Eric Idle Says Robin Williams Taught Him How To Be Nice to Fans [Video]

British actor and comedian Eric Idle, a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, has revealed actor Robin Williams taught him how to be nice to fans.

Idle and Williams were close friends up until Williams’ death in August 2014.

Appearing on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast to promote his new book The Spamalot Diaries, Idle revealed he used to swear at his fans before Williams taught him about empathy.

“I think you learn empathy. You start by being an egotistical s*** by going into show business and then you can behave very badly,” said Idle. “I learned from lots of very good people. Robin Williams taught me how to be nice to fans. I would just tell them to ‘f*** off’ and they would laugh and go away, but that was good enough for them.”