Barry Humphries, Australian comedian and creator of Dame Edna Everage, dies aged 89

Barry Humphries, the Australian comedian and actor best known for his creations Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, has died aged 89.

In a seven-decade career spanning theatre, television, books and film, Humphries was famed for his absurdist, discomfiting and transgressive humour, poking fun at Australian culture with his cast of personas, some of which would rank among the best-loved comedic creations of all time: Dame Edna Everage, the gaudy, waspish housewife from Moonee Ponds; Sir Les Patterson, the vulgar and boozy Australian cultural attaché; the fundamentally decent and senile Sandy Stone; and archetypal Aussie bloke Barry McKenzie.

Over his career, Humphries appeared in films playing characters such as the Great Goblin in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Bruce the great white shark in Finding Nemo. He also appeared in The Rocky Horror Picture Show sequel Shock Treatment; the Spice Girls film Spice World; and had small roles in Da Kath and Kim Code and Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie.