‘Farewell, possum!’: Barry Humphries – from Dame Edna Everage to the man behind the mask
When Barry Humphries was ill in hospital, he released a statement thanking fans for their kind wishes – but added that he wanted “more and more”.
Quipping from his infirmary bed was typical of a man who never missed a punchline. “Never be afraid to laugh at yourself,” as one of his famous quotes went. “After all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century.”
Comedian, satirist, author, producer, West End star, writer, painter, born entertainer: Barry Humphries did it all. His characters included Sir Les Patterson – the lecherous “phallus-brandishing” diplomat who once chased Kylie Minogue off stage at the Royal Festival Hall – and the “boring man of the suburbs” Sandy Stone.
Humphries portraying Sir Les Patterson, the Australian cultural attache character
But for all his achievements, following his death at the age of 89, he will be best remembered as Dame Edna Everage, the housewife-turned-megastar with the lilac hair, ostentatious glasses, and a knack for poking fun at the rich and famous.
“Dame Edna Everage is probably the most popular and gifted woman in the world today,” the biography on her website begins, before listing her many achievements: “Housewife, investigative journalist, social anthropologist, talk show host, swami, children’s book illustrator, spin doctor, Zettastar, Icon.”
A parody of small-minded suburban housewives in Australia, gladioli queen Dame Edna first appeared in the 1950s and landed her own chat show, The Dame Edna Experience, in the 1980s – interviewing everyone from Sean Connery, Cliff Richard and Lulu, to Jeffrey Archer, Germaine Greer and Joan Rivers – and paving the way for the likes of Caroline Aherne’s Mrs Merton and Paul O’Grady’s Lily Savage.
Dame Edna Everage ahead of her farewell show, Eat Pray Laugh
“Hello, possums!” was Edna’s famous catchphrase, and as her fame grew, so did her glasses and the garishness of her outfits. Speaking to the celebrities, her sharp-tongued but cheeky style allowed her to get away with remarks that others couldn’t.
“She can say things, for instance, about political correctness that I couldn’t possibly express,” Humphries told the Guardian in 2022. “The same is true of Sir Les Patterson. I never swear in real life. Both characters are wonderful outlets.”
Humphries said he was retiring Edna in 2012, but she soon reappeared, proving “indestructible”. Despite her worldwide success, he said Patterson was his favourite character to play, allowing him to release his “inner vulgarity”.
He lived to make people laugh and loved to shock
The star was born John Barry Humphries in 1934 to respectable parents who wanted something different for their anarchist son. “Barry, we don’t know where you came from,” his mother would say to him when he was younger.
As a child, he would spend hours playing in his back garden, dressing up as different characters. Rebelling against his parents’ attempts to steer him down an academic path, he created his very first character: Dr Aaron Azimuth, a Dadaist and agent provocateur.
“I was hankering for something and I didn’t know what it was and I thought it must be in this mysterious place they called ‘overseas’,” he told The Australian.
Humphries left Melbourne for Sydney and then the UK in 1959, but struggled to find success as a stage actor, leading to problems with alcohol. He later spoke about his struggles openly, telling how they eventually led to him giving up drink altogether. “The alternative to alcoholism is so much more fun,” he told The Times in 2022.
At the time, he was promoting Man Behind The Mask, an intimate tour just as himself, no characters. In the official quote, he described the show as “perhaps the bravest thing I’ve ever done”, showing “what it is like to be a clown”.
In an interview, he urged fans to “hurry and buy tickets”, because they just might get to experience “a Tommy Cooper moment” and witness his on-stage death.
“You might be there on that night. I do such a spectacular curtain call.”
He lived to make people laugh and loved to shock. According to Barry Humphries legend, he had been known to take cans of soup on to a plane when flying; after sneakily slurping a mouthful he would pretend to spew into a sick bag, only to spoon the apparent vomit up – much to the horror of his surrounding passengers.
Diana enjoying a chat with the flamboyant Dame
On stage as an actor, he appeared in shows such as Maggie May and several productions of Oliver! following his debut in The Demon Barger in 1959. He became one of the leading members of the British comedy scene at the time, alongside Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, Peter Cook and Spike Milligan.
