Cape Town - South African satirist, author and social activist Pieter-Dirk Uys paid tribute to Australian comedian Barry Humphries, who was best known for his alter ego, Dame Edna Everage.
Humphries died at the age of 89 on Saturday after hip replacement surgery.
Uys, best known for his role as Evita Bezuidenhout, an Afrikaner socialite, tweeted on Evita Bezuidenhout @ TannieEvita: “So sad to hear of the passing of my good friend Dame Edna Everage. The world is poorer without you! Sterkte suster.” #barryhumphries
Celebrities from across the UK and Australia also paid tribute to Humphries.
Laura Busson, commissioning executive for BBC Radio 2, said: “Everyone at Radio 2 is saddened to hear of the passing of Barry Humphries.
“His six Radio 2 series Forgotten Music Masterpieces were hugely popular with our audience, and we will publish some of these programmes on BBC Sounds today for listeners to enjoy, in tribute to Barry.”
The four-times married father-offour was hailed a “genius”. The lilaccoiffed, cat-eye-bespectacled Dame Edna, a character that began in the 1950s as a satire on suburbia and evolved into a global goddess of bling and irreverence, performed for British royalty and on Broadway stages.
Australian premier Anthony Albanese posted a picture on Instagram of Barry posing in his Dame Edna regalia, which he captioned: “Barry Humphries – 1934-2023.
“For 89 years, Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas – from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone. But the brightest star in that galaxy was always Barry. A great wit, satirist, writer, and an absolute oneof-kind, he was both gifted and a gift. May he rest in peace.”
Other Australian stars to pay tribute were Kylie Minogue’s sister, Dannii, who said: “I was lucky to meet Barry and (his wife) Lizzie through my great friend Kathy. A cheeky humour that will be very missed.”
Jason Donovan posted throwback black and white images of Barry and said on Instagram: “Australia has lost one of its greatest! Funny, literate and fiercely intelligent, Barry Humphries was quite simply an entertaining genius.
“I had the honour of working with Barry on many occasions. Always generous and supportive … I was in awe of his incredible ability to humorously control any conversation he entered into … daring, provocative and often mischievous, the characters he created brought laughter to millions. A master in comedy and human interaction. What a life! What a legend. Thank you Barry for the smiles.”
Stand-up Ricky Gervais was among the comics who paid tribute, and he tweeted: “Farewell, Barry Humphries, you comedy genius.”
Great British Bake Off presenter Matt Lucas said: “I wonder if all geniuses are as lovely as Barry Humphries. Thank you for delighting and inspiring us. Quite simply, you were the greatest.”
And comic Dara Ó Briain added: “RIP Barry Humphries, one of the absolute funniest people ever. A huge life, lived long and well. He will be missed.”
Cape Argus