2023-04-22 15:47:07
The Man Who Was “Dame Edna” – Mourning Barry Humphries
Barry Humphries in his signature role as “Dame Edna”
Quelle: Joel Ryan/Invision/AP
In the 90s, no comedy fan could ignore her: Dame Edna Everage from Australia – violet hair, butterfly glasses, big mouth – was also loved by the British. Actor and entertainer Barry Humphries has passed away.
VViolet hair, butterfly glasses, lots of glitter and a very, very big mouth: Dame Edna Everage has had a career spanning decades. The Melbourne suburban housewife was one of Australia’s biggest stars on stage, from London’s West End to Broadway to television talk, where she interviewed Sean Connery and Zsa Zsa Gabor.
The audience greeted them with “Hello, possums”, “Hello, possums”. Behind Dame Edna Everage was actor, artist and author Barry Humphries, a distinguished man with a pocket square and a gentleman’s parting. Edna was by far his most famous role. Humphries has now passed away at the age of 89.
He died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney on Saturday evening (local time), a hospital spokesman confirmed to the PA news agency. The entertainer had been treated there after complications from hip surgery.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper and other Australian media, his family wrote in a statement that Humphries had remained true to himself to the end. He never lost his brilliant mind and unique wit.
Places were named after her even during her lifetime
For Australia his death is a loss as for Germany when the great Loriot died. Dame Edna is a national icon. A square in Melbourne was named after her while she was still alive, and she ended up on a postage stamp from the Australian Post Office on her 50th birthday. She was allowed to say anything. Why are Australians so good at sports? “Good food and nutrition, living in the fresh air, juicy steaks, sunshine – and the total absence of intellectual distraction.”
In all her beauty: Dame Edna
Source: dpa
She was shrill and outrageous, but the Australians liked that. And the English too: There are pictures in which Prince Charles is standing next to Edna very ecstatically, and the Queen – who was even allowed to announce Humphries at their “Golden Jubilee” – is said to be a fan have been.
When Humphries first played the female role in 1955, many didn’t yet know what travesty was, let alone drag. Edna later appeared in films such as “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, the title “Dame” was spontaneously given to her in the 1970s by the Australian Prime Minister at the time, Gough Whitlam. She had her first internationally successful stage show in London in 1976 with “Housewife, Superstar!”. The audience in Germany also cheered, for example in the 90s in the Hamburger Schauspielhaus: “Today I’m wearing my oldest dress. I see you too.” Back then, stand-up shows were still something new, gags like that were popular.
Barry Humphries
Source: dpa
Dame Edna called Barry Humphries a liar when he claimed she was his creation. He’s just an “entrepreneur” and her manager. Humphries was a dry alcoholic, he was married four times, like Edna he had four children. Edna’s offspring had adventurous lives: one daughter was kidnapped and went to a monastery, one became a leather lesbian, both sons were gay, which the mother didn’t want to believe. Humphries was inspired for the role by his own mother.
With statements about transgender, he made himself unpopular with many
Sometimes he also made himself unpopular, for example with critical statements about the modern transgender movement or about learning Spanish. The latter, according to Dame Edna, is actually only needed to talk to the staff. This annoyed Salma Hayek. Dame Edna replied that the actress was just jealous because Edna was originally supposed to get the role of Frida Kahlo – Hayek was only a second choice.
In 2012, Humphries announced the retirement of the lady with the purple hair. But there were still a few more appearances. In an interview with ABC television, Humphries described his golden rule of entertaining the audience as follows: “I’ve always thought that if I’m amused, then others will be amused too.”
Barry Humphries entertained people with “a galaxy of personalities” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to him on twitter. However, the brightest star in this galaxy was always Humphries himself. The Australian actor Jason Donovan tweeted: “Australia has lost one of its greatest!”
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