Summary
The Australian comedian and actor Barry Humphries, best known for his creations Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, has died aged 89.
His family said he was “completely himself until the very end”. “Never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,” they said in a statement.
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Humphries was an “absolute one of a kind”. “For 89 years, Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone,” he wrote. “But the brightest star in that galaxy was always Barry.”
Humphries was a “comedy genius”, said Ricky Gervais.
Rob Brydon said the late entertainer inspired him “immeasurably”. He was with Humphries just three days ago in Australia.
“Australia has lost one of its greatest!” wrote Jason Donovan. The singer and former Neighbours star said Humphries was “funny, literate and fiercely intelligent”.
Boris Johnson described Humphries as “one of the greatest ever Australians” and a “comic genius”. The former British prime minister and Spectator editor said he was also an “infallibly brilliant Spectator contributor”.
Adam Hills said Humphries was “one of the greatest comedians of our time”. He said it was “appropriate” that Humphries “took his final bow” on a Saturday night.
Esther Rantzen said “the world is just that bit sadder” after the death of her friend. The presenter, who worked with Humphries, said she was “very sad” and paid tribute to “a great creative artist”.
One of the earliest mentions of Barry Humphries in the Guardian was in an arts report from 1978, ahead of a new West End theatre production. Dressed as Dame Edna Everage, Humphries told a press conference: “There’s room for something tasteless in London. There’s too much good taste in Britain and there won’t be much left when I’m gone”.
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'There’s too much good taste in Britain and there won’t be much left when I’m gone'
One of the earliest mentions of Barry Humphries in the Guardian was in an arts report from 1978, ahead of a new West End theatre production.
When drawn by reporters at a press conference in London about the production, rumoured to be on the Dracula story, Humphries, dressed as Dame Edna Everage and sporting her familiar lilac-rinsed hair and glitter-spiked spectacles, said in her customary style: “There’s room for something tasteless in London. There’s too much good taste in Britain and there won’t be much left when I’m gone”.
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