Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE (17 February 1934 - 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, perhaps best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the Court of St. James's. He was a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer and an accomplished landscape painter. For his delivery of dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, biographer Anne Pender described Humphries in 2010 as not only the most significant theatrical figure of our time … [but] the most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin. Humphries' characters, especially Dame Edna Everage, have brought him international renown, and he had appeared in numerous films, stage productions and television shows. Originally conceived as a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife who caricatured Australian suburban complacency and insularity, Edna had evolved over four decades to become a satire of stardom, the gaudily dressed, acid-tongued, egomaniacal, internationally feted Housewife Gigastar, Dame Edna Everage. Humphries' other major satirical character creation was the archetypal Australian bloke Barry McKenzie, who originated as the hero of a comic strip about Australians in London (with drawings by Nicholas Garland) which was first published in Private Eye magazine. The stories about "Bazza" (Humphries' nickname, as well as an Australian term of endearment for the name Barry) gave wide circulation to Australian slang, particularly jokes about drinking and its consequences (much of which was invented by Humphries), and the character went on to feature in two Australian films, in which he was portrayed by Barry Crocker. Humphries' other satirical characters include the "priapic and inebriated cultural attaché" Sir Les Patterson, who has "continued to bring worldwide discredit upon Australian arts and culture, while contributing as much to the Australian vernacular as he has borrowed from it", gentle, grandfatherly "returned gentleman" Sandy Stone, iconoclastic 1960s underground film-maker Martin Agrippa, Paddington socialist academic Neil Singleton, sleazy trade union official Lance Boyle, high-pressure art salesman Morrie O'Connor and failed tycoon Owen Steele. Humphries died following complications from hip surgery at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney on 22 April 2023. Description above from the Wikipedia article Barry Humphries, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Credits
- 2023 · Barry Humphries: The Last Laugh as Self
- 2023 · Barry Humphries at the BBC as Self (archive material) / Dame Edna Everage / Sir Les Patterson
- 2021 · Parkinson at 50 as Dame Edna Everage (archive footage)
- 2019 · Dame Edna Rules The Waves as Dame Edna Everidge
- 2019 · Standing Up for Sunny as Barry Humphries
- 2019 · Magical Land of Oz as Narrator (voice)
- 2016 · Peter Cook and Dudley Moore: The Missing Sketches as Self
- 2016 · A Granny's Guide to the Modern World as
- 2016 · Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie as Charlie / Dame Edna
- 2015 · Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show as Self
- 2015 · Blinky Bill the Movie as Wombo (voice)
- 2014 · Brilliant Creatures as Self
- 2014 · Jack Irish: Dead Point as Justice Logan
- 2013 · Justin and the Knights of Valour as Braulio (voice)
- 2013 · The Great Comic Relief Bake Off as Contestant (Dame Edna Everage)
- 2012 · The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as The Great Goblin
- 2012 · Kath & Kimderella as Dame Edna Everage
- 2010 · A Comedy Roast as
- 2010 · Comedy Rocks with Jason Manford as
- 2009 · Making Mary and Max as Self
- 2009 · Mary and Max as Narrator (voice)
- 2009 · Salvation as Client
- 2008 · We Are Most Amused as Self
- 2008 · Not Quite Hollywood as Self
- 2008 · Q&A as Self - Panellist
- 2008 · I'd Do Anything as Himself - Judge
- 2008 · Who Do You Think You Are? as Self
- 2007 · The Dame Edna Treatment as
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2006 · It Started with Swap Shop as Self
- 2006 · The One Show as Self
- 2006 · The One Show as Dame Edna Everage
- 2006 · Betjeman and Me as
- 2006 · Telling Schoolgirl Tales: The Making of 'The Getting of Wisdom’ as Self
- 2005 · Da Kath & Kim Code as John Monk
- 2004 · Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball? as Self - Edna Everage
- 2004 · The Tony Danza Show as Dame Edna
- 2003 · Barry Humphries Presents Back to My Roots and Other Suckers as Sir Les Patterson/Owen Steele/Sandy Stone/Dame Edna Everage
- 2003 · Little Britain as
- 2003 · Little Britain as Dame Edna Everage
- 2003 · QI as Self
- 2003 · Finding Nemo as Bruce (voice)
- 2003 · Micallef Tonight as Self
- 2002 · Nicholas Nickleby as Mrs. Crummies/Mr. Leadville
- 1998 · Hollywood Squares as
- 1998 · Welcome to Woop Woop as Blind Wally
- 1998 · Parkinson as Dame Edna Everage
- 1997 · Spice World as Kevin McMaxford
- 1997 · Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills as Bert / Lady Shopper / Manager
- 1997 · Ally McBeal as Claire Otoms
- 1997 · The View as Self
- 1996 · The Leading Man as Humphrey Beal
- 1995 · Some Interesting Facts About Peter Cook as Self
- 1995 · Napoleon as Kangaroo (voice)
- 1994 · Immortal Beloved as Clemens Metternich
- 1993 · The Team: A Season With McLaren as Dame Edna Everage
- 1993 · RTL Samstag Nacht as
- 1993 · Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Dame Edna
- 1992 · Joan Rivers: Abroad in London as Dame Edna Everage
- 1992 · Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch as Dame Edna
- 1992 · The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as
- 1992 · The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as Dame Edna Everage
- 1991 · Dame Edna's Hollywood as Dame Edna Everage
- 1991 · Pebble Mill as Self
- 1991 · Boulevard Bio as Self
- 1991 · Selling Hitler as Rupert Murdoch
- 1990 · An Audience with Jackie Mason as
- 1988 · One More Audience with Dame Edna Everage as Dame Edna Everage
- 1987 · The Dame Edna Experience as
- 1987 · Howling III: The Marsupials as Academy Award Presenter
- 1987 · Les Patterson Saves the World as Sir Les Patterson / Dame Edna Everage
- 1986 · An Aussie Audience with Dame Edna as Dame Edna Everage / Sir Les Patterson / Self
- 1984 · Another Audience with Dame Edna Everage as Dame Edna
- 1984 · Dr. Fischer of Geneva as Richard Deane
- 1984 · A (BBC Arena) Birthday Tribute to Dame Edna Everage as Edna Everage
- 1982 · Wogan as Self
- 1982 · The Secret Policeman's Other Ball as Self - Various Roles
- 1981 · Shock Treatment as Bert Schnick
- 1981 · The Rocky Horror Treatment as (archive footage)
- 1981 · A Toast to Melbourne as
- 1980 · An Audience with Dame Edna Everage as
- 1980 · Russell Harty as
- 1978 · Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as Our Guests at Heartland
- 1978 · The South Bank Show as Self
- 1978 · An Audience with... as Dame Edna Everage
- 1978 · An Audience with... as Dame Edna Everage / Sir Les Patterson
- 1977 · The Getting of Wisdom as Rev. Strachey
- 1976 · Pleasure at Her Majesty's as Edna Everage
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
- 1975 · The Great MacArthy as Col Ball-Miller
- 1975 · Side by Side as
- 1974 · Barry McKenzie Holds His Own as Edna Everage
- 1974 · Percy's Progress as Dr. Anderson / Australian TV Lady
- 1972 · The Adventures of Barry McKenzie as Aunt Edna Everage / Hoot / Dr. DeLamphrey
- 1970 · The Naked Bunyip as Edna Everage
- 1968 · The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom as Mr. Wainwright
- 1967 · Bedazzled as Envy
- 1964 · The Wednesday Play as
- 1962 · The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Dame Edna Everage
- Future · Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch as Dame Edna