On the big screen, his film credits included The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Finding Nemo, and he wrote several books, both as himself and in the guise of his characters. These included his own autobiographies, More Please and My Life As Me, and Dame Edna’s My Gorgeous Life.
Humphries’ career was not without controversy and in 2019, Melbourne International Comedy Festival dropped his name from its major prize, the Barry Award, following comments he made about transgender people. In interviews, he lamented the “new puritanism” of political correctness and defended his right to offend.
“There is no more terrible fate for a comedian than to be taken seriously,” he once said.
Queen Consort presents Barry Humphries the Wizard of Oz award for his fictional character Sir Les Patterson in 2021
During his career, he picked up several awards, including a lifetime achievement prize at the British Comedy Awards in 1999, and nominations for several BAFTAs.
In 1982, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, and in 2007 a CBE in the UK, for services to entertainment.
Humphries leaves behind his wife Lizzie Spender, and four children from his earlier marriages.
Entertainment
Dance artist Moby on the destructive force of fame – and why he’s content being that ‘weird old guy’
He is the man behind the biggest-selling electronica record of all time, but the success of Moby’s album Play came with some unwanted side effects.
His fifth record, the album charted at 33 upon its release in the UK in May 1999, and fell out of the Top 40 after just a week. But despite the lacklustre initial response, Play started to pick up steam, slowly climbing the chart until it reached number one in April 2000.
It stayed there for five weeks and remained in the Top 40 until March 2001, re-entering the Top 100 several times over the next few years.
While Moby had experienced success with Go, the breakthrough 1991 single from his self-titled debut album, Play was next level. Even if you don’t know the album, you’ll know at least some of the songs – Porcelain, Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, Honey, and Natural Blues. The record was ubiquitous and fame hard to escape.
Pic: Adam Warzawa/EPA/Shutterstock
“I think fame and fortune are, probably, empirically two of the most destructive forces on the planet,” he says, speaking from his home in Los Angeles. “I mean, if fame and fortune fixed things, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse would still be making records.
“I guess it’s a very easy system to buy into, especially in a place like… in New York, in Los Angeles, in these big cities that are driven by ostentation and consumption and the need for external validation. It’s hard to resist those temptations. But then… you look at the consequences of that.
“I’d rather try and live a rational life and not necessarily let other people’s concerns dictate what my concerns should be.”
Now sober and with a few years between him and those heady days of peak fame, in recent years Moby has been doing something few established stars in his position would do – giving his compositions away for free.
“I have a house, I have a car, I have some hoodies, I have food in the fridge, I don’t really need anything more,” he insists. “To live and work in a way where I’m not driven by money, why not use that as an opportunity?”
Selfless selfishness or selfish selflessness
Pic: Wael Hamzeh/EPA/Shutterstock
Over a decade ago, the musician came up with the quietly radical idea of making a free music licensing platform, MobyGratis. The idea was simple and rather exciting, he admits – to allow anyone unrestricted access to hundreds of his compositions to use them however they wish. From film scores to remixes, whatever.
“It’s either selfless selfishness or selfish selflessness, meaning I’m giving these things away but the benefit to me is I get to see what people do with it,” he says.
“There are a lot of things about the current digital media climate that are terrifying and baffling and confusing, but one of the things I love is the egalitarian nature of it.”
The idea of giving his music away for free runs somewhat contrary to the AI copyright battle many artists are currently speaking out over, with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Damon Albarn calling for greater protections in law to prevent artificial intelligence software from scraping their work to learn from it.
Remix culture and creative processes
“I completely appreciate and respect the concerns that other people have,” says Moby. “I think they’re incredibly valid… but for me personally, I don’t know. Maybe it’s naive and stupid of me, but I kind of just ignore it.
“I put this music out there and you sort of hope for the best, which probably is completely dim-witted of me. Part of remix culture is seeing how people reinterpret your work; sometimes it’s mediocre, sometimes it is bad, but sometimes it is so inspired, and I can actually learn a lot from other creative processes.”
