Dame Edna, the wildly popular Australian talk show host and comedian has announced her farewell tour.
Created by comedian Barry Humphries Edna first appeared in 1955. Over the years she went from a misunderstood comedian mistakes as a “drag act” to a respected comedic character.
Humphries announced that the tour which will start in Australia will be a final bon voyage for Edna’s fans.
Edna has spent more than 40 years commenting on celebrity and pop culture. In fact it was Edna who first proclaimed and recognized that celebrity would turn from something earned to something randomly made available to the likes of Paris Hilton and Snooki.
As the Guardian so aptly proclaimed:
“Humphries brilliantly piled upon Edna all of the victories and defeats that contemporary celebrity offers: physical makeover, TV talkshow, volumes of memoirs, stadium venues, tragedy (the loss of husband Norm to prostate cancer), rehab and comeback. With each return, Edna was different, her genuine and increasing fame constantly feeding the material. Typically, the farewell tour now opens up a whole new set of jokes about showbiz retirement rituals.”
In what might be one of her best “tricks of the trade” Dame Edna was not afraid to utterly destroy the works of those people she interviewed, often belittling books and movies during interviews with their creators.
What might be Barry Humphries’ greatest achievement however was his ability to totally emerge himself into a character, allowing that character to take on a life of there own. Most recently we’ve seen such a tactic used by Sacha Baron Cohen with his Ali G, Borat and Brüno characters.
Will you miss Dame Edna when she takes her final curtain call?
