Some of you might be familiar with Barry Humphries' bigger than life creation of Dame Edna Everage.
I first became aware of this character in 1987 when I was working in London on Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
At that time many magazine covers were announcing a new talk show with host Dame Edna.
For one reason or another I got to talk to Dick Williams about this upcoming program. He said I should watch it, because it will be a very funny show.
The Dame Edna Experience had its debut in September of 1987....and I haven't stopped laughing since.
Guests included VIPs like Sean Connery, Joan Rivers, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Rudolph Nureyev among many others. Dame Edna takes pleasure in ridiculing her guests, but in a "sharing and caring way".
Eventually Edna also gave live theatre performances in London, and I remember going to see her with a group of friends like Don Hahn, Max Howard, Dick Williams and his wife Mo. We were laughing so hard that our stomachs were hurting. The way Edna interacted with a live audience on stage was comedic brilliance.
In later years I was able to catch her live shows in New York, Los Angeles and Sydney.
To me Edna is the funniest character creation ever. Nobody makes me laugh more.
Barry Humphries died in April of 2023, age 89.
There are many hilarious Dame Edna clips on Youtube, this one shows Humphries' genius as a guest on the Michael Parkinson show. Watch the reactions of co-guests Judie Dench and Sharon Osborne.
The first time I saw Dame Edna on film, in live-action form, was a section of a benefit film called "Pleasure at Her Majesty's" where several British comedians, including most of the Monty Python team, performed their own skits. When I saw Dame Edna doing her "Spunk" number, I thought it was Terry Jones since he was known on the team for playing cranky middle-aged women. But thanks to the credits and the Internet, Barry "Dame Edna" Humphries was such a treasure who graced the comedy stage and he will be sorely missed. However, I first heard Barry Humphries as the voice of Bruce the shark in "Finding Nemo". He was great in that! Even the director, Andrew Stanton, considered this man the "Robin Williams of Australia", if you know what I mean.
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