Barry Humphries
Posted in Events dear boy. Events at 20:30 on 27 April 2023
And so Barry Humphries has now left us.
I first heard of him through the character of Barry McKenzie who appeared in a comic strip in Private Eye. Three books and two films followed in which the character was played by Barry Crocker. I well remember The “Chunder” Song.
Barry Crocker: Chunder in the Old Pacific Sea
It was the creation of Edna Everage (Housewife and Superstar) which made Humphries into a household name though. Edna allowed Humphries to be outrageous and to prick various pomposities. Once seen, Edna could not be forgotten.
His invention of the Australian cultural attaché Sir Les Paterson permitted Humphries to satirise the popular image of Australian boorishness and at the same time to make comments that might otherwise have been unsayable.
John Barry Humphries: 17/2/1934 – 22/4/2023. So it goes.
(Edna Everage: December 1955 – 2019. So it goes.)
(Les Paterson: January 1974 – 2023. So it goes.)
Tags: Barry Crocker, Barry Humphries, Barry McKenzie, Edna Everage, Les Paterson, Private Eye
