Posted on 04/22/2023 8:13:13 AM PDT by billorites
Barry Humphries, the Australian comedian who for over 60 years played his character Dame Edna Everage on the stage and screen, has died at the age of 89.
Humphries’ family announced his death Saturday at a Sydney hospital, where he had been due complications from a hip surgery he underwent in March; the comedian suffered a fall the previous month in his native Australia.
“He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,” a family statement said (via The Associated Press).
”With over 70 years on the stage, he was an entertainer to his core, touring up until the last year of his life and planning more shows that will sadly never be.”
From 1955 to 2019, Humphries routinely donned the purple-haired wig and oversized glasses to portray Edna Everage, a character he created while performing Shakespeare with a traveling Australian troupe. Over the decades, as the character’s popularity grew both at home and in the U.K., Humphries elevated Everage to damehood.
In addition to countless TV specials and appearances, Humphries would also pen books authored by Dame Edna (as well as an unauthorized biography) and bring the character to the stage on many occasions; in 2000, the Dame Edna: The Royal Show show in North America resulted in a special Tony Award for a Live Theatrical Event.
Humphries also concocted other long-running characters, like Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone, but none had the cultural impact of Dame Edna, who — with Humphries in character — appeared on Saturday Night Live, Hollywood Squares, Ally McBeal (where Humphries-as-Dame Edna played a different character) and many times on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.
He kind of ruined the BBC adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby, which was otherwise very good. Rest In Peace.
God,he was great!!!!
Safe and effective. /sarc
He had the Milton Berle type of humor in drag, and never would have performed in elementary schools.
Very talented guy.
And apparently not actually trans.
He played the goblin king in “The Hobbit part one: an unexpected journey”.
RIP.
He was hilarious as “Sir Les”.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HOv24zm4Y6I&pp=ygUSIFNpciBMZXMgUGF0dGVyc29u
No, not a pervert. Just an old-fashioned entertainer working as a female impersonator / comedian. He was married at least twice.
He appeared in 1981’s Shock Treatment,
followup to Rocky Horror, as con man
(pretended to be blind) game show
host Bert Schnick.
I know I'm somewhat english literature illiterate, and that is not a slam towards you.
The voice of “Bruce” the shark in “Finding Nemo”.
Cultural historian Tony Moore, author of The Barry McKenzie Movies, writes of Humphries’ personal politics thus: “A conservative contrarian while many in his generation were moving left, Humphries nevertheless retained a bohemian delight in transgression that makes him a radical”.[63]
In 2018, Humphries was criticised on social media for making comments considered by some to be transphobic.[64] The comments included referring to gender affirmation surgery as “self-mutilation” and transgender identity as a whole as a “fashion—how many different kinds of lavatory can you have?” The comments prompted the Barry Award, a comedy festival award in Melbourne named after the comedian, to be renamed the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award the next year.[65]
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