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The dance artist also takes issue with how the act of giving and compassion more generally has come to be seen, and references Elon Musk‘s comments on Joe Rogan’s podcast in April, when the billionaire said: “We’ve got civilizational suicidal empathy going on.”
Moby says that while “we live in this world of fear, selfishness, desperation and viciousness”, he supports “anything that is a rejection of the manosphere… anything that rejects Elon and the idea that empathy is a weakness and reminds people that life can be simple and decent.”
He jokes: “I’m definitely becoming like the weird old guy that you’ll see in the mountains, sort of like not making eye contact and mumbling about chemtrails or something.”
This is a man who is aware his approach to fame, fortune and giving stuff away is somewhat out-of-keeping with the times we’re living in – but the thing is, Moby doesn’t seem to care.
Entertainment
Lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claims there was ‘mutual violence’ between him and ex-girlfriend
A lawyer representing Sean “Diddy” Combs has told a court there was “mutual” domestic violence between him and his ex-girlfriend Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura.
Marc Agnifilo made the claim as he outlined some of the music star’s defence case ahead of the full opening of his trial next week.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of
transportation for prostitution. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Ms Ventura is expected to testify as a star witness for the prosecution during the trial in New York. The final stage of jury selection is due to be held on Monday morning.
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Why is Sean Combs on trial?
Mr Agnifilo told the court on Friday that the defence would “take the position that there was mutual violence” during the pair’s relationship and called on the judge to allow evidence related to this.
The lawyer said Combs‘s legal team intended to argue that “there was hitting on both sides, behaviour on both sides” that constituted violence.
He added: “It is relevant in terms of the coercive aspects, we are admitting domestic violence.”
A court sketch showing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs (right) as he listens to his lawyer Marc Agnifilo addressing the court. Pic: Reuters
Ms Ventura’s lawyers declined to comment on the allegations.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he would rule on whether to allow the evidence on Monday.
Combs, 55, was present in the court on Friday.
He has been held in custody in Brooklyn since his arrest last September.
Prosecutors allege that Combs used his business empire for two decades to lure women with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, then violently coerced them to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs”.
Read more:
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Sean Combs: A timeline of allegations
Combs’s lawyers say prosecutors are improperly seeking to criminalise his “swinger lifestyle”. They have suggested they will attack the credibility of alleged victims in the case by claiming their allegations are financially motivated.
The trial is expected to last around eight weeks.
Entertainment
Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul ‘took her soul’ during alleged sexual assault
An ex-model has tearfully told a court that being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein when she was 16 was the most “horrifying thing I ever experienced” to that point.
Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault
Kaja Sokola told the film producer’s retrial that he ordered her to remove her blouse, put his hand in her underwear, and made her touch his genitals.
She said he’d stared at her in the mirror with “black and scary” eyes and told her to stay quiet about the alleged assault in a Manhattan hotel in 2002.
Ms Sokola told the New York court that Weinstein had dropped names such as Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and said he could help fulfil her Hollywood dream.
“I’d never been in a situation like this,” said Polish-born Ms Sokola. “I felt stupid and ashamed and like it’s my fault for putting myself in this position.”
Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone and is back in court for a retrial after his conviction was overturned last year.
Read more: Weinstein is back in court – but what has happened to the #MeToo movement since 2017?
Weinstein denies the allegations. Pic: Reuters
The 73-year-old is not charged over the alleged sexual assault because it happened too long ago to bring criminal charges.
However, he is facing charges over an incident four years later when he’s said to have forced Ms Sokola to perform oral sex on him.
Prosecutors claim it happened after Weinstein arranged for her to be an extra in a film.
“My soul was removed from me,” she told the court of the alleged 2006 assault, describing how she tried to push Weinstein away but that he held her down.
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Ms Sokola – who’s waived her right to anonymity – is the second of three women to testify and the only one who wasn’t part of the first trial in 2020.
Miriam Haley testified previously in the retrial. Pic: AP
Miriam Haley last week told the court that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in 2006. The other accuser, Jessica Mann, is yet to appear.
Claims against the film mogul were a major driver for the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse in 2017.
Weinstein’s lawyers allege the women consented to sexual activity in the hope of getting film and TV work and that they stayed in contact with him for a while afterwards.
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