The Great Dame Has Died

[PeterRS]

Well, possums, it had to happen one day. The curtain has finally come down and will not rise again. The good people of Moonie Ponds outside Melbourne are left to mourn their most famous daughter. Dame Edna has died.

Barry Humphries, the much loved Australian creator of Dame Edna Everage and a host of other characters including the perpetually inebriated cultural attache Sir Les Paterson, has died at the age of 89. He suffered from complications as a result of hip surgery in Sydney last month following a fall in February.

It is unlikely the world of comedy will ever see his like again. Many compared him to the great film comedian Charlie Chaplin. 

There are endless youtube videos illustrating his talent. This visual quality on this one made in 2004 with Michael Parkinson, Dame Judi Dench and Sharon Osbourne is not great but Humphries is at his best, especially when talking about her son's homeo . . . well, I'll leave it there. RIP the one and only, the unique Barry Humphries.

 

[Mavica]

Yes, a wonderful actor.

 

[Lonnie]

When drag had class and humor!

Dame Edna Everage star Barry Humphries dies in hospital, aged 89: ‘The characters he created will live on’

• Apr 22

Dame Edna creator Barry Humphries has died in hospital aged 89. (Getty/James D. Morgan)

Barry Humphries, best known as the creator of drag persona Dame Edna Everage, has died in hospital in Sydney.

 

Humphries died on Saturday (22 April) in Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital surrounded by his family, including his wife Lizzie Spender, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Australian comedian, 89, had been admitted to hospital earlier in the week and was being treated for “health issues”.

Humphries underwent hip surgery earlier this year after a tripping on a rug and falling, and in March was receiving treatment at a rehabilitation centre.

A statement from Humphries’ family read: ”He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit.

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“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.

“His audiences were precious to him, and he never took them for granted,” they continued. “Although he may be best remembered for his work in theatre, he was a painter, author, poet, and a collector and lover of art in all its forms.

“He was also a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and a friend and confidant to many. His passing leaves a void in so many lives.

“The characters he created, which brought laughter to millions, will live on.”

Barry Humphries’ career in the entertainment world spanned seven decades, with his signature character Dame Edna Everage being conceived in 1956.

Humphries worked across television, film, theatre and music – both behind and in front of the camera. During his time in the industry, he received dozens of awards and was nominated for four BAFTAs.

Humphries’ controversial trans views tarnished his legacy

In recent years, Barry Humphries had been criticised for his comments about the trans community, which he claimed in 2019 had been “taken the wrong way”.

In 2016, Humphries defended the philosopher and writer Germaine Greer, who described transgender women as “men who believe that they are women and have themselves castrated”.

Humphries said he agreed with Greer, and mentioned Caitlyn Jenner as part of the discussion.

“I agree with Germaine! You’re a mutilated man, that’s all. Self-mutilation, what’s all this carry on?” he told The Telegraph.

Three years later, Humphries claimed his position had been “grotesquely interpreted” – but didn’t not offer further clarification.

“Edna carefully said she thought that men who had themselves castrated did not become women, and that got taken the wrong way,” he told The Sunday Times Magazine.

In a 2018 interview with The Spectator he also claimed that being trans is a fashion, adding: “How many different kinds of lavatory can you have? And it’s pretty evil when it’s preached to children by crazy teachers.”

Tributes pour in for Barry Humphries

Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese was among the public figures paying tribute to Humphries after news of his death broke, calling him “the brightest star in the galaxy”.

Albanese tweeted: “For 89 years, Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone.

“But the brightest star in that galaxy was always Barry.

“A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift. May he rest in peace.”

For 89 years, Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone.

But the brightest star in that galaxy was always Barry.

A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift.

May he rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/oSAKpxPGae

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 22, 2023

New South Wales premier Chris Minns celebrated Humphries as a “legend”, who defined “Aussie creativity and performance for generations”.

Beloved British TV host Carol Vorderman dubbed Humphries “a genius” in her tribute, tweeting: “I only met you a few times but that look in your eyes full of bright intelligence and mischief, knowing trouble was ahead and looking forward to every special second of it.

“I’ll never forget it. Thank you Sir. A genius.”

