How former Beatles icon George Harrison supported Eric Idle through life’s many challenges

At 81, comedy icon Eric Idle has encountered his fair share of life’s challenges, but with the help of close friend and Beatles star George Harrison, the Monty Python legend has come out the other side.

The beloved comedian spoke of how Harrison helped him cope with matters such as life, death and divorce during a recent interview with The Times while promoting his new memoir Eric Idle: The Spamalot Diaries.

“When I was going through mine, George cheered me by telling me I was going to die. He said, ‘You can have all the money and fame in the world but you’re still going to die’,” Idle recalled.

“That’s the great leveller. That quells the ego.”

Harrison’s advice also included how to navigate the fraught relationships that develop when working with many talented egos, such as in Monty Python.

“I was moaning about the others one evening in Tunisia and George said to me, ‘What do you think it’s like for me trying to get a look-in with Lennon and McCartney?’,” Idle said.

However, the most important lesson for the Spamalot star was how to deal with death which Idle believes is something we all need to talk about more.

“I was with George when he died and it was beautiful. He wasn’t frightened or angry, he was very calm about the process,” Idle said.

“It was a lovely death to go through and we should talk about these things more because it’s there for all of us.”

The Meaning of Life star faced his own health challenge recently, undergoing surgery after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019, and was thankful the disease was caught early as he now enjoys “every moment” of his life.

“Oh, I shouldn’t be alive. I’m a lucky bastard and I enjoy every moment,” he said.

The Monty Python star initially thought his doctor was joking when he broke the news of his diagnosis.

“I had been working on a project called Death: The Musical and I asked my doctor which type of cancer I could use to finish off one of my characters. He said, ‘Pancreatic cancer, it can finish people off in three weeks,'” he said.

Ten years later, Idle had routine tests with the same doctor and queried an ominous-looking blood result.

The comic added, “He said, ‘Pancreatic cancer’ and I burst out laughing because I thought he must be joking.”

Despite some roadblocks, Idle’s sense of humour and positive approach to life seemingly remain intact, thanks in no small part to the wisdom of his late friend Harrison.

-with AAP.