About Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeared in numerous stage productions, films and television shows. Humphries's characters brought him international renown. Originally conceived as a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife who caricatured Australian suburban complacency and insularity, the Dame Edna Everage character developed into a satire of stardom: a gaudily dressed, acid-tongued, egomaniacal, internationally fêted "housewife gigastar". His other satirical characters included the "priapic and inebriated cultural attaché" Sir Les Patterson, who "continued to bring worldwide discredit upon Australian arts and culture, while contributing as much to the Australian vernacular as he has borrowed from it"; gentle, grandfatherly "returned gentleman" Sandy Stone; iconoclastic 1960s' underground film-maker Martin Agrippa; Paddington socialist academic Neil Singleton; sleazy trade-union official Lance Boyle; high-pressure art salesman Morrie O'Connor; failed tycoon Owen Steele; and archetypal Australian bloke Barry McKenzie. Educated first at Camberwell Grammar School, Humphries was awarded a place in the school's gallery of achievement. Dressing in a black cloak, black homburg hat and mascaraed eyes, he invented his first sustained character, "Dr Aaron Azimuth", agent provocateur, dandy and Dadaist. It was at this point that he created the first incarnation of what became his best-known character, Edna Everage.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.