The death was confirmed by the hospital on April 22, The Associated Press reported, but no other details were immediately provided. Mr. Humphries was hospitalized for complications after hip surgery.
Dame Edna’s personality is so complete that the character is better known than its creator. Edna’s world developed with its own complete backstory—a published “autobiography”—that included memories of her dead husband, Sir Norman Everage, and an infant taken in by a “rogue koala” but turned into a nun. Of course, it’s all made up.
But see, not Mr. Humphreys, not Mr. Humphreys, but the bright, boring, and somewhat sleazy Dame Edna, “Hello, possums!” They also gathered to welcome him with signature greetings.
The character was made famous to American audiences in the late 1980s by “The Dame Edna Experience,” where an actor known as Edna Chuck would mock and tease guests such as Charlton Heston.
In another show, “Dame Edna’s Hollywood” (1991-1993), comic Robin Williams danced to a big band’s “Act Naturally” two minutes into what he called a “kaleidoscopic nightmare.” By Ringo Starr.
In 1999, Dame Edna debuted at Broadway’s Booth Theater with her show, “Dame Edna: The Royal Tour,” in which she bent everyone and everything on her way to a Tony Award. “The show is so funny it’s about a friend’s asthma (“She Made Me Suffocate”),” wrote critic Richard Lermer in The Washington Post.
Dame Edna appeared at the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, belting out a song on a video link while 1,000 “Commonwealth Dames” held Edna’s signature flower, the gladiola or “Gladys” as she called it.
Dame Edna was so completely at attention that Mr. An event that happened when Humphreys himself was formed. Australia’s “60 Minutes” interviewer Mr. Humphreys wanted to know when he finished and when Dame Edna began.
“When does Dame Edna become Dame Edna?” he asked. “When she puts . . .”
“Glasses on,” mr. Humphreys cut in.
“Glass,” mr. Humphries said. “Glasses create character.”
Perhaps only Elton John was bigger and bolder in glasses. Dame Edna, however, did not play with different styles. It’s always a cat’s eye on a high-wattage sponge.
The idea was inspired by silent film-era actress Stephanie Teste, an Australian known for her handmade eyeglass frames with diamond-encrusted wings in the 1920s. In the 1960s, Dame Edna’s character was a Melbourne housewife and Mr. These glasses became part of what became, as Humphreys described it, “santéuse swami-monstre sacre”.
Mr. Humphreys never wore glasses in public.
This is a growing story.
