Monty Python legend Eric Idle has posted a heartfelt tribute to his family dog Jack after his death.
Marking a temporary truce in the war of words with former Python colleague Terry Gilliam, Idle, 80, posted on X/Twitter: “Taking time to mourn the passing of our beloved dog Jack.”
Alongside a photo of the blue-and-brown-eyed dog, he continued affectionately: ‘Phi Beta Capa, a graduate of Whitman College, lived in Los Angeles first with the Zappas and then with us for the past ten years.
‘A true friend, Husky mix with Bowie eyes, he was loved by all and is deeply missed. Thanks Jack.’
Eric’s showbiz friends expressed their condolences after he broke the news. Irish actor and comedian Chris O’Dowd tweeted: “Ah shit, sorry Eric.” What a good boy.
Monty Python legend Eric Idle has posted a heartfelt tribute to his family dog, Jack.
Gilliam posted on X/Twitter: ‘Taking time to mourn the passing of our beloved dog Jack’
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill sent a broken heart emoji. Eric’s wife, Tania Idle, simply posted: “Heartbroken.”
It is believed that Eric was referring to Gail Zappa, widow of eccentric rock star Frank Zappa. The musician died of prostate cancer at only 52 years old, in 1993.
Gail died in 2015, but was survived by the couple’s distinctively named children, daughters Moon Unit and Diva, and sons Dweezil and Ahmet.
The news of Jack’s death came at the end of a turbulent week for the surviving members of the iconic Monty Python comedy group.
The feud began last weekend when Idle criticized . Life.
He shot Terry Gilliam and his daughter, Holly, a television lawyer who runs HDG Projects, a management firm that claims to be “responsible for managing the remaining 4 Pythons”, namely Cleese, Gilliam, Michael Palin and Idle.
“We own everything we’ve created in Python and I never dreamed that at this age revenue streams would decline so disastrously,” Idle wrote. But I guess if you put a Gilliam kid as your manager you shouldn’t be so surprised. One Gilliam is bad enough. Two can destroy any company.
John Cleese, 84, chimed in, posting: “I have worked with Holly for the last ten years and find her very efficient, clear-headed, hard-working and pleasant to deal with.”
He continued: ‘Michael Palin has asked me to make it clear that he shares this opinion. Terry Gilliam also agrees with this.’
Gilliam, 43, has managed the Pythons for the past decade, co-producing the Monty Python Live reunion shows.
It comes at the end of a turbulent week for the surviving members of the iconic comedy troupe Monty Python.
The legendary comedian criticized X for still needing to work at his age despite the success of Monty Python.
Cleese later retweeted a post by Chris Lander, director of comedy and entertainment podcasts at commercial radio company Global, who said he had previously shared an office with Gilliam.
He said: ‘I had the pleasure of sharing an office with Holly during the pre-production period for the O2 reunion shows.
‘I have never worked with anyone more hard-working, diligent and passionate (the list goes on!) in my career. “It was an inspiration to work with her.”
Idle had revealed he was still working at 80 after receiving just £2,000 per BBC series.
Eric Idle’s own daughter Lily, a writer and photographer living in Los Angeles, praised her father for finally sharing “the truth.”
She wrote: “I am so proud of my dad for finally starting to share the truth.
“He has always stood up to bullies and narcissists and absolutely deserves reassurance and validation for doing so.”
The dispute is just the latest in a series of financial problems affecting the cast and Idle is not the only one who has had to struggle to keep his Hollywood lifestyle afloat.
After Gail Zappa’s death, Lady Gaga bought the Laurel Canyon mansion where her rock legend husband recorded most of his music for $5 million, but sold it in 2021.
Zappa lived at the property with his family from the mid-1970s until his death in 1993, and the interior includes “unique adornments” that reflect his taste. Among some of those unique features were a detailed mural of a dragon found in the dining room and “porthole windows and doors salvaged from old submarines.”