Eric Idle

Eric Idle

DOB: March 29, 1943
Where: South Shields, County Durham, England
Education: Pembroke College, Cambridge
Occupation: Actor, author, comedian, singer, writer
Years Active: 1969-present
Noted Work: Monty Python, The Rutles, Spamalot
Website: http://pythononline.com

-English comedian, actor and composer.
-Was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python

Early Life/Education
-Born to Nora Barron, a health visitor, and Ernest Idle. His father served in the Royal Air Force and survived World War II, only to be killed in a hitch hiking accident on Christmas Eve 1945. His mother had problems coping with a full time job and raising a child, so when Idle was 7, he was enrolled in the Royal Wolverhampton School as a boarder.
-According to him, "It was a physically abusive, bullying harsh environment for a kid to grow up in. I got used to dealing with groups of boys and getting on with life in unpleasant circumstances and being smart and funny and subversive at the expense of authority. Perfect training for Python."
-Idle said that 2 things made his life enjoyable. Those were listening to Radio Luxembourg under the bedclothes and watching the local football team, the Wolverhampton Wanderers. Radio Luxembourg was famous then, because now famous British celebrities remember listening to when they grew up during WWII
-He also attended Cambridge University, meaning he is very highly educated

Career
-Idle started at Cambridge a year after future Pythons Graham Chapman and John Cleese. He started the children's TV comedy show Do Not Adjust Your Set, costarring his future Python members Terry Jones and Michael Palin(both of whom are Oxford graduates).

Monty Python's The Life of Brian

Monty Python

Monty Python

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

-Idle wrote Monty Python by himself. The characters end up having verbal strangeness, such as the man who speaks in anagrams, the man who says words in the wrong order, the butcher who goes back and forth between rudeness and politeness every time he speaks.

Monty Python. Playing an upper class "twit"

-He is one of the youngest members of the team- year behind Cleese and Chapman at Cambridge. Idle was closest to the spirit of the students and teens who made up much of Python's fanbase. The sketches on the show dealt with then obsessions, like pop music, sexual permissiveness, recreational drugs. Idle's characters often include double entendre, sexual references, and other things considered bad.

-On Saturday Night Live, he and a bunch of guys created a parody of The Beatles called The Rutles. They even made a movie of it, called All You Need is Cash, a parody of the song All You Need is Love. It was a collaboration of Python members and Saturday Night Live hosts and crew. Actors appearing in the film included John Belushi, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner, and also musicians like George Harrison and Mick Jagger.

-When it came to movies, he appeared in various movies over the years. Like Terry Gilliams 1989 movie The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the 1990 movie Nuns on the Run alongside Robbie Coltrane, Casper(1995).
-He also appeared on 3 episodes of The Simpsons, as a famous documentarian named Declan Desmond.
-In the 2007 movie Shrek the Third, he provided the voice for hippie-like Merlin the Magician, alongside former Python John Cleese, who did the voice of King Harold.

Nuns on the Run

The Simpsons

Merlin the Magician

Personal Life
-Married an Australian woman named Lyn Ashley in 1969. She appeared in Monty Python occasionally. They divorced in 1975. They have one son named Carey, born in 1973.
-He married his current wife, Tania Kosevich, an American, in 1981. They have one daughter, Lily, born in 1990. He has lived in Los Angeles since the early 1990s

Filmography

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Monty Python's Flying Circus

Monty Python's Flying Circus

-BBC comedy show broadcast from 1969-1974
-Comprised or surreality, risque, innuendo humor, sight gags, observational sketches without punchlines
-First episode debuted on Sept. 7, 1969
-The show targeted various topics, like British culture, especially those of high ranking people. The crew members of the show were very highly educated; Terry Jones and Michael Palin were Oxford graduates; Eric Idle, John Cleese and Graham Chapman attended Cambridge; and American born Terry Gilliam is an Occidenal College grad.
-Their humor is often intellectual, while making jokes about literary figures.

