“Dame Edna Everage” is dead: Comedian Barry Humphries was 89

Australian comedian Barry Humphries, best known for his comic character Dame Edna Everage, has died aged 89, his family has confirmed.

The veteran entertainer was unwell in a Sydney hospital suffering complications after undergoing hip surgery last month.

Humphries’ most famous creation, Dame Edna, rose in Britain in the 1970s and landed her own talk show on ITV a decade later. She was known for her quick wit, laughing assassins at even the most celebrated guest and throwing gladioli at the audience.

Humphries was inspired to create the character after seeing his mother and other suburban housewives in his native Australia as a child. Born in Melbourne, he moved to the UK in 1959 where he performed on the West End stage.

Other characters created by Humphries include the drunken diplomat Sir Les Patterson and the ever grumpy Sandy Stone.

He also voiced the shark Bruce in the 2003 Pixar animated film Finding Nemoand also starred in the 1967 comedy Bewitched, herbs World, The Hobbit And Absolutely stunning: the film.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the first to pay tribute on Saturday, calling Humphries “a brilliant wit, satirist, writer and one of a kind, he was both gifted and a gift.”