On Oct. 6, Anderson’s Bookshop hosted Eric Idle and Bob Odenkirk at North Central College. Odenkirk, an actor and comedian who is best known as Saul Goodman in “Better Call Saul,” moderated Idle’s event. Idle, a comedian and musician known for his role in “Monty Python,” held the event to promote his book, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, a Sortabiography.”
A long line gathered around the block stretching into Pfeiffer Hall to see them. The proprietor of Anderson’s Books, who noted that Oct. 5 was the 40th anniversary of “Monty Python,” introduced them.
To begin the night, Idle pulled out his small guitar and played an original song about his dislike of selfies.
Following this, they first discussed Idle’s formative years leading up to how he eventually became a writer and entered comedy. Idle’s life growing up during the postwar era for Britain seemed to be a tumultuous one. Somehow, it became fertile ground for humor and creativity.
Later in life, Idle became a part of a kids show with a few of his future Python cohorts. This eventually resulted in the formation of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Odenkirk briefly discussed how much of an impact Idle and the rest of the troupe had on him and others of his generation of comedians.
He then told an anecdote about the record, “The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief,” which had a side with two different grooves. This meant it had two different tracks, starting with the same joke, which would mess with the listener. “Python worked a bit like a good drug does,” Odenkirk said, “There are good drugs!”
Odenkirk then asked about meeting other celebrities, including George Harrison of the Beatles. They had met at a screening of “Monty Python’s Holy Grail” in Los Angeles, with Harrison tapping him on the shoulder. They talked all day, according to Idle. “What’s John like? What’s your John like?” Idle said, mimicking a two-sided conversation with Harrison, which drew laughs from the audience.
Moving on from celebrities, Odenkirk mentioned comedians he had met such as fellow British comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. A dinner with Cook and Robin Williams he fondly recalled as a night of “nuclear fusion.”
He talked about working on “Spamalot” with Mike Nichols. He elaborated on how the laughs come because the absurd situations are played straight. As Idle phrased Nichols words, the actors “must take it seriously.”
Kim “Howard” Johnson, a friend of Idle’s and writer of many Python books, was in the audience. He fed a very specific question to Idle, which is how he was found out it was Johnson.
Idle finished the show by singing, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” the classic song from “Monty Python’s The Life of Brian.”
Signed copies of Idle’s book were handed out to the attendance. Other signed copies of books by Idle and Odenkirk were also available for purchase afterward.
