Barry Humphries
Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBEis an Australian comedian, actor, satirist, artist, and author. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer, and an accomplished landscape painter. For his delivery of dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, biographer Anne Pender described Humphries in 2010 as not only "the...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionVoice Actor
Date of Birth17 February 1934
CityMelbourne, Australia
CountryAustralia
Sport is a loathsome and dangerous pursuit.
I was born with a priceless gift, the ability to laugh at the misfortunes of others.
I've decided the secret of parenting is benevolent neglect.
I say things other people wish they could say. I don't pick on people - I empower them.
I've turned from an ordinary Australian housewife into a gigastar, icon, talk-show host, swami, spin doctor... and now I'm a style guru!
People only watch my shows for me, and those shows have remained evergreen long after the guests are forgotten.
Am I old-fashioned? I think I might be. I am a lucky woman, because I was born with a priceless gift... the ability to laugh at the misfortunes of others.
I am writing a book called 'The History of Australia in Hundred Objects.' It's of things we have invented in Australia. And you know, some of them are amazing. We invented the clapper boards used in films. We invented those cranes - those big long cranes used on construction sites.
I feel like I've cheated. I never knew what to do. I was never a good enough painter to earn a living, and so I drifted into the theatre, and I've had a successful life. I feel guilty that I've never done a day's work in my life!
I guess you could say I'm an addict - an adrenalin addict - I get great excitement and stimulation from doing stuff in public, even though I'm nervous and I have very bad stage fright.
Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century.
Australia is an outdoor country. People only go inside to use the toilet. And that's only a recent development.
To live in Australia permanently is rather like going to a party and dancing all night with one's mother.
I think a lot of people think that we [comedians] are nerveless people in the theatre, that we don't feel that kind of terror which traditionally anyone who has to do any public speaking feels. It's worse for actors, because our livelihood depends on it.