A Special Pasadena Evening With Comedy Legend and Author Eric Idle

Author and Comedian Eric Idle Discusses His New Book “The Spamalot Diaries” (Photo – Rare Books LA)

If you ever chuckled at a Monty Python sketch or film, or just as likely, hummed along to comedic songs like “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” or “The Galaxy Song,” then you know the work of British comedian Eric Idle. His work however doesn’t stop there, and Friday night, February 20th, Idle will be speaking about his latest publication, “The Spamalot Diaries.”

By Melanie Hooks

Rare Books LA hosts the legendary actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter, playwright, and bibliophile as the opening event for its Rare Books Pasadena weekend at Pasadena Heritage Blinn House, 160 North Oakland, beginning with a 5:30 pm reception and 6:30 pm program.

Hailed as one of NPR’s Books We Love, and a semi-finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor in Writing, “The Spamalot Diaries” chronicles the making of Eric Idle’s Broadway smash hit Spamalot. Describing every minor mishap and triumph along the way, as well as the creative tension that drove the show to new heights, “The Spamalot Diaries” is an unforgettable look behind the curtain of a beloved musical and inside the wickedly entertaining mind of one of our most treasured comic performers.

Tickets are $100 and available online here. The evening is a fundraiser for The Book Club of California, a non-profit, membership organization of bibliophiles that was founded in California in 1912. Its mission is to support the history and art of the book, including fine printing related to the history and literature of California and the western states of America through research, publishing, public programs, and exhibitions.

Attendees will receive a signed copy of “The Spamalot Diaries” and tickets to Rare Books Pasadena, the rare book fair which will be held February 21-22 at the Raymond Theatre and neighboring Courtyard by Marriott.

In September Harper’s Select is publishing Idle’s latest book, “Idle in Provence, a Brief History of Thyme,” which chronicles his 55 years changing a Shack into a Shackeau. Vromans and Book Soup also have three of his mini books signed by the author, “The Vatican Sex Manual,” “Rutlemania,” and “The Final Crusade,” the not-making of the last Python Film.