Did You Know?
-Terry Gilliam was the only American in the group

Characters

Arthur Pewtey(Palin)
-socially inept, very dull guy who appears in the skit "Argument Clinic" "Marriage Guidance Counselor" "Ministry of Silly Walks"
-His skits take the form of an office appointment with an authority figure, usually John Cleese, or occasionally Chapman. They end up parodying the British establishment by having the professional employed in bizarre fields of work

The Reverend Arthur Belling(Chapman and Palin)
-Vicar of St. Loony-Up-The-Cream-Bun-And-Jam
-Known for bizarre behavior

The "It's" man(Palin)
-Robinson Crusoe-like castaway, with torn clothing, long, unkept beard, who appears at the beginning of the show
-He is seen performing some long or dangerous task, such as falling off a tall, jagged cliff, or running large distance towards the camera and saying "It's"

Mr. Badger(Idle)
-Scotsman whose specialty is interrupting sketches
-Has been seen as an airplane hijacker, whose demands are odd

The "Pepperpots"
-Screeching, middle aged, lower-middle class housewives played by the Pythons in dresses.
-The Pythons played most of the female roles themselves, unless the part called for younger, more glamorous actresses
-"Pepperpot" refers to what the Pythons believed was a typical image of a middle class British housewife
-Their real life targets have included then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the British police, being shown in drag, Queen Victoria

Character Traits

Chapman
-Played straight faced guys, of any age/class, authority figures, such as military officers, police, doctors
-Also was called upon to play cross dressing and gay stereotypes, in fact he was gay, but it was not publicly known

Cleese
-Played ridiculous authority figures
-Chapman claims he is the funniest one in drag
-Also played foreigners with odd accents, such as Frenchmen

Gilliam
-Many of the animations were done by him
-Some of his on screen work included: A man with a stoat through his head, Cardinal Fang in The Spanish Inquisition sketch, A dandy wearing a mask, bikini underwear, and a cape, a hotel clerk in The Cycling Tour episode

Idle
-Best known for his roles as a cheeky, suggestive playboy, "Nudge, Nudge" as a crafty salesman, in Monty Python's Life of Brian, a merchant who loves to haggle
-Known as the master of the one liner
-Unlike Jones, Idle usually ended up playing the female roles, only altering his voice slightly.
-Several times he appeared as upper-class, middle aged females, such as Rita Fairbanks, sexually repressed Protestant wife

Jones
-He was said to have pulled most of the strings on the show

Palin
-Considered by all the Pythons as the one with the widest range, adept as a straight man, or wildly over the top
-Played working class northerners, weak willed, put upon men, boring accountant in the "Vocational Guidance Counselor"
-Also plays heavily accented characters, mostly French

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Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Name: Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
DOB: Oct. 25, 1984
Where: Santa Barbara, California
Genres: pop, dance, gospel
Occupations: singer-songwriter, actress
Instruments: vocals, guitar, piano
Years active: 2001-present
Website: http://www.katyperry.com/

-Gained attention with the release of her album One of the Boys(2008). It had 3 chart topping singles: "I Kissed a Girl" "Hot N' Cold" "Waking Up in Vegas"
-In 2009, she was voted Billboard's Hot 100 as the 51st artist of the 2000s
-Her best selling album is Teenage Dream from 2010, which was her 3rd studio album.

Early Life and Career
-Born to Mary Hudson, an evangelist who had an odd first marriage in Zimbabwe and Keith Hudson, who was a West Coast scenester in the 1960s. She has German, Portugese, Irish and English ancestry.
-Is the 2nd child of 2 pastors. Has an older sister named Angela Hudson and younger brother named David Hudson
-At age 15, her singing in church attracted the attention of rock veterans from Nashville, Tennessee. She signed to the Christian music lable Red Hill, recording her first album at 15. She also changed her name to her mother's maiden name Perry because Katy Hudson was too close to actress Kate Hudson.
-Katy Perry earned a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards. She was nominated in 5 categories at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, such as Best New Artist, and Best Female Videi, but lost out to Britney Spears. But Perry won the award for Best International Female Artist at the 2009 BRIT awards.
-In 2010, she released her Teenage Dream album. It hit #1 on the Billboard 200 Chart. The cover art is a painting by Will Cotton showing Perry lying naked on clouds of cotton candy.

