Barry Humphries

He married Brenda Wright in 1955 but they divorced in 1957.

In 1959 he married Rosalind Tong. This marriage too culminated into divorce in 1970.

His third marriage was with Diane Millstead in 1979, which again resulted in divorce in 1989.

He was born on February 17, 1934 in Kew, a suburb in Melbourne, Australia in the affluent family to Eric Humphries and Louisa Humphries. His father worked as a construction manager.

He spent a happy early childhood with his parents, who fondly called him ‘Sunny Sam’ bringing him all that he wished for. He would spend hours at the back garden dressing himself in different characters with his box full of character dresses, such as a sailor or a Red Indian. He liked entertaining people since his childhood and these small aspects of his early age set his stage for pursuing a successful career in the entertainment world.

He attended the ‘Camberwell Grammar School’ in Canterbury, Melbourne and thereafter studied in ‘Melbourne Grammar School’ in South Yarra and Caulfield, Melbourne. He was not a sports enthusiast, avoided cadets and disliked mathematics. In his matriculation, he came out with flying colours in English and Art.

He attended ‘Queen's College’ affiliated to ‘University of Melbourne’ and studied Philosophy, Fine Arts and Law, but dropped out after two years.

He became a prominent exponent of ‘Dada’, a nonsensical and deconstructive art movement that evolved in Zurich during ‘World War I’. From 1952 to 1953, he was involved with a group that created several recordings in Melbourne that were inspired by ‘Dada’.

He joined the newly established ‘Melbourne Theatre Company’ (MTC’). It was set up by John Sumner in 1953.

In 1955 he first conceived and shaped up the character of Edna Everage for a skit. It was first characterised in the stage show ‘Olympic Hostess’ at the ‘Union Theatre’ of ‘Melbourne University’ on December 12, 1955.

He relocated to Sydney in 1957 and joined ‘Philip Street Revue Theatre’ that eventually emerged as a prominent theatre showcasing lampoon and satirical comedy. His first performance there was in a satirical revue called ‘Two to One’ that also starred seasoned music star Max Oldaker.

He revived the ‘Olympic Hostess’ in ‘Philip Street Revue Theatre’ and the character of Edna seemed to be a hit that saw it run eight shows a week for fourteen months.

Over the years he did several stage performances touring around Australia, Germany, Netherlands and Scandinavia and in the Middle and Far East.

Edna Everage, the fictional comic character that he gradually developed and performed in various mediums, for decades garnered him international reputation and fame as a remarkable comic and satire artist.

The other two prominent characters created by him are ‘Sir Les Patterson’ and ‘Sandy Stone’ who frequently appeared in his stage shows.