Meet ‘The Rutles’: Eric Idle’s Sendup Is Honored

The Museum of TV & Radio Festival pays homage Friday to the wickedly funny “The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash,” which is just about to be released on a special-edition DVD.

Conceived, written and co-directed by Eric Idle of Monty Python’s Flying Circus fame, this 1978 “mockumentary” parodies the Beatles. The movie, which began in 1976 as a short on “Saturday Night Live,” aired on NBC and was produced by “SNL’s” Lorne Michaels.

Besides playing the documentary’s narrator, Idle also played Rutles member Dick McQuickley, the comedy’s Paul McCartney alter ego. Rounding out the group were Neil Innes, veteran of the Bonzo Dog Band, who played the John Lennonesque Ron Nasty; onetime Beach Boy Rikki Fataar as Stig O’Hara, the George Harrison part; and John Halsey as the Ringo Starr-ish drummer, Barry Wom.

Innes also wrote the catchy Beatles parodies “I’m In Love,” “Cheese and Onions,” “Love Life,” “Piggy in the Middle,” “Tragical History Tour” and “Ouch!”

Scheduled to appear at the Rutles tribute at the Directors Guild of America Theatre are Idle, Innes and co-director, photographer and co-producer Gary Weis.

Idle, 57, recently talked about the genesis and legacy of the Rutles.

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Question: When “The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash” premiered on NBC, it was the lowest-rated show of the week. Even with such a dismal beginning, “The Rutles” is a cult phenomenon. Will you discuss the secret of the group’s longevity?

Answer: Even a low-rated show on NBC is attracting millions of people. Everyone forgets that just because it didn’t win [in the ratings], it doesn’t mean that nobody watched it or wanted to see it again. For me, I, who was working on [little-watched] BBC2, [being even in last place] was a huge upping in the audience stakes. But also it is re-visitable. It just kept going. It never went away.

Q: Just as the Beatles still rule, so do the Rutles.

A: They have become very intertwined. Now, the Beatles quote the Rutles. It’s very strange.

Q: Is it true the Rutles first appeared on a BBC series called “Rutland Weekend Television”?

A: That’s correct. It was like “SCTV.” It pretended to be a network coming from the smallest county in England, and it would do drama and documentaries and was one about a half-hour a week.

I had Neil Innes, who wrote all the Rutles songs, he would do two songs a week on my show. He would send me material in advance [of the broadcast] and he sent me some stuff and there was this song, “I Must Be in Love,” that was so Beatle-ly it could only be a sort of Beatles parody. So I wrote the sort of running away from the camera gag [the camera takes off and Idle runs after it while still talking] and that made me laugh.

When I went to do “Saturday Night Live,” I took it and [executive producer Lorne Michaels] played that on “Saturday Night Live.” The reaction was huge.

My intention was to make a “mockumentary” for the BBC, but Lorne said, “Why don’t we do it for NBC? I have a bigger budget [than the BBC].”

Q: Were the members of the Rutles, besides yourself, musicians or comedians?

A: There were no comedians. They were all musicians. John Halsey was a drummer. Neil was, of course, from the Bonzo Dog Band, which had a sort of hit in England called “I’m the Urban Space Man,” which Paul McCartney produced. And they turn up in “The Magical Mystery Tour.”

I got Michael Palin [to be in the movie]. I got Mick Jagger and Paul Simon. George Harrison played an interviewer. When I came to America, I wrote parts for the “Saturday Night Live” people. I loved Gilda Radner.

Q: What did the Beatles think of “All You Need Is Cash”?

A: In the summer, I was with George and Ringo and Neil, too, and two of them picked up the guitar and started to sing “Ouch!” I said, “This is really weird. There are two Beatles and two Rutles. Let’s form a group called the Brutles.”

I think Paul was not all that happy until he learned I came from near Liverpool. Linda [McCartney] loved it. I always heard that Yoko [Ono] and John just adored it. They all have good senses of humor.

Q: Has there been any discussion about the Rutles reuniting?

A: I have started to do a sequel, which I am doing through Broadway Video [Michaels’ production company]. I have an extraordinary cast. I tracked down, in a warehouse in New Jersey, all the original Rutles footage, all the outtakes. I have been editing that as sort of the Rutles core material. I have done a lot of interviews; this is the cast: Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Salman Rushdie, Conan O’Brien, Garry Shandling, Jewel, Graham Nash, Mike Nichols. They are all talking about the influence of the Rutles on their lives and music. It is going to be called “The Rutles: Evolution.” We haven’t decided where we are going to sell.

Q: You must be excited about the Museum of TV & Radio tribute.

A: For me, it’s more exciting than [one for] Python, because Python is a shared thing. This I wrote and co-directed. I invented this one. I feel very honored by this. It’s great when one’s work is recognized.

* “The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash,” Friday, 7 p.m. Directors Guild of America Theatre, 7920 Sunset Blvd., L.A. The event is sold out, but tickets may become available at the door five minutes before start time. Tickets are $15. Call (310) 786-1010. On Tuesday, Rhino Home video will release a special DVD edition of “The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash” ($20).