The "Crackerbox Palace" was a modest home in Los Angeles where the comedian Lord Buckley (1906 – 1960) lived. George Harrison learned about it when he met Buckley's former manager, George Greif, at the Midem music conference in Cannes. They got to talking and Greif told Harrison about the Crackerbox Palace. Harrison, who could spot a song title when he heard one, wrote that phrase down on a cigarette pack and later turned it into a song. He made sure to mention George Greif in the lyric: I met a Mr. Greif And he said, I welcome you to Crackerbox Palace
After writing this song, Harrison started referring to his Friar Park estate, a 120-room neo-Gothic mansion, as the Crackerbox Palace, which is where the song takes place. Harrison lived at the estate from 1970 until his death in 2001.
The song was mainly a vehicle for the madcap music video, which was directed by Eric Idle of Monty Python fame. Shot at Friar Park, his famous gnomes that adorned the grounds are portrayed by costumed actors. Future Rutle Neil Innes plays the nurse pushing Harrison in a pram in the opening scene. George's future wife, Olivia Arias, plays one of the scantly dressed women standing next to his bed.
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