Australian comedian Barry Humphries, best known in the English-speaking world for his character Dame Edna Everage, a parody of a lilac-haired woman living in a wealthy suburb, died on Saturday at the age of 89 in Sydney, his agent announced. .
The character of Dame Edna, a bourgeoise who asserted very seriously and in a bombastic tone that the color of her hair was natural, was distinguished by glasses as extravagant as her dresses were showy. Australians had seen him appear on stage in Melbourne in 1955 before landing roles on television in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
In 2002, Dame Edna presented the show at Buckingham Palace in honor of Queen Elizabeth II celebrating her Golden Jubilee. She had done the same in 2006 for the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The Australian Prime Minister paid tribute to this actor who was “both gifted and generous”.
“He remained himself until the end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique humor or his generosity of spirit,” said his agent, recalling that Barry Humphries had spent more than 70 years on stage, and was on tour until last year.
“Barry Humphries made us laugh through a whole galaxy of characters, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone”, another of his characters, a stuffy old bourgeois, he added, referring to “a formidable humorist, satirist , writer, and someone absolutely unique”.