Artistry
-Her musical influences are Alanis Morissette, Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Shirley Manson, Freddie Mercury, the late front man to the British rock band Queen
-She was inspired by the song Killer Queen to do a career in pop music
-According to her, Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill influenced her to no end

Image
-She is best known for her unique style of dress. It's usually bright in color, and reminds you of decades past.

Personal Life
-Has had many relationships, such as with Gym Class Heroes front man Travie McCoy, Relient K  front man Matt Thiessen and most recently, British comedian Russell Brand

-Perry and Brand got engaged in December 2009 and she stated plans to get British dual citizenship.
-In an August 2010 Rolling Stone interview, she said "I am sensitive to Russell taking the Lord's name in vain and Lady Gaga putting a rosary in her mouth. I think when you put sex and spirituality in the same bottle and shake it up, bad things happen."

-Supports gay rights and voted no on Prop 8 in California, which basically banned same sex marriage.

Discography

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February Birthdays

Since it's February, I want to give a big, huge, Happy Birthday shout out to the following people:

Alan Rickman
-DOB: February 21, 1946.
-Where: Hammersmith, London, England

Alice Cooper
-DOB: February 4, 1948
-Where: Detroit, Michigan

John Travolta
-DOB: February 18, 1954
-Where: Englewood, New Jersey

Elizabeth Taylor
-DOB: February 2, 1932
-Where: Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, England

Zhang Ziyi
-DOB: February 9, 1979
-Where: Beijing, China

Bob Marley
-DOB: February 6, 1945
-Where: Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica

Brandon Lee
-DOB: February 1, 1965
-Where: Oakland, California

Chris Rock
-DOB: February 7, 1965
-Where: Andrews, South Carolina

George Harrison
-DOB: February 25, 1943
-Where: Liverpool, England

Yoko Ono
-DOB: February 18, 1933
-Where: Tokyo, Japan

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Monty Python's Life of Brian

Monty Python's Life of Brian

-British comedy made in 1979
-Directed by the Monty Python team
-Tells the story of Brian Cohen(Graham Chapman), a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as, and next door to, Jesus Christ and is mistaken for him.
-The film contains themes of religious ideas that were considered controversial, drawing blames of blasphemy and protests from religious groups.
-In the UK, it got bans or imposed X ratings.
-The film was the 4th highest grossing movie in the UK in 1979 and the highest of any British film in the US that year. This is the first Monty Python movie to get an R rating in the US

Did You Know?
-6 cast members played over 40 characters
-Eric Idle originally recorded the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" in his normal singing voice. After he thought it was not right, he re-recorded it with a Cockney accent, singing the new version in a hotel room with mattresses against the wall.
-Originally financed by EMI, they backed out when they thought the script was blaspehmous. EMI was sued by the Pythons and was settled out of court. But then, to the rescue, came George Harrison, who paid for the movie to be made, with the film company Handmade Films for the movie. And as a reward, George Harrison got a small cameo role in the movie.
-Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, was originally supposed to be in the movie. Moon was selected to play a street prophet in the scene where Brian hides among them. Eric Idle saw Moon the night of his death and remembers him being excited about the role, which went to Terry Gilliam instead. The film is dedicated to Moon
-During the Mr. Papadopoulous scene(played by George Harrison), Michael Palin's son Tom appears in the movie uncredited. (Tom Palin was the only Python child that wanted to be in the movie.) Michael Palin later joked that at least his son would be able to tell people that he appeared in a scene with both the Pythons and a Beatles member.
-In the movie, Stan(Eric Idle) wants to be a woman and insists on being called Loretta. As a member of The Beatles, producer George Harrison performed the song "Get Back", which includes the lyrics "JoJo was a man who thought he was a woman" and "Get Back, Loretta".

