George Harrison Said Monty Python Kept Him ‘Sane’ When The Beatles Broke Up
George Harrison was vocal about his love of Monty Python. He befriended many members of the comedy group and even financed their film, Life of Brian. Harrison explained that he took the risk of producing the film because he liked the group’s movies, but his reasoning went deeper than that. Harrison felt he owed the group. He explained that they kept him sane during the tumultuous period when The Beatles were breaking up.
George Harrison befriended members of Monty Python
Before he became personally involved in their movies, Harrison befriended members of Monty Python. Eric Idle recalled their first meeting at a screening for Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
“I had heard that George wanted to meet me, but I was somewhat shy of meeting him,” Idle wrote in his book Always Look On the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography, adding, “I was shy and tried to avoid him, but he snuck up on me in the back of the theater as the credits began to roll. I hadn’t yet learned he was unstoppable.”
Despite Idle’s trepidation, the conversation went exceedingly well.
“We began a conversation that would last about twenty-four hours. Who could resist his opening line? ‘We can’t talk here. Let’s go and have a reefer in the projection booth,'” Idle explained. “No telling what the startled projectionist felt as a Beatle came in with one of the actors from the movie he had just projected and lit up a joint.”
Harrison had also grown friendly with Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam.
George Harrison said that Monty Python kept him sane
In 1978, the original backer of Life of Brian pulled out after reading the script. Idle spoke about the situation with Harrison, who said he would cover the whole cost.
“This was totally unheard of,” Idle said, per the book Very Naughty Boys by Robert Sellers. “It was a spectacular move for somebody to say, ‘I will pay $4 million for this movie,’ it was really unheard of, that’s like $40 million now, a huge sum of money, and without which Life of Brian would never have been made.”
Harrison explained that he felt he owed the comedy group.
“George said, ‘Well, you know, when The Beatles were breaking up, Python kept me sane, really, so I owe you one,'” Terry Jones said. “All The Beatles had been Python fans. It was just happening at the time they were breaking up and George said they used to watch the shows, and they kept him sane, kept him going.”
The Beatle continued to work in the film industry
After the success of Life of Brian, Harrison and his business partner, Denis O’Brien, continued making movies with their company, HandMade Films. Though the production company shuttered after 13 years, its run made an impact on the British film industry. Michael Palin explained that this was due in part to Harrison’s attitude.
“George believed in creativity,” Palin explained. “He was curious about where it came from and how it could best be encouraged, and this respect for the artist underpinned much of the success of HandMade films.”
