Australian comedian Barry Humphries, creator of Dame Edna character, dies at 89

Australian comedian Barry Humphries, best known for his flashy, purple-haired, drag persona Dame Edna Everage, has died. He was 89.

“He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,” his family said in a statement. “With over 70 years on the stage, he was an entertainer to his core, touring up until the last year of his life and planning more shows that will sadly never be.”

The Tony Award-winning comedian had spent the last several days at Sydney hospital to receive treatment for complications triggered by a procedure he received in March. He had a fall in February that required a hip replacement surgery, which ultimately left him in “agony.”

“It was the most ridiculous thing, like all domestic incidents are,” Humphries told the Sydney Morning Herald of the incident. “I was reaching for a book, my foot got caught on a rug or something, and down I went.”

Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1934, Humphries dropped out of law school and quickly found success in writing and comedy. He shot to fame in the late 1970s, around the same time his character — the snobby and condescending Dame Edna Everage — made her way to the West End. She made her debut in Humphries’ hometown in the mid-1950s, poking fun at the blandness of postwar suburbia.

The satirical housewife character, famous for her pastel locks and bejeweled glasses, also appeared in a series of productions, TV shows, and chat shows.

While Edna is the most famous of Humphries’ creations, she is not the only beloved character he’s behind. Sir Les Patterson, an ever-drunk, disheveled and lecherous Australian cultural attaché is also among the fan favorites.

The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Humphries following the performer’s passing, calling him “a great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind.”

With News Wire Services