Royals, politicians and artists farewell comic genius Barry Humphries at state memorial
He was remembered as a comic genius, lover of desserts and a terrible driver, but entertainment icon Barry Humphries was a man who admired creativity above all else.
Entertainment
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John Barry Humphries AC CBE has been given a final standing ovation at a state memorial service at his beloved Sydney Opera House.
During a 90-minute program on Friday the iconic actor, author, satirist and creator of housewife megastar Dame Edna Everage was remembered by royals, diplomats, representatives of the arts community and his family as a creative genius, a comedic giant, a lover of desserts and a terrifying driver, who, during a 70-year career, put Australia firmly on the cultural map.
Confirmed fan King Charles III, who in April conveyed his best wishes to 89-year-old Humphries during his final days at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Private Hospital, led the tributes.
“Like so many I have been deeply saddened by (Humphries’) passing. Life really won’t be the same without him,” the King said in a prepared statement read by Arts Minister Tony Burke, standing in for an ailing NSW Governor-General Margaret Beazley.
“I suspect that all those who appeared on stage or on TV with Barry’s Dame Edna, or who found her appearing at the back of the Royal Box, will have shared that unique sensation where fear and fun combine. Those who tried to stand on their dignity soon lost their footing. Those who wondered whether Australia’s housewife superstar might this time just go too far, were always proved right. No one was safe.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in a video tribute in which he acknowledged Humphries had brought “joy to every part of Australia”, compared parliament’s two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives, to Humphries’ most famous comedic alter egos, Dame Edna and obscene and lecherous Sir Les Patterson.
“If Dame Edna represented the refinement, the consideration and the style of the upper house, Sir Les was, without doubt, the lower house. It’s probably safe to say there was never a house any lower than Sir Les.”
The Opera House Concert Hall was packed with Humphries’ friends, family and fans — including two former prime ministers, John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull.
Other members of the star-studded audience included actors Susie Porter, Jacki Weaver and Barry Crocker, fashion designers Collette Dinnigan and Bianca Spender, film directors Scott Hicks and Stefan Elliot, and producer Sue Milliken.
Leading the onstage tributes at an event billed as “A Celebration of The Lives of Barry Humphries” were three of Humphries’ four children — Tessa, Oscar and Rupert — as well as acclaimed Australian film director Bruce Beresford, who directed Humphries in the 1972 comedy romp The Adventures of Barry McKenzie.
Only Humphries’ daughter Emily, born of his second marriage to Rosalind Tong, did not attend the service, which was controversially MCed by TV presenter Richard Wilkins at Spender’s request.
Beresford, whose credits include the Oscar-winning Driving Miss Daisy, spoke affectionately about the man who gave him his start as a feature film director despite blowback from film producers.
He recalled Humphries as “a great talent, a great friend, a great Australian”, before recounting the story of Humphries struggling with alcohol addiction while living in London in the 1960s and ’70s and trying to make his name.
“Barry was having a struggle with sobriety,” recalled Beresford. “He started drinking very early in the morning, then haunted the Soho pubs all day. His career was affected. Barry’s record was patchy. At one theatre he knew he was first on stage after interval. He ran from a nearby pub and managed to reach the theatre just as the interval ended. He dashed into the wings and then onto the stage. The only problem was, he was in the wrong theatre – and in the wrong play.”
Youngest son Rupert Humphries, a UK-based video game creator born of Humphries’ third marriage to actor and writer Diane Millstead, said his childhood had been spent “either wishing I was with my dad or following him around on tour … getting to spend time with him in that precious window between his afternoon nap and his show starting”.
“My favourite smell growing up was the acetone in his little pink pots of nail polish remover …
“Before each show started I would sit in his dressing room as he applied make-up, wigs and fake teeth and then watch him either step into sequined frock or a totally disturbing fat suit that he wore for Les, with his huge appendage attached.
“It seemed to me that dad wasn’t really made for this world. Every time I got into a car with him, I felt lucky to get out alive.
“He wasn’t going to teach me cricket or how to do my tax returns but I was so lucky to have him as a father. He taught me a love of travelling, books and learning, the power of being outrageous and how to be completely yourself, and the importance of creativity above all else.”
Observing the packed Concert Hall, eldest son Oscar Humphries, a London art curator, said: “Nothing is more likely to summon Barry’s spirit than a full house.”
“(Barry’s) was a brilliant and kaleidoscopic life. His was a life in two acts – the chaos of addiction and then, from the ’70s on, his sobriety. He was enormously proud of it … and he regarded it as his greatest achievement, because of course without that, those of us who are fellow addicts, without that we have nothing else, professionally or personally,” Oscar said.
“To see how much he meant to people has been a buffer against grief and something we hugely appreciate.”
Despite their mother’s bitter 1989 split with Humphries, Rupert Humphries paid tribute to the brothers’ stepmother, Lizzy Spender, Humphries’ wife of 33 years.
“Most of all we want to thank our stepmother Lizzie … When (dad) wasn’t on tour he was going back and forth between Australian and Europe … or getting on a plane to see a friend or exhibition. He wouldn’t have been able to do that for as long as he did if you didn’t make everywhere he went a home, Lizzie.
“Dad was never happier than being at the breakfast table with you eating burnt-to-a-crisp toast, or curled up under a blanket watching yet another BBC detective drama. You were the companion that made his life possible and we know you have worked so hard to make today happen, so thank you for everything.”
Daughter Tessa read one of her father’s poems, Wattle Park Blues.
NSW Premier Chris Minns followed with a second poetry extract, from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s The Fire of Drift-wood.
Humphries’ love of music was showcased in performances by the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s director Richard Tognetti, who Humphries once dubbed “the thinking woman’s Andre Rieu”, and members of the ACO.
The memorial, produced by Paul Dainty and Jamie Campbell, also included video tributes from luminaries of the theatre, TV and media worlds including Rupert Murdoch, Elton John, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh, and British comedians Rob Brydon, David Walliams and Jimmy Carr.
Walliams called Humphries the inspiration for his entire career, while Bryden described his mercurial talent as “interstellar”.
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