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Comedian, actor, and writer Barry Humphries, best known for his characters Dame Edna Everage, Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone, died on Saturday in Sydney, aged 89. Humphries’ seven decade career spanned film and television, theatre and books. He died at St Vincent’s Hospital, having been admitted after complications from hip surgery. “He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,” a family statement said. “With over 70 years...

The post Barry Humphries dies, aged 89 appeared first on If Magazine.

Australian comedian and entertainer Barry Humphries, best known for his character Dame Edna Everage, died April 22. He was 89.

Humphries passed in a Sydney hospital following complications with hip surgery, his family announced in a statement.

“He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,” the family said. “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.”

Humphries reportedly fell in February and had a hip replacement. In March, the entertainer had hip surgery, but earlier this week, he returned to the hospital due to complications and later died, according to Sydney Morning Herald.

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Humphries was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1934, and less than 20 years later,...

Barry Humphries, the Australian entertainer whose gladioli-waving alter ego Dame Edna charmed and roasted celebrities, all with a Cheshire grin, outrageous eyewear, a “Hello, Possums!” greeting and a flurry of caustic wit, died Saturday. He was 89.

Humphries died at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney of complications from hip surgery, his family announced.

“He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,” they said. “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.”

He portrayed Dame Edna Everage — whom he called a “gauche, garrulous Melbourne housewife with a very shrill voice who was obsessed with interior decoration” — for more than six decades across cabarets, clubs, stage and screen as one of the world’s oldest continual comic creations.

Barry Humphries, the Australian comedian who for over 60 years played his character Dame Edna Everage on the stage and screen, has died at the age of 89.

Humphries’ family announced his death Saturday at a Sydney hospital, where he had been due complications from a hip surgery he underwent in March; the comedian suffered a fall the previous month in his native Australia.

“He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,” a family statement said (via The Associated Press...

Australian comedian Barry Humphries, best known for his beloved drag character Dame Edna Everage, has died at age 89.

BBC News reports that Humphries died in a Sydney hospital, where he’d been suffering from complications from hip surgery he underwent in March after suffering a fall.

A statement from Humphries’ family remembers him as “completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit.”

Read More: Michael Lerner, Oscar-Nominated ‘Barton Fink’ Actor, Dead At 81

His fans, the statement added, were “precious to him,” and that his characters, “which brought laughter to millions, will live on.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a statement upon news of Humphries’ death. “A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift,” said Albanese.

For 89 years, Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone.

Australian comedian Barry Humphries, best known for his comedic character Dame Edna Everage, has died at age 89, his family has confirmed.

The veteran entertainer had been unwell in a Sydney hospital, suffering complications following hip surgery last month.

Humphries’ most celebrated creation Dame Edna became a star in the 1970s in the UK, getting her own chat show on ITV a decade later. She was known for her quick wit, smiling-assassin putdowns to even the most lauded guest, and for throwing gladioli out among the audience.

Humphries had been inspired to create the character after watching his mother and other suburban housewives as a child in his native Australia. He was born in Melbourne, and moved to the UK in 1959, where he appeared on the West End stage.

Other characters created by Humphries included drunken diplomat Sir Les Patterson and the always grumbling Sandy Stone.

He also voiced the shark...

As her longtime life partner and co-director Beth Stephens puts it in the second documentary they’ve made together, “There’s a reason her name is Annie Sprinkle.” This loving duo leads their audience through a sensual requiem for mother earth in “Water Makes Us Wet—An Ecosexual Adventure,” which recently premiered at Doc Fortnight, the Museum of Modern Art’s annual documentary festival. For the uninitiated, the film serves as an introduction to Sprinkle and Stephens’ sexecology movement, also known as ecosexuality, which Wikipedia describes as “a radical form of environmental activism based around nature fetishism.” In the film’s definition, an ecosexual is “a person who imagines the earth as their lover, and finds nature (human and non-human) sensual and erotic.”

The documentary is narrated by the earth herself, as voiced by artist and transgender pioneer Sandy Stone. Stone’s gentle exposition guides the proceedings with a soft rumble,...

Global star and legendary entertainer Barry Humphries just transferred his Farewell Tour to the London Palladium for a West End run. Eat Pray Laugh gives audiences the chance to bid farewell to Humphries, arguably Australia's greatest entertainment export, whose creations have brought him international acclaim and adoration cultural attache the Honorable Sir Les Patterson, Sandy Stone and, of course, the incomparable Dame Edna Everage. Dame Edna today said, 'I've been away from home too long possums, and my true home is the London Palladium. Book now for the housewarming party of the century'The legend just penned a special farewell to the media and you can check out the full composition below...

Global star and legendary entertainer Barry Humphries is to transfer his Farewell Tour to the London Palladium for a West End run from tonight 13th November Press Night Friday 15th November. Eat Pray Laugh will give audiences the chance to bid farewell to Humphries, arguably Australia's greatest entertainment export, whose creations have brought him international acclaim and adoration cultural attache the Honorable Sir Les Patterson, Sandy Stone and, of course, the incomparable Dame Edna Everage.