Prince Charles offered Eric Idle a job as his "jester".
The ‘Monty Python’ star met the heir to the throne at a dinner party, but the 75-year-old actor bluntly dismissed the 69-year-old prince’s suggestion he join him as his personal comedian – and despite his direct refusal, Charles still saw the funny side, though Eric wonders if his rejection is the reason why he’s never been honoured by Queen Elizabeth.
He said: "He came to dinner at BIlly Connolly’s when we were there and he asked me if I would be his Jester!
"He did, he said, ‘Would you be my Jester?’ And I said, ‘Why would I want a f***ing awful job like that?!’
"He did laugh at that. But no OBE for me!"
And the prince isn’t the only famous fan of Eric and his ‘Monty Python’ castmates as the late Elvis Presley was such a devotee, he used to get his loved ones to join him in acting out his favourite sketches.
He told talk show host Jonathan Ross: "It was extraordinary to me because Elvis saved our lives when we were 14 because Elvis came and he was great and I loved Elvis!
"I found out from a biography that he called everybody ‘Squire’ from my ‘Nudge Nudge’ sketch. The world turned upside down.
"I met his penultimate girlfriend, Linda Thompson, and she told me that at night in Memphis after the television closed down, Elvis would sit next to her and make her do Monty Python sketches! Not just any, he’d do things like ‘Hello Mrs!’ Elvis sitting in bed doing that!"
The comedy troupe will always be grateful to late Beatles legend George Harrison as he helped finance one of their most famous works, 1979 movie ‘The Life of Brian’, while other friends in the musical world also helped fund their films.
He said: "We were pursued by rock and roll people because we were all the same generation… Rock and roll people helped us make our movies. Holy Grail was paid for by Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull,Led Zeppelin, Genesis, they all put money in.
"And ‘The Life of Brian’ was entirely paid for by George Harrison. He mortgaged his house for 4.5 million and put the whole thing into the budget for ‘The Life of Brian’ because he wanted to see the movie. It’s still the most anybody has ever paid for a cinema ticket!"
The full interview airs on ‘The Jonathan Ross Show’ on Saturday (20.10.18) on ITV.
Prince Charles offered job to Eric Idle
