The death of Australian entertainer Barry Humphries has sparked an outpouring of tributes for the treasured national icon at home and around the globe.
Humphries died on Saturday, aged 89, at St Vincents Hospital in Sydney where he was being treated for complications stemming from hip surgery earlier this year.
He was surrounded by his immediate family, including wife of 30 years Lizzie Spender, children Tessa, Emily, Oscar and Rupert, and 10 grandchildren.
Humphries, who had lived in London for decades, came back to Sydney in December for Christmas. He subsequently suffered the fall that led to his hip replacement operation.
“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.
Humphries spent more than 70 years on the stage and was “an entertainer to his core” who loved his audiences and never took them for granted.
But he was also a painter, author, poet and collector of art.
“He was also a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and a friend and confidant to many. His passing leaves a void in so many lives,” his family said.
“The characters he created, which brought laughter to millions, will live on.”
Humphries, who continued touring up until the last year of his life, was a man of many faces led by his comedic alter egos, self-described housewife “gigastar” Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led the tributes for the man he called one of the most loved of all Australians, saying while Humphries was the creator of a galaxy of personas, he was the brightest of them all.
“A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift,” he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Australia had lost its finest raconteur, most brilliant satirist and greatest cultural comedian.
“He will forever be a treasured Australian icon,” he posted on social media.
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson called Humphries “one of the greatest ever Australians”.
“What a loss,” he said on Twitter.
King Charles has also reportedly written privately to the Humphries family to offer his condolences.
Unsurprisingly, multiple tributes came from Humphries’ fellow travellers in the world of entertainment including British comedians Ricky Gervais and Matt Lucas and Australians Adam Hills, Rove McManus, Marty Fields and Jason Donovan.
All praised his genius, intelligence and generosity.
London-based Hills said he was “one of the greatest comedians of our time”. Field dubbed him a “god of comedy”.
Welsh comedian Rob Brydon visited Humphries in Sydney last week. “A true great who inspired me immeasurably,” he posted. “It was a delight to call him my friend.”
Also in Australia, British comedian Jimmy Carr said it would be bittersweet doing gigs in the country as “no one will ever be as good at crowd work again”.
Monty Python member Eric Idle told how Humphries had made him laugh aloud since they first met in 1968 and called him “one of the greatest civilised comedians to have ever lived”.
Sir Michael Parkinson, who featured Humphries on his show as Dame Edna and Sir Les, hailed him as one of his favourite all time guests and a dear friend.
Humphries played Rupert Murdoch in the 1991 TV mini-series Selling Hitler and was invited to the news mogul’s 2016 marriage to Jerry Hall.
The News Corp chairman and chief executive remembered the shape-shifting comedian as a genuine genius.
“His works, his creations, his spirit will echo across the generations and his friendship is eternal,” Murdoch told his outlets.
John Barry Humphries was born on February 17, 1934.
AAP 2023