Barry Humphries
Known for Acting · 110 credits
- Born
- 1934-02-17
- Died
- 2023-04-22
- Place of birth
- Camberwell, Melbourne, Australia
- Also known as
- Dame Edna Everage · John Barry Humphries · Edna Everage · Les Patterson · Barry McKenzie · Sandy Stone
Biography
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE (17 February 1934 - 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, perhaps best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the Court of St. James's.
He was a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer and an accomplished landscape painter. For his delivery of dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, biographer Anne Pender described Humphries in 2010 as not only the most significant theatrical figure of our time … [but] the most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin. Humphries' characters, especially Dame Edna Everage, have brought him international renown, and he had appeared in numerous films, stage productions and television shows. Originally conceived as a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife who caricatured Australian suburban complacency and insularity, Edna had evolved over four decades to become a satire of stardom, the gaudily dressed, acid-tongued, egomaniacal, internationally feted Housewife Gigastar, Dame Edna Everage. Humphries' other major satirical character creation was the archetypal Australian bloke Barry McKenzie, who originated as the hero of a comic strip about Australians in London (with drawings by Nicholas Garland) which was first published in Private Eye magazine.
The stories about "Bazza" (Humphries' nickname, as well as an Australian term of endearment for the name Barry) gave wide circulation to Australian slang, particularly jokes about drinking and its consequences (much of which was invented by Humphries), and the character went on to feature in two Australian films, in which he was portrayed by Barry Crocker. Humphries' other satirical characters include the "priapic and inebriated cultural attaché" Sir Les Patterson, who has "continued to bring worldwide discredit upon Australian arts and culture, while contributing as much to the Australian vernacular as he has borrowed from it", gentle, grandfatherly "returned gentleman" Sandy Stone, iconoclastic 1960s underground film-maker Martin Agrippa, Paddington socialist academic Neil Singleton, sleazy trade union official Lance Boyle, high-pressure art salesman Morrie O'Connor and failed tycoon Owen Steele.
Humphries died following complications from hip surgery at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney on 22 April 2023.
Known For
TV Shows (39)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Dame Edna Everage / Self
Saturday Night Live
1975
as Dame Edna Everage
The Graham Norton Show
2007
as Self
The View
1997
as Self
Wogan
1982
as Self
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
as Dame Edna
The One Show
2006
as Self / Dame Edna Everage
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
as Dame Edna Everage
Hollywood Squares
1998
as Self - Panelist
QI
2003
as Self / Self - Panellist (archive footage)
The Wednesday Play
1964
Omnibus
1967
as Sir Les Patterson / Self
Q&A
2008
as Self - Panellist
Parkinson
1998
as Dame Edna Everage
Pebble Mill
1991
as Self
An Audience with...
1978
as Dame Edna Everage / Dame Edna Everage / Sir Les Patterson
The Tony Danza Show
2004
as Dame Edna
Ally McBeal
1997
as Claire Otoms
The South Bank Show
1978
as Self
The Osbournes
2002
as Self
Boulevard Bio
1991
as Dame Edna
RTL Samstag Nacht
1993
Who Do You Think You Are?
2008
as Self
I'd Do Anything
2008
as Himself - Judge
Friday Night, Saturday Morning
1979
The Dame Edna Experience
1987
Russell Harty
1980
The Great Comic Relief Bake Off
2013
as Contestant (Dame Edna Everage)
The Dame Edna Treatment
2007
Micallef Tonight
2003
as Self
Magical Land of Oz
2019
as Narrator (voice)
A Comedy Roast
2010
The Team: A Season With McLaren
1993
as Dame Edna Everage
Comedy Rocks with Jason Manford
2010
Betjeman and Me
2006
A Granny's Guide to the Modern World
2016
Brilliant Creatures
2014
as Self
Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch
1992
as Dame Edna
Dame Edna's Hollywood
1991
as Dame Edna Everage
Movies (71)
Finding Nemo
2003
as Bruce (voice)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012
as The Great Goblin
Napoleon
1995
as Kangaroo (voice)
Mary and Max
2009
as Narrator (voice)
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
2016
as Charlie / Dame Edna
Justin and the Knights of Valour
2013
as Braulio (voice)
Spice World
1997
as Kevin McMaxford
Nicholas Nickleby
2002
as Mrs. Crummles/Mr. Leadville
