127-605: Dame Edna Everage , often known simply as Dame Edna , is a character created and performed by late Australian comedian Barry Humphries , known for her lilac-coloured (" wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, the gladiolus ("gladdies"); and