Dame Edna Everage

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Dame Edna at the Windsor-Middleton wedding

Dame Edna Everage is a fictional character created by Australian comedian Barry Humphries . Her trademarks are her purple hair and oversized glasses. As Dame Edna, Humphries has published several books and hosted many TV shows.

1979 Dame Edna was the subject of a BBC - mockumentary entitled "La Dame aux Gladiolas".

While Humphries explains that Dame Edna is a role he plays, Dame Edna explains the opposite: she denies being a fictional character or a drag performer . Rather, Humphries is their “ entrepreneur ” or manager.

Fictional biography

As part of the fictional autobiography of Dame Edna and the statements of this fictional character, she was born Edna May Beazley in the small rural town of Wagga Wagga . Her career began on December 19, 1955 as Ms. Norm Everage, an "average Australian housewife" from Moonee Ponds , a suburb of Melbourne . Her husband's name, Norm Stoddard Everage, echoes the English words norm , standard and average . When her husband died of prostate cancer, she became the founder and governor of a charity organization called “Friends of the Prostate” and the organizer of the “World Prostate Olympics”.

Dame Edna spent her time visiting eminent statesmen around the world and became a jet set passenger between her homes in Los Angeles , London , Sydney , Switzerland and Martha's Vineyard . She became a friend and confidante of the British Queen.

Dame Edna has three grown children: a daughter named Valmai (currently in a shoplifting rehabilitation program) and two sons, Bruce and Kenneth, who appear like prototypical gays in Edna's description, even if she does not recognize this herself. Dame Edna's mother is kept in a "maximum security twilight home".

Alongside these family members who never show up, the aging “bridesmaid” Madge Allsop (played by Emily Perry ) often appeared on stage and on TV shows . Madge Allsop never spoke a word, so she was often the victim of Dame Edna's jokes.

Acting achievement and performance

The role of "Edna Everage" first appeared in 1955 in a comedy revue in Melbourne . At that time she was "Ms. Norm Everage". Her overseas debut, now as Edna Everage, was in the early 1960s at comedian Peter Cook's The Establishment nightclub in London's West End .

In 1972 she appeared as Barry McKenzie's "Aunt Edna" in the film The Adventures of Barry McKenzie and its sequels. During this time she was raised to "Dame Edna" by the Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam .

In 1978, Dame Edna Everage appeared in the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band .

Dame Edna Everage became well known in the UK for her television shows on Independent Television in the 1980s and early 1990s. She received her own game shows and variety shows, including The Dame Edna Experience show in 1987 and Dame Edna's Neighborhood Watch show in 1992 .

In October 1996 she performed at the Schlossparktheater in Berlin with the show Look at Me When I'm Talking to You .

In 2001 and 2002 Dame Edna was seen in a recurring role as Claire Otoms in the hit American television series Ally McBeal . Claire Otoms is an anagram of "A Sitcom Role".

In 2002, Dame Edna starred in the film Nicholas Nickleby in the role of Ms. Crummles, actress and wife of the manager of a provincial theater company.

In 2010, Dame Edna began working with the pianist and singer Michael Feinstein on a two-person revue, which was shown in the USA under the name "All About Me" in the Henry Miller's Theater (later the Stephen Sondheim Theater ).

In 2012, Humphries announced the imminent retirement of his character Dame Edna and justified this with his advanced age. In June 2013, Dame Edna returned to the Australian stage in Peter and the Wolf at the Sydney Opera House . In 2013 Dame Edna announced her final tour in the UK. In 2015 the "Dame Edna's Glorious Goodbye - The Farewell Tour" started in Seattle. This tour also went through Canada and finally ended on April 26th at the National Theater in Washington.

Television (selection)

Own shows

  • 1980: An Audience with Dame Edna Everage (Christmas Special)
  • 1984: Another Audience with Dame Edna Everage (New Year's Eve-Special)
  • 1988: One More Audience with Dame Edna Everage (Christman Special)
  • 1987–1989: The Dame Edna Experience (14 episodes)
  • 1990: A Night on Mount Edna (Christmas Special)
  • 1991–1993: Dame Edna's Hollywood (3 episodes)
  • 1992–1993: Dame Edna's Neighborhood Watch (12 episodes)
  • 1993: Edna Time (pilot episode of a talk series that was never realized)
  • 1997: Dame Edna Kisses It Better
  • 2003: Dame Edna Live at the Palace (Christmas Special)
  • 2007: The Dame Edna Treatment (7 episodes)

Guest appearances

Series

Discography (selection)

Albums

  • 1988: The Dame Edna Party Experience (Epic Records)

Singles

  • 1979: Disco Matilda (Big Time Records)
  • 1988: Theme From Neighbors (Epic Records)

Books (selection)

  • 1989: My Gorgeous Life (The Macmillan Company, ISBN 0-7329-0140-5 ) (autobiography)
  • 2017: Dame Edna's Ednapedia - A History of Australia in 101 Objects (Head of Zeus, ISBN 1784975605 )

Web links

Commons : Dame Edna Everage  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309912/combined
  2. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/theater/reviews/19allaboutme.html?_r=0
  3. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/jul/15/dame-edna-everage-uk-tour
  4. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dameednafarewell.com
  5. ↑ Discogs: Dame Edna Everage - The Dame Edna Party Experience