Barry Humphries, the Australian entertainer best known for performing as Dame Edna Everage, has died. A spokesman for the hospital where he was being treated has confirmed that the comic passed away today, Saturday, April 22.
Humphries died on Saturday evening - Australian time - according to David Faktor, a spokesman for St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
He told the PA news agency: “I can confirm Barry Humphries passed away this evening Sydney time, around 7pm on Saturday evening.”
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Humphries had been readmitted to St Vincent’s after suffering complications following hip surgery last month.
A family statement issued to the Sydney Morning Herald thanked fans and hospital staff for their “support and good wishes”.
During a seven-decade career, the stage and screen veteran entertained generations with satirical characters including Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.
Humphries became a staple of the British comedy circuit after moving from Australia to London in 1959 and appearing in West End shows such as Maggie May and Oliver!
He was among the leading members of the British comedy scene, alongside Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Spike Milligan.
As well as Dame Edna Everage, he also appeared as the lecherous Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone, an elderly, childless man living in the suburbs.
The comedy legend was incredibly fond of Manchester, and made sure the final dates of his farewell tour, in 2014, were at the city’s Opera House. He knew his week-long residency at the venue would be his last UK tour appearance - and he wanted to make it special.
He told the Manchester Evening News at the time: “My great grandfather was a Manchester man, but he came to Melbourne in the late 1880s. He lived into his 90s and he spoke with a broad Manchester accent, so really I’m a native. “I knew that I wanted to do my final UK shows here in Manchester, and I’m very lucky to be playing this fabulous theatre. It was always going to come to an end in Manchester.”
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