The death of Australian entertainer Barry Humphries has sparked an outpouring of tributes to the cherished national icon at home and abroad.
Humphries died on Saturday at the age of 89 at St Vincents Hospital in Sydney, where he was treated for complications from hip surgery earlier this year.
He was surrounded by his immediate family, which included his wife of 30 years Lizzie Spender, his children Tessa, Emily, Oscar and Rupert, and 10 grandchildren.
Humphries, who has lived in London for decades, came back to Sydney for Christmas in December. He subsequently suffered a fall that led to his hip replacement surgery.
“He was completely himself until the end and never lost his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity,” his family said in a statement.
The death of Australian entertainer Barry Humphries (pictured) has sparked an outpouring of tributes to the cherished national icon at home and abroad
Humphries died on Saturday aged 89 at St Vincents Hospital in Sydney, where he was treated for complications from hip surgery earlier this year.
Performing on stage for over 70 years, Humphries was “an entertainer at heart” who loved his audience and never took them for granted.
But he was also a painter, writer, poet and art collector.
He was also a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend and confidant to many. His passing leaves a void in so many lives,” his family said.
“The characters he created, who made millions of people laugh, will live on.”
Humphries, who continued to tour until the last year of his life, was a man of many faces led by his comedic alter egos, self-proclaimed housewife ‘gigastar’ Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.
Performing on stage for over 70 years, Humphries was “an entertainer at heart” who loved his audience and never took them for granted.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led the tributes to the entertainer, saying that while Humphries was the creator of stars like Dame Edna, 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 best storyteller, most brilliant satirist and greatest cultural comedian.
“He will forever be a treasured Australian icon,” he wrote on social media.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Humphries “one of the greatest Australians ever”.
“What a loss,” he said on Twitter.
Not surprisingly, several tributes came from Humphries’ fellow travelers in the entertainment world, including British comedians Ricky Gervais and Matt Lucas and Australians Adam Hills, Rove McManus, Marty Fields and Jason Donovon.
All praised his genius, intelligence and generosity.
London-based Hills said he was “one of the greatest comedians of our time,” while Field called him a “god of comedy.”
Welsh comedian Rob Brydon, who is in Australia and was with Humphries just three days ago, posted: ‘A true great who inspired me immensely. It was a pleasure to call him my friend… His talent shone to the end.’
Also in Australia, British comedian Jimmy Carr said it would be bittersweet to do gigs in the country as ‘no one will ever be that good at crowdwork again’.
Monty Python member Eric Idle said Humphries had made him laugh out loud since meeting him in 1968, calling him “one of the greatest cultured comedians who ever lived.”
Sir Michael Parkinson, who played Humphries on his show in his guises as Dame Edna and Sir Les, said he was one of his all-time favorite guests and a dear friend.
“At a time when the word is used far too easily, we have truly lost a genius,” he said in a statement to PA.
Humphries played Rupert Murdoch in the 1991 TV miniseries Selling Hitler and was invited to celebrate the news mogul’s wedding to Jerry Hall in 2016.
The chairman and CEO of News Corp remembered the shape-shifting comedian as a true genius.
“His works, his creations, his spirit will reverberate for generations and his friendship is eternal,” Murdoch told his outlets.
John Barry Humphries was born on February 17, 1934.