The Marsupials: The Howling III
1987
as Academy Award Presenter
Immortal Beloved
1994
as Clemens Metternich
Blinky Bill the Movie
2015
as Wombo (voice)
Not Quite Hollywood
2008
as Self
Show of Titles
2021
as "Anyone Can Whistle" Performer
Jack Irish: Dead Point
2014
as Justice Logan
Standing Up for Sunny
2019
as Barry Humphries
The Naked Bunyip
1970
as Edna Everage
Kath & Kimderella
2012
as Dame Edna Everage
Bedazzled
1967
as Envy
A Night on Mount Edna
1990
as Dame Edna Everage
The Man Inside Dame Edna
2008
as Self/Dame Edna/Les Patterson
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
1978
as Our Guests at Heartland
Shock Treatment
1981
as Bert Schnick
Salvation
2009
as Client
Percy's Progress
1974
as Dr. Anderson / Australian TV Lady
The Last Impresario
2014
as Self
Side by Side
1975
as Rodney
The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom
1968
as Mr. Wainwright
Pleasure at Her Majesty's
1976
as Edna Everage
Dr. Fischer of Geneva
1984
as Richard Deane
Welcome to Woop Woop
1998
as Blind Wally
The Leading Man
1996
as Humphrey Beal
Parkinson at 50
2021
as Dame Edna Everage (archive footage)
Little Britain Down Under
2007
as Dame Edna Everage
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
1982
as Self - Various Roles
Selling Hitler
1993
as Rupert Murdoch
The Getting of Wisdom
1977
as Rev. Strachey
Gaybo Laughs Back
2008
as Dame Edna
Barry Humphries: The Last Laugh
2023
as Self
Making Mary and Max
2009
as Self
Barry Humphries - A Life of Laughs
2023
as Self (Archive)
Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills
1997
as Bert / Lady Shopper / Manager
Les Patterson 'Has A Stand Up' - Live & Rampant
1996
as Les Patterson
Da Kath & Kim Code
2005
as John Monk
Les Patterson Saves the World
1987
as Sir Les Patterson / Dame Edna Everage
Barry Humphries at the BBC
2023
as Self (archive material) / Dame Edna Everage / Sir Les Patterson
A Late Lunch With Sir Les
1991
as Les Patterson
We Are Most Amused
2008
as Self
Royal Variety Performance 1984
1984
Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
2004
as Self - Edna Everage
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore: The Missing Sketches
2016
as Self
An Audience with Dame Edna Everage
1980
as Dame Edna
The Great MacArthy
1975
as Col Ball-Miller
A Toast to Melbourne
1981
Barry Humphries: This is Your Lunch
1988
as Self/Dame Edna
Barry McKenzie Holds His Own
1974
as Aunt Edna Everage / Dr. Meyer Delamphrey / Offensive Buck-toothed Englishman / Senator Douglas Manton
The Adventures of Barry McKenzie
1972
as Aunt Edna Everage / Hoot / Dr. DeLamphrey
Another Audience with Dame Edna Everage
1984
as Dame Edna/Les Patterson
Some Interesting Facts About Peter Cook
1995
as Self
One More Audience with Dame Edna Everage
1988
as Dame Edna Everage
It Started with Swap Shop
2006
as Self
The Rocky Horror Treatment
1981
as (archive footage)
An Audience with Jackie Mason
1990
Telling Schoolgirl Tales: The Making of 'The Getting of Wisdom’
2006
as Self
An Aussie Audience with Dame Edna
1986
as Dame Edna Everage / Sir Les Patterson / Self
A Birthday Tribute to Dame Edna Everage
1984
as Dame Edna/Sir Les Patterson
Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show
2015
as Self
Dame Edna Rules The Waves
2019
as Dame Edna Everidge
Joan Rivers: Abroad in London
1992
as Dame Edna Everage
Sir Les And The Great Chinese Takeaway
1997
as Les Patterson/Dame Edna
Le Bain Vorace (Dial P for Plughole)
1954
Barry Humphries Presents Back to My Roots and Other Suckers
2003
as Sir Les Patterson/Owen Steele/Sandy Stone/Dame Edna Everage
About Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE (17 February 1934 - 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, perhaps best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the Court of St. James's. He was a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer and an accomplished landscape painter. For his delivery of dadaist and absurd… With 110 credits spanning from 1954 to 2023, Barry Humphries has appeared in 71 films and 39 TV shows.
Fans searching for Barry Humphries movies, Barry Humphries filmography, or the latest projects starring Barry Humphries can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Barry Humphries Movies
- Finding Nemo (2003) — as Bruce (voice)
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) — as The Great Goblin
- Napoleon (1995) — as Kangaroo (voice)
- Mary and Max (2009) — as Narrator (voice)
- Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016) — as Charlie / Dame Edna
Where to Watch Barry Humphries Films
Most Barry Humphries movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Barry Humphries, check our movies catalogue and browse page.