Plot
-Brian Cohen(Graham Chapman) is born in a stable a few doors down from the one Jesus was born in. It initially confuses the 3 Wise Men(Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, John Cleese), who have come to bring gifts to the son of God. Brian grows up a young man hating the Roman occupation of Judea. While attending Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, Brian falls for an attractive young woman, Judith(Sue Jones-Davies). His desire for her and hatred for the Romans lead him to join the People's Front of Judea(PFJ), one of many groups who spend more time fighting each other than the Romans.

-After several misadventures, and escaping Pontius Pilate(Michael Palin), the fugitive winds up in a lineup of mystics and prophets who bother the crowd in a plaza. Forced to come up with something in order to blend in, Brian babbles religious things and quickly attracts a group in front of him. Guards passing him pass by without as much as a glance and when it's clear, but he does not realize he has started a movement. He grows annoyed when he finds that people have followed him, with even the slightest unusual occurrence of being hailed as a "miracle". After escaping from the mob, Brian runs into Judith, and they spend the night together. He opens the curtains to find a huge amount of people outside his house, all claiming he is the Messiah. Annoyed, Brian is helpless to change their minds so everything he says is useless

-Brian goes to the PFJ headquarters, where he finds people demanding miracle cures. After sneaking out, Brian finally is captured and scheduled to be crucified. Elsewhere, a huge crowd has assembled outside the palace. Pilate tries to get rid of the feeling of revolution with the announcement of granting them the decision of who gets pardoned. The crowd simply shouts out names containing the letter "R", in order to mock Pilate's lisp. Judith appears in the crowd and calls Brian's name, which the crowd starts yelling.

-Then, towards the end, as he is on the cross, every one of the characters starts shouting "I'm Brian" as a homage to the movie Spartacus. They start singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

Cast

• Graham Chapman – Brian, Biggus Dickus, 2nd wise man
• John Cleese – Reg, the High priest, Centurion of the Yard, Deadly Dirk, Arthur, 1st wise man
• Terry Gilliam – Another person further forward (at Mount – "Do you hear that? 'Blessed are the Greek'!"), Blood and Thunder prophet, Geoffrey, Gaoler, Frank
• Eric Idle – Mr Cheeky, Stan/Loretta, Harry the Haggler, Culprit woman who casts first stone, Intensely dull youth, Otto, Gaoler's assistant, Mr Frisbee III.
• Terry Jones – Mandy, Colin, Simon the Holy Man, Saintly passer-by, Bob Hoskins (man in crowd)
• Michael Palin – Mr Big Nose, Francis, Mrs A, Ex-leper, Ben, Pontius Pilate, Boring Prophet, Eddie, Nisus Wettus, 3rd wise man
• Kenneth Colley – Jesus Christ
• Neil Innes – A weedy Samaritan
• Gwen Taylor – Mrs Big Nose, Woman with sick donkey, young girl
• Terence Baylor – Gregory, Dennis
• Carol Cleveland – Mrs Gregory, Elsie
• Charles McKeown – Man further forward (at Mount), Stig, Blind Man, False Prophet, Giggling Guard
• Sue Jones-Davies – Judith Iscariot
• John Young – Matthias
• Bernard McKenna – Stoner's Helper, Parvus
• Spike Milligan – Spike
• George Harrison – Mr Papadopoulos (uncredited)

Several characters are never named during the film but do have names that are used in the tracklisting for the soundtrack album and elsewhere. There is no mention in the film of the fact that Eric Idle's ever-cheerful joker is called 'Mr. Cheeky', or that the Roman guard played by Michael Palin is named 'Nisus Wettus'.

Spike Milligan had an unplanned cameo as a prophet ignored because his acolytes are chasing after Brian. By coincidence he was visiting his old World War II battlefields inTunisia where the film was being made. The Pythons were alerted to this one morning and he was promptly included in the scene that just happened to be being filmed. He disappeared again in the afternoon before he could be included in any of the close-up or publicity shots for the film.^[6]

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These Movies Crack Me Up!!

Austin Powers series

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