Barry Humphries memorial LIVE updates: Iconic Australian actor, comedian farewelled in Sydney memorial
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Humphries’ son Oscar arrives with family
Humphries’ son Oscar arrives with his wife Sophie Oakley and children, daughter Honey and son Moon.Credit: Janie Barrett
His final interview
During his last conversation with the Herald in March, Humphries thanked this reporter for not calling him an “icon”, but despite his humility, Humphries’ track record speaks for itself.
Best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, he was a writer and performer, had been a film producer, scriptwriter, star of London’s West End musical theatre, and a landscape painter, over a career which spanned a staggering 70 years.
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”.
Barry Humphries in November 2017, in a publicity tour for the Man Behind the Mask.Credit: Simon Schluter
In 2022 he was back on stage in London with his one-man show Man Behind The Mask, which some thought would be his swansong. It followed his earlier “farewell” tour a decade earlier when his mauve-haired Dame Edna “retired” from public life in a glorious, gladioli-waving extravaganza.
His final days
As recently as March, Barry Humphries was still planning a return to the stage even as he revealed the painful ordeal he was living through after undergoing a hip replacement at St Vincent’s Hospital.
Barry Humphries in November 2017.Credit: James Brickwood
“Agony!” Humphries said of his level of discomfort, the painful result of a fall at his Sydney apartment which resulted in a hip replacement for the 89-year-old.
“It was the most ridiculous thing, like all domestic incidents are. I was reaching for a book, my foot got caught on a rug or something, and down I went,” Humphries explained from his eastern suburbs rehabilitation facility where he was convalescing and undergoing “very painful” sessions with a physiotherapist.
In his inimitable style, Humphries was also able to make fun of his predicament, revealing his medical bill was “bloody enormous, I strongly advise not breaking your hip!”
However, while he remained upbeat and adamant he would be back on his feet in no time, an underlying cancer diagnosis, which he had been battling for years, resulted in his return to intensive care and his ultimate demise on April 22.
Hello possums
This is Helen Pitt and Andrew Hornery and we will be covering the state memorial for Australian entertainer Barry Humphries at the Sydney Opera House, which starts this morning at 11am AEDT today.
Humphries, one of the nation’s best-known comics and satirists, was born in Melbourne in 1934, lived most of his life in London and died in Sydney on April 22 this year at the age of 89.
The service in honour of the man who created beloved characters like Dame Edna Everage, Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone, will bring together dignitaries, family, friends and fans from across Australia and around the world to celebrate his extraordinary career and achievements.
We’ll bring you updates throughout the morning on those who have gathered to remember the man of many faces. Here are a few of our favourite photos of him:
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