22 April 2023<\/time>\n<\/p>\nBarry Humphries\u2019 family say he was \u201chimself until the very end\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Barry Humphries\u2019 family say he was \u2018himself until the very end\u2018<\/p>\n
The late Dame Edna Everage comic died aged 89 at St Vincent\u2019s Hospital in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday (22.04.23) afternoon after complications following hip surgery, and relatives including his wife Elizabeth Spender who were by his side said he held on to his famed wit until he passed away.<\/p>\n
They said in a statement: \u201cHe was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis audiences were precious to him, and he never took them for granted. <\/p>\n
\n\u201cAlthough he may be best remembered for his work in theatre, he was a painter, author, poet, and a collector and lover of art in all its forms.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHe was also a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and a friend and confidant to many. His passing leaves a void in so many lives.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe characters he created, which brought laughter to millions, will live on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nFour-times married Barry\u2019s four children including his sons Oscar and Rupert, and his daughters Emily \u2013 from whom he was estranged for 20 years decades before the pair recently reconciled \u2013 and Tessa are understood to have travelled from London to be by their father\u2019s bedside in his native Australia.<\/p>\n
\nHe had been released from hospital days before his death, but was recently readmitted as his health worsened.<\/p>\n
\nAlong with his four wives and children, Barry is survived by 10 grandchildren.<\/p>\n
\nHis first wife was Melbourne actress Brenda Wright, who he married when he was aged 21.<\/p>\n
\nHe admitted he was not an easy man to be married to and said the marriage was \u201cquite frankly \u2013 and it\u2019s a cruel thing to say \u2013 to escape from my parents\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nBorn John Barry Humphries in Kew, Melbourne, in 1934, Barry threw himself into acting and dressing up to escape what he felt was a boring childhood.<\/p>\n
\nJust before he left Australia he married New Zealand dancer Rosalind Tong, with whom he had his two daughters.<\/p>\n
\nShortly after he moved to London in 1959 he befriended the Sixties most famous comics including Dudley Moore and Peter Cook.<\/p>\n
\nBut he fell into drinking despite theatre and film successes, and in 1970 returned to Australia, where, aged 36, his parents admitted him to a hospital in Melbourne after a near-death experience due to alcohol when he was found unconscious in a gutter.<\/p>\n
\nHe said about his drinking: \u201cIf you\u2019re dependent on alcohol it’s not only degrading but you only head in one direction \u2013 downwards.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI moved on to whisky, which was like drinking petrol, and I was fond of Fernet Branca, a hangover drink that tasted ghastly so it was both a punishment and a cure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIn 1979 he married artist Diane Millstead, with whom he had his two sons.<\/p>\n
\nHe married his fourth wife Lizzie \u2013\u00a0daughter of the poet Stephen Spender \u2013 in 1990.<\/p>\n
\nThey lived in a mansion flat in north London but had been more recently spending time in Australia.<\/p>\n
\nHe said his fourth marriage lasted as he had become \u201ca bit smarter\u201d about relationships.<\/p>\n
\nBarry also admitted: \u201cThe truth is I\u2019m not a very easy person to be married to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHe said his characters including Dame Edna \u2013 globally famed for her \u201cHello, possums\u201d greeting \u2013 and booze-fuelled Australian attach\u00e9 Sir Les Patterson allowed him to say things about \u201cpolitical correctness\u201d he felt he never could.<\/p>\n
\nHis health woes started when he tripped on a rug while reaching for a book in February and underwent surgery at St Vincent\u2019s the following month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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