Interview: Eric Idle on His Spamalot Diaries, Why the Pythons Stopped the Remake, and Surviving Pancreatic Cancer

Eric Idle first discovered the book while he and his wife were going through a process he called “Downsize Abbey” — that is to say, they were moving house and cleaning up clutter. There, before his very eyes, was a diary he kept 20 years ago that detailed, in all the pain and glory, the creation process of Monty Python’s Spamalot.

Spamalot, with a cast led by Tim Curry, David Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria, and Sara Ramirez (not to mention Michael McGrath, Christopher Sieber, and Steve Rosen), was an instant smash on Broadway, winning Best Musical and Best Director for Mike Nichols, and serving as our industry’s introduction to choreographer Casey Nicholaw. Idle’s book, adapted from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, has songs he wrote with John Du Prez that hold up even now, as the recent Broadway revival proved.

But Idle is clear to point out that it wasn’t always smooth sailing. And in The Spamalot Diaries, available beginning October 8 from Penguin Random House, he shows us how a hit Broadway show came to be.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

When you rediscovered your diary and read it back, what did you think about it?
I’d completely forgotten I kept a diary during that time. Mike Nichols was always a bit anxious about people keeping diaries, and I think I kept it, and then didn’t tell him, and then I forgot about it.

I never have any clue [if it’s good] when I’m reading my own work back, so I gave it to Puddles the Clown‘s wife, who is a very good reader, and she couldn’t put it down. Then I gave it to my wife, who’s even harder to get to read my work, and she said, “I can’t talk to you, I’ve got to go back and finish the book.” And I think it’s because you don’t know what’s going to happen. It tells the story rather nicely in a way that you wouldn’t normally get in any form except a diary.

And it lets you see people like Mike from a totally different vantage point than when you were watching the show, or any of his great works.
We were friends going in for 15 years. I took a risk here because I could have cut our row, but I think it’s very important for people to understand that you can love somebody and be friendly and row like fuck, and still get together and agree and make things happen. It doesn’t all happen wonderfully; it’s the theater. I had to leave all that in because that’s the truth of the matter.

I sent it to Mike’s widow first, to see if there would be a problem, and she said she cried. That’s also what everybody I’ve sent it to from the show said. They all cried all the way through, from the producer to the cast to Casey Nicholaw. I expected people in that world who were really on the journey to like it, but I was amazed at how people who don’t know anything about theater or the making of things were intrigued by it.

What did you learn about writing as you transformed the movie into a stage musical?
Everything about the whole process was a learning experience. I had done the treatment for Seussical, and I watched it fail. They got rid of me doing the book and I thought “You missed out on the comedy.” You only learn from the mistakes, really.

I learned particularly from Casey about the role and importance of dancing and song in a musical, and from Mike, the three most important things were “play, play, play.” You couldn’t get better mentors.

What was your favorite memory to re-encounter while you were rereading the diary?
Just taking it to the audience for the first time. I remember sitting next to Mike, who was very, very worried about — he always incorrectly called it “The Jew Song.” And David Hyde Pierce did that line and the audience exploded with laughter. Mike was concerned. He had two goys working on either side of him and he was going to carry the can. I loved seeing that again on Broadway last year, when all the people were out marching in the streets for Hamas and all that shite. It worked even better, actually, at that particular time.

The revival of Spamalot last year really did feel like revisiting an old friend.
It made me cry. To have it open on Broadway twice in your lifetime is beyond fabulous. It really was a treat. I’m happy to say that they’re taking the production on tour next year. It is like going to see an old friend for me. We saw it again four months [after opening] because we missed the show so much. I wanted to see Michael Urie and Taran Killam, as they were both so wonderful. I thought the cast was spectacular. I love them all.

I guess after all these years, the movie of the musical is off the table?
Put down by the Pythons, I’m afraid. Casey worked five years on it for no money whatsoever and he did a brilliant job. Maybe one day, you never know. But I felt very bad for him because it was always our intention that Mike would produce, I would write, and Casey would direct. I was dealing with people who didn’t really want it made, and there were all sorts of internal problems. I thought they were behaved badly, and it was a pity that it didn’t get made. Although it was a great delight for me because it brought it back to the theater, where I love it more.

What I didn’t know until I read the book was that you had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer five years ago. Can you talk about that?
I was very fortunate. I had a great doctor who spotted it early, and because I was in the early percentile, he got me operated on and I was saved. It’s near a main something that spreads it all over, but if you can catch it early, they can get it. I don’t know whether you heard this story…

No.
I mean, I was writing a thing called Death the Musical for many, many years, and if you ever want to not sell anything, that’s the best title, but I am a bit persistent in these idiot things. So, I thought “Wouldn’t it be funny if the guy [in the show] writing Death the Musical discovers that he’s dying while putting it on?” I went to my doctor and I said ,”What’s the quickest way to kill off a character?” and he said “Oh, pancreatic cancer, every time. You can be gone in three weeks.” I said “Oh, great. That’s wonderful.” And then the same guy, 12 years later, we’re looking at a screen and I say, “What’s that?” and he says, “Pancreatic cancer.” I thought, “This is hilarious.”

As the patient, you don’t have much to do except lie there and take the drugs. It’s more like the ’60s than anything else.

Are you ok now?
I’m very ok. I’ve had five years. They promised me 10, at least the last time I asked him. He’s a great doctor. He does preventative medicine, so every year he does you blood, he does all the things. He noticed this high value blood test and then insisted I have an MRI. I’m really lucky.

Did it make you look at the meaning of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” in a different way?
I think that song is always ironic; people tend to forget that it is sung while being crucified [in Life of Brian]. But it certainly very much felt as if I’d have a reprieve, and I wasn’t going to be angry at certain other people all the time anymore. It made me just say “It’s one day at a time.” I learned that from George Harrison. He cheered me up when my first marriage was breaking up by telling me I was going to die, which is good advice. Fuck it. Every day you’re lucky.

What I do like is that it’s the number one song at British funerals. People say, “Our dad would love this,” and I think that’s wonderful.

Just remember that the last laugh is on you.

Idle will discuss the book with comedy writer Alan Zweibel on October 8 at Symphony Space. Click here for more information.