary Eric Idle.
Held in the uniquely fantastic Universal Preservation Hall—the former 19th Century Gothic Methodist Church of Saratoga— actor and comedy icon Eric Idle, most well known as one of the founders of the Monty Python sketch troupe, discussed his new memoir, “Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme,” a comedic chronicle discussing a ramshackle house, located in Southeastern France in 1971, that he purchased, and the restoration of it over the past 55 years. His book weaves the restoration of his “Shackeau” throughout his illustrious career as an ever-present part of his life, and tells the tales of famous friends visiting and enjoying the anonymity that came along with it.
Coming out to the stage to a standing ovation at the sold-out hall, Idle mentioned that he was appreciative of Saratoga simply for being the birthplace of David Hyde Pierce, who portrayed Sir Robin in the Broadway smash “Spamalot.” He immediately went on to explain the crux of the book and the origin of its purchase in 1971, during the first couple of seasons of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.” He went further into the early days of that sketch show, and he remains surprised by its longevity 55 years in. He explained how fortunate the cast was to have had a show that aired at 10:30 pm on a Sunday night on the BBC, and the freedom they were allotted to be on during those late hours. “Flying Circus” yielded sketches that became famous in Britain six years prior to Saturday Night Live using that same model. And with the records released of their sketches, it was able to reach a global audience, including the United States. But as Idle noted, Canada embraced them first. That part of the conversation concluded with a humorous story of how the Monty Python cast toured Canada from Toronto to Vancouver in 1973 (under the moniker of “The First Farewell Tour of Canada ”). After Vancouver, they went to L.A. to debut on The Tonight Show. Idle explained that the American audience did not understand their humor at all, so they hurried their act and immediately ran outside to laugh on the lot because of how terribly they bombed.
The conversation shifted back to his French home and the renovations throughout the ’70s. He then started to talk about the celebrities that visited over the decades—many of whom are shown in color images within the book. He was asked who his most famous visitor was, and he responded with Robin Williams. Idle discussed that the location of the French house was ideal for people of note, as their celebrity may not have traveled to this region in those days. Williams first visited during his days on Mork & Mindy, and in America at the time, Williams couldn’t go anywhere without someone saying “Nanu Nanu” to him. But in Provence, the comics would go out to a dance club, and neither would be noticed. Williams even jumped on a table and said “Hey everyone, I’m Mork!” to a slew of startled faces, Idle recounted.
Other celebrities to have visited over the years ranged from Paul Simon, Penny Marshall, Art Garfunkel, and recently, Puddles Pity Party. But it was the stories involving George Harrison that were most fascinating. After explaining how the two sparked an immediate friendship after the Beatle tapped him on the shoulder to meet him at an event, their admiration for each other’s groups (Idle quipped, “I asked him about his John, and he asked me about my John,” obviously referring to Lennon and Cleese, respectively). He then told the story about how he told Harrison that Python were in need of financial assistance to fund 1979’s “Life of Brian” and that Harrison would do what he could to help. Not long after, Harrison told Idle that he got the money, and Idle asked how. Harrison re-mortgaged his house to the tune of 4.5 million dollars to assist them. Idle said, “Why did you do that?” and Harrison replied, “I wanted to see a movie!” Idle closed that bit by saying that still ranks as the most amount of money anyone ever spent on a movie ticket.
As the hour-long session came to a close, Idle briefly told stories about his four times hosting the early days of Saturday Night Live, as well as his memorable role in “National Lampoon’s European Vacation,” before the moderator mentioned that Idle wanted to sing a song to the crowd. The joyously entertained crowd sang along with him as Idle played to a backing track, the iconic “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” which he penned for “Life of Brian.” An honor for those fortunate enough to be in the lovely Universal Preservation Hall.
The seemingly too-short event made us realize that we were in the presence of greatness. And the ambiance of the church was wonderfully fitting, almost in a Monty Python-esque way, especially knowing that the song that we sang in unison, on film, was sung and whistled optimistically by the cast being crucified in the desert sun, which, of course, was famously controversial. One couldn’t ask for a better backdrop.
Saratoga Book Festival information can be found here.
Universal Preservation Hall information can be found here.
Signed copies of the book are available here.
