Eric Idle says he wants burial in Provence after surviving cancer
Monty Python star Eric Idle, 83, has spoken about surviving pancreatic cancer in an interview with Radio Times. He said he would like to be buried in Provence, France, where he spends about half the year and which features in his new book 'Idle in Provence', about a property he bought in 1971. Idle recalled discussing rebirth with George Harrison on his deathbed in 2001, and said John Cleese and Michael Palin dislike him.
Source
Times of India — Top · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- Eric Idle, 83, said he would like to be buried in Provence, where he spends about half the year. — Quote attributed in source to a recent Radio Times interview.
- Idle survived pancreatic cancer and laughed at his diagnosis because he had earlier asked the same doctor which disease would most quickly kill a musical character. — Attributed to Idle; source itself hedges with 'reportedly' on the earlier conversation.
- Idle discussed rebirth and the afterlife with George Harrison on his deathbed in 2001. — Recounted by Idle; single-source recollection, not independently documented in the text.
- Idle said John Cleese and Michael Palin 'hate my guts' and would never visit his French property. — Direct quote attributed to Idle; no response from Cleese or Palin in source.
- Idle bought the Provence property in 1971 and it features in his new book 'Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme'. — Details appear in source as stated; no external verification possible.
Analysts’ view opinion
Eric Idle's interview is less a celebrity health story than a window into showbusiness economics. A member of a brand as durable as Monty Python saying at 83 that he still works to cover healthcare costs in the US is a potent data point in the ongoing industry argument over how streaming-era royalties are shared. The timing, alongside a new book, also gives the interview clear promotional value — and his jabs at Cleese and Palin should be read in the dark-comic register that has always been his signature.
- Arriving with the release of 'Idle in Provence', the interview functions as a natural publicity moment likely to widen reader interest in the memoir.
- Idle's remarks push back on the assumption that legacy fame equals financial security, adding a recognisable voice to the wider debate over streaming royalties.
- 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' becoming a funeral standard is a rare example of comedy writing earning a permanent place in audiences' personal lives.
- The 'they hate my guts' line about Cleese and Palin is headline fuel, but the story establishes nothing about the prospects of any future Python reunion.
- His preference for anonymity in Provence sits in tension with publishing a book about that very retreat — the perennial privacy-versus-promotion bind performers face.
What to watch — Watch how the memoir is received, whether his healthcare and royalties comments feed into the broader streaming-pay conversation, and whether any of his former Python collaborators respond.
This rests on a single self-reported interview: it does not establish details of his current health status, the other side of the Cleese-Palin rift, or any book-sales or earnings figures.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 5 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
Eric Idle, 83, is a founding member of Monty Python, the British comedy troupe whose films and sketches shaped modern comedy. In a recent Radio Times interview, he discussed surviving pancreatic cancer, his decades-long retreat in Provence, France, and strained relations with fellow Pythons John Cleese and Michael Palin. The interview coincides with his new memoir, 'Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme', about the ruined farm building he bought in 1971 and slowly rebuilt.
Key facts
- Eric Idle, aged 83, told Radio Times he would like to be buried in Provence, adding: "But only after I'm dead."
- Idle survived pancreatic cancer; he says he laughed at the diagnosis because a year or two earlier he had asked the same doctor which disease would most quickly kill off a character in a musical he was writing - the answer was pancreatic cancer.
- He spends about half the year in Provence and lives in the United States the rest of the time.
- Idle bought the Provence property in 1971, when it was a ruined farm building with no water, electricity, roads or floors; he calls the transformation "shack to shackeau".
- His new memoir is titled 'Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme'.
- He discussed the afterlife with Beatles guitarist George Harrison on Harrison's deathbed in 2001; Harrison believed he would escape rebirth, while Idle said, "I'd give anything to be reborn."
- Asked about John Cleese and Michael Palin visiting his home, Idle said there was "absolutely zero" chance: "They hate my guts. Don't ask me why. I only ever made them money."
- Idle says he still works at 83 to cover healthcare costs in the United States, and criticised streaming platforms' handling of royalties.
Timeline
- 1971Idle buys a ruined farm building in Provence with no water, electricity, roads or floors, seeking escape from boarding school, England, Python and fame.
