Australian comedian Barry Humphries said Sunday he would retire iconic character Dame Edna Everage, a gaudy lilac-haired parody of suburbia, because he felt a “bit senior” and was ready to move on. Everage, along with the lecherous and boorish Sir Les Patterson, are Humphries’ best-known characters, but the veteran comedian, 78, said his current tour would be their last stage outing.
“Edna will crop up on television I guess but not in a live show,” Humphries told Australia’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper. “The fact of the matter is that I’m beginning to feel a bit senior. “It’s the best aerobics you could do, leaping around on stage, but it’s gruelling when there are other things to do.” Everage took to Australian television Sunday night to personally confirm her farewell tour. “I’m not leaving the stage, you’ll never drag me off the stage, but to do these productions, I couldn’t keep it up,” she said.
“I’ve got so many international obligations, I have the prostate Olympics coming up — that was my own idea — and I’m doing a lot of work for my pet charity now, the deviated septum.”
Humphries’ turns as Everage and Patterson saw him achieve international renown, particularly in Britain where he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2007 for services to entertainment. He also won a special Tony award for a live theatrical event in 2000, “Dame Edna: The Royal Tour” through North America.
Everage was first conceived when Humphries toured southern Australia as a young actor in the 1950s and evolved from drab housewife to a self-proclaimed “gigastar” parody of celebrity best known for her catchphrase “Hello Possums”.
She went on to host her own 1980s talk show, The Dame Edna Experience, which attracted an array of luminaries including Sean Connery, Charlton Heston, Mel Gibson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Dusty Springfield and Chubby Checker.