Australian comedian Barry Humphreys, known in the English-speaking world as Dame Edna Everage, a parody of a purple-haired woman living in an affluent suburb, died Saturday at the age of 89 in Sydney, his agent announced.
The character of Dame Edna, a bourgeois who asserts so earnestly and in a sonorous tone that her hair is a natural color, was distinguished by extravagant spectacles as were her showy dresses.
Australians had seen him appear on stage in Melbourne in 1955 before he had roles on television in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
In 2002, Lady Edna presented the show, which was performed at Buckingham Palace in honor of Queen Elizabeth II who was celebrating her Golden Jubilee. She did the same in 2006 at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
The Australian Prime Minister praised this actor who was “talented and generous”.
His agent said, “He remained the same to the end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique sense of humor, or his generosity of spirit.”
He added, “Barry Humphreys made us laugh through a whole host of characters, from Lady Edna to Sandy Stone”, another of his characters, a stuffy old bourgeois, referring to “a wonderful humorist, satirist, writer, and a totally unique person”.