Barry and his alter ego Dame Edna Everage set the world's stages and screens alight.

The all-time most successful solo theatrical performer, anywhere in the world – Barry was a legend.

Defining Aussie creativity and performance for generations.

Vale Barry Humphries. pic.twitter.com/atPCJe2XZ4

— Chris Minns (@ChrisMinnsMP) April 22, 2023

RIP Barry Humphries. This is probably my all-time favourite clip of his. Class, and so dead pan as well … pic.twitter.com/DUEnTktQ6w

— Simon Harris – Man Behaving Dadly (THAT’S DADLY) (@simonharris_mbd) April 22, 2023

You will be mourned Barry Humphries

I only met you a few times but that look in your eyes full of bright intelligence and mischief, knowing trouble was ahead and looking forward to every special second of it: I'll never forget it. Thank you Sir.

 

[Marc in Calif]

I saw Dame Edna's show many times here in San Francisco. Her ability to improvise quips, comments, and takedowns on the spot were always entertaining. 

She reserved her takedowns especially for audience members. My seatmate was once severely reprimanded for wearing her comforter to the theatre. We'll never forget that one. 😅

[Lonnie]

 

[Marc in Calif]

 

 

[PeterRS]

A short anecdote. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Barry Humphries around the mid-1990s. A promoter friend of mine was anxious to present him in Hong Kong and had been in touch with his manager, John Reid. It turned out Barry was to be stopping over in HKG in a few weeks and was happy to meet. After his arrival my friend called him at his Kowloon hotel to arrange the meeting. Barry asked to meet on Hong Kong Island instead as he would be shopping that afternoon. The meeting was set for 5:00 pm at the Mandarin Hotel. Barry had suggested he describe what he was wearing, but my friend said if there was one person he'd recognise anywhere it would be Humphries.

Taken along for moral support (!) we both arrived at the Mandarin ten minutes early and plonked ourselves in the lobby armchairs. By ten past, we had seen no-one who looked like Humphries. We then looked at each other. We realised that we knew him only as Dame Edna and had never seen him as just plain Barry Humphries. Desperate not to miss him, thereafter we went up to every quite tall expatriate man who entered asking is they might be him. By 5:30 we were panicking when a man in a suit, wearing a hat and clutching half a dozen large shopping bags entered. It had to be him. Thankfully it was.

We went over to his hotel. He was anxious to return to Hong Kong where he had last appeared as a solo cabaret act in a high class restaurant at the top of the Mandarin in the 1970s. Like many of his first appearances everywhere, he had bombed. So he was nervous about how he'd be received. My friend did everything he could to work out a deal for a week of performances, but the terms proposed by Reid were impossibly high and no contract could be negotiated. I now feel I might try to buy a pair of his outrageous spectacles as a souvenir of that meeting!

[Lonnie]

Sorry PeterRS  for the duplicate.

[a-447]

I came late to Dame Edna, but immediately became a fan.

I attended a couple of his live shows and followed his various TV shows from the US and the UK (Thank you, Youtube!).

When I first saw the Dame I thought it was the funniest performance I'd ever seen. I don't think I had ever laughed so much in my life. I was with a bunch of friends and we all had tears running down our cheeks.

However, I noticed over subsequent performances that he repeated many of the same jokes, and for a man of such talent, I thought he was just being lazy and taking everyone for granted.

This reached its culmination in 2019 when I saw his final show in Perth. I had a feeling he would probably not be back again and so was really excited. 

The show turned out to be a total disaster - unless you had never seen him before.

He only told one new joke; the remainder of the lines had been recycled from previous shows. I knew them all. Every single line! Every single bit of banter with the audience about their homes, clothes and appearances.

He found it difficult to move on stage and after interval he sat down and showed us replays of his TV shows where he interviewed various celebrities. Many of us would have seen those shows before.

A number of audience members sitting around me were as angry as I was. We'd paid a lot of money and we felt cheated.

So I strongly disagree with the part of the statement released by his family after his death which said: "He never took his audience for granted".

On that evening in October 2019 he took us all for a ride. I swore that would be the last Dame Edna show I'd ever attend.

As it turned out......

He was a genius. The funniest comedian of them all.