John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE (born 17 February 1934) is 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 is 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 has 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 has 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Barry Humphries, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Series | Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch | 2025 | |
Movie | Parkinson at 50 | Dame Edna Everage (archive footage) | 2021-08-28 |
Movie | Standing Up for Sunny | Barry Humphries | 2019-06-12 |
Movie | Peter Cook and Dudley Moore: The Missing Sketches | Self | 2016-12-31 |
Movie | Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie | Charlie / Dame Edna | 2016-07-01 |
Movie | Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show | Herself | 2015-12-25 |
Movie | Blinky Bill the Movie | Wombo (voice) | 2015-08-21 |
Movie | Jack Irish: Dead Point | Justice Logan | 2014-04-13 |
Movie | Justin and the Knights of Valour | Braulio (voice) | 2013-08-09 |
Movie | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Great Goblin | 2012-12-12 |
Movie | Kath & Kimderella | Dame Edna Everage | 2012-09-06 |
Series | Comedy Rocks with Jason Manford | Unknown | 2010-03-26 |
Series | A Comedy Roast | Unknown | 2010-04-07 |
Movie | Mary and Max | Narrator (voice) | 2009-02-09 |
Movie | Salvation | Client | 2009-03-19 |
Series | I'd Do Anything | Himself - Judge | 2008-03-15 |
Movie | Not Quite Hollywood | Self | 2008-08-28 |
Movie | We Are Most Amused | Self | 2008-11-15 |
Series | The Dame Edna Treatment | 2007-03-17 | |
Series | The One Show | Unknown | 2006-08-14 |
Series | Betjeman and Me | Unknown | 2006-08-14 |
Movie | It Started with Swap Shop | Self | 2006-12-28 |
Movie | Da Kath & Kim Code | John Monk | 2005-11-27 |
Movie | Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball? | Self - Edna Everage | 2004-12-09 |
Series | The Tony Danza Show | Unknown | 2004-09-13 |
Movie | Finding Nemo | Bruce (voice) | 2003-05-30 |
Series | Little Britain | Unknown | 2003-09-16 |
Series | QI | Unknown | 2003-09-11 |
Movie | Nicholas Nickleby | Mrs. Crummies/Mr. Leadville | 2002-12-27 |
Movie | Welcome to Woop Woop | Blind Wally | 1998-08-13 |
Series | The View | Unknown | 1997-08-11 |
Movie | Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills | Bert / Lady Shopper / Manager | 1997-10-07 |
Series | Ally McBeal | 1997-09-08 | |
Movie | Spice World | Kevin McMaxford | 1997-12-18 |
Movie | The Leading Man | Humphrey Beal | 1996-12-12 |
Movie | Napoleon | Kangaroo (voice) | 1995-06-30 |
Movie | Immortal Beloved | Clemens Metternich | 1994-12-16 |
Series | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Unknown | 1993-09-13 |
Series | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Dame Edna Everage | 1992-05-25 |
Movie | Joan Rivers: Abroad in London | Dame Edna Everage | 1992-10-08 |
Movie | Selling Hitler | Rupert Murdoch | 1991-06-11 |
Series | Pebble Mill | Unknown | 1991-10-14 |
Series | Dame Edna's Hollywood | Dame Edna Everage | 1991-11-30 |
Series | LIVE with Kelly and Mark | Unknown | 1988-09-05 |
Movie | Les Patterson Saves the World | Sir Les Patterson / Dame Edna Everage | 1987-04-09 |
Series | The Dame Edna Experience | 1987-09-12 | |
Movie | Howling III: The Marsupials | Academy Award Presenter | 1987-05-15 |
Series | Wogan | Himself | 1982-05-04 |
Movie | The Secret Policeman's Other Ball | Himself - Various Roles | 1982-03-01 |
Movie | A Toast to Melbourne | 1981-01-01 | |
Movie | Shock Treatment | Bert Schnick | 1981-10-30 |
Movie | The Rocky Horror Treatment | Himself | 1981-02-04 |
Series | Russell Harty | Unknown | 1980-10-28 |
Movie | An Audience with Dame Edna Everage | 1980-12-26 | |
Movie | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | Our Guests at Heartland | 1978-07-24 |
Series | An Audience with... | Dame Edna Everage | 1978-01-08 |
Series | The South Bank Show | Unknown | 1978-01-14 |
Movie | The Getting of Wisdom | Rev. Strachey | 1977-08-25 |
Movie | Pleasure at Her Majesty's | Edna Everage | 1976-12-29 |
Series | Saturday Night Live | Unknown | 1975-10-11 |
Movie | Side by Side | 1975-04-30 | |
Movie | The Great MacArthy | Col Ball-Miller | 1975-08-04 |
Movie | Barry McKenzie Holds His Own | Edna Everage | 1974-12-12 |
Movie | Percy's Progress | Dr. Anderson / Australian TV Lady | 1974-08-01 |
Movie | The Adventures of Barry McKenzie | Aunt Edna Everage | 1972-10-12 |
Series | Hey Hey It's Saturday | Unknown | 1971-10-09 |
Movie | The Naked Bunyip | Edna Everage | 1970-02-02 |
Movie | The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom | Mr. Wainwright | 1968-09-11 |
Movie | Bedazzled | Envy | 1967-10-30 |
Series | The Wednesday Play | Unknown | 1964-09-30 |