- 2001Idle discusses death, rebirth and the afterlife with George Harrison on Harrison's deathbed.
- 2014Idle prepares for the Monty Python reunion shows at London's O2 while his daughter is sectioned.
- A year or two before his cancer diagnosisIdle asks his doctor which disease would kill a musical character fastest; the answer is pancreatic cancer.
- RecentIdle, 83, gives a Radio Times interview on surviving pancreatic cancer, burial in Provence and his new book.
Who has a stake
- Eric Idle — Cancer survivor and author seeking anonymity and peace in Provence, while still working at 83 to meet US healthcare costs.
- Monty Python legacy — Idle questions whether the troupe's comedy will stay funny forever, even as he acknowledges its continuing influence across generations.
- John Cleese and Michael Palin — Named by Idle as unwelcome and hostile - "They hate my guts" - highlighting rifts within the group.
- Cotignac, the small French community — A place where celebrity status mattered little, offering anonymity to Idle and his famous visitors.
- Streaming platforms — Criticised by Idle over royalties, and over the assumption that performers from hit shows remain financially secure decades later.
- Radio Times — Publication that carried the interview in which Idle made these disclosures.
Why it matters
Idle's remarks turn a comedian's trademark dark humour into a candid account of illness, ageing and money in the entertainment industry. His complaint that he still works at 83 to fund US healthcare, and his criticism of streaming royalties, punctures the assumption that stars of enduring hits are financially secure. His reflections also document the internal fractures and cultural afterlife of Monty Python, whose funeral anthem 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' has outlived its own satire.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Eric Idle, 83, is a member of the British comedy group Monty Python.
- 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' is the Monty Python song Idle calls the number-one funeral song.
- Idle's new memoir: 'Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme'.
- Idle bought his Provence property in 1971; the nearby community named in the story is Cotignac.
- George Harrison, the Beatles legend, was on his deathbed in 2001 when he discussed rebirth with Idle.
- The Monty Python reunion at London's O2 took place in 2014.
Mains framing
Eric Idle's Radio Times interview is a case study in how popular culture negotiates mortality, fame and the economics of creative work. Having survived pancreatic cancer - a diagnosis he greeted with laughter because he had earlier researched the disease for a musical - Idle frames death through comedy, noting that his song 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' has become a favoured funeral choice. His Provence retreat, bought in 1971 as a ruin without water, electricity or floors, was an explicit escape from boarding school, English social expectation, Python and what he calls the \"silly illusion\" of fame; its anonymity drew figures such as Harrison Ford, David Bowie and Robin Williams to a small French community where celebrity counted for little. Yet the interview also exposes structural strain: at 83 he continues working to pay US healthcare costs and criticises streaming platforms' royalty practices, challenging the public belief that performers from enduring hits are set for life. The rift he describes with John Cleese and Michael Palin, and his own doubts about whether Python's humour will remain funny, show that cultural legacies are neither financially nor personally settled. The way forward suggested by the story is not policy but perspective: fairer recognition of long-tail royalties and a franker public conversation about illness, ageing and privacy for performers.
Key terms
- Monty Python
- Legendary British comedy group of which Eric Idle is a member, known for irreverent humour and lasting cross-generational influence.
- Pancreatic cancer
- The disease Idle survived; he had earlier been told by the same doctor that it was the quickest, most certain way to kill a character.
- Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme
- Idle's new memoir about the Provence property he bought in 1971 and about chapters of his personal life.
- 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'
- Monty Python song by Idle that has become a widely used funeral choice; he calls it the number-one funeral song.
- Cotignac
- The small French community near Idle's Provence home where, he says, celebrity status mattered little to residents.
- Sectioned
- Term Idle uses for his daughter's compulsory psychiatric detention during his preparation for the 2014 Python reunion at the O2.
Practice questions
- How do Eric Idle's comments on healthcare costs and streaming royalties complicate the public assumption that stars of enduring hits are financially secure?
- Discuss the role of humour in confronting illness and mortality, using Eric Idle's reaction to his pancreatic cancer diagnosis as an example.
- What does Idle's search for anonymity in Provence reveal about the relationship between celebrity, privacy and community?
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.