Barry Humphries, the Australian satirist and comedian whose skewering of middle class values made him a global star, has died aged 89.
Best known for characters such as the waspish Dame Edna Everage, boozy vulgarian Sir Les Patterson and the melancholic pensioner Sandy Stone, Humphries’ reputation became tarnished in recent years, thanks in part to his increasing conservatism and his notorious description of gender reassignment surgery as ‘self-mutilation’.
He doubled down on his comments in a subsequent interview with The Spectator, calling ‘transgenderism’ a ‘fashion’ and saying: ‘And it’s pretty evil when it’s preached to children by crazy teachers.’
The controversy saw the Melbourne International Comedy Festival rename its Barry Award for best show as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award for Most Outstanding Show.
Simultaneously, Humphries is also remembered as a razor-sharp wit, a keen mind who helped teach Australians to laugh at themselves, generous to his friends, sophisticated and a brilliant comedian.
Born in 1934, Humphries would go on to rail against the stultifying suburban values of Camberwell (where he was raised) and middle-class Melbourne via the character of Mrs Norm Everage – later Dame Edna Everage after being honoured by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1974.
Edna made her first appearance on a bus ferrying Humphries and other actors working for the newly established Melbourne Theatre Company around regional Victoria.
Initially a vehicle to satirise the values of his mother’s generation, Edna went on to become a ‘Housewife Superstar’ through whom Humphries mocked the cult of celebrity.
Notorious for Dadaist student pranks as a young man while studying at the University of Melbourne, Humphries subsequently relocated to Sydney and then London, where he acted in stage productions such as Oliver! as well as forming friendships among the comedians of the day including Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.
This led to a film appearance in Cook and Moore’s 1967 feature Bedazzled, the first of many subsequent film roles.
While living in London, Humphries also created the Ocker character Barry McKenzie for Private Eye magazine in a series of strips written by Humphries, drawn by New Zealand cartoonist Nicholas Garland, and satirising the worst behaviour of Australians abroad.
The character would go on to feature in 1972’s The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, starring singer Barry Crocker in the title role. Loathed by critics but hugely successful at the Australian box office, the film nonetheless helped jump-start the Australian cinematic renaissance of the 1970s.
More films, television chat shows and one-man revues followed, with Dame Edna becoming Humphries’ best-known and most-loved character internationally.
In later life, his growing conservatism saw him defending the middle class suburban landscape he had once mocked, in works such as ‘Poem for a Planner’ and ‘The Suburbs In Between’, the latter featuring lines such as:
‘You may sing in praise of Balwyn, but perhaps you’ve never been
For a walk on a wet Wednesday, down the byways of Deepdene.’’
Humphries married four times and had four children. He died on Saturday 22 April aged 89 after complications from hip replacement surgery.
A statement from his family read: ‘He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit.
‘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. 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,’ their statement read.
Responding to the news of Humphries’ death, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: ‘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 himself.
‘A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift. May he rest in peace,’ Albanese said.
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews also paid tribute, saying: ‘Barry Humphries has contributed more than seven decades to Australia’s entertainment industry.
‘And his legacy will live on through his many larger-than-life characters and iconic writing. Who could forget the housewife from Moonee Ponds, Mrs Norm Everage who put the suburb on the map and the outrageous Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone.
‘But it goes beyond just Australia – his comedy exceeded borders. Most famously, he performed for the Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Royal Pop Concert.
‘But at the end of the day, he was a boy from Kew with big dreams. And he achieved them.
‘Rest easy, possum,’ Andrews said.
Social media has been flooded with tributes to Humphries, as well as by people pointing out some of his less savoury statements, such as Humphries’ defense of painter Donald Friend’s ‘benevolent form of paedophilia’ in his foreward to The Donald Friend Diaries: Chronicles & Confessions of an Australian Artist.
Funeral details have yet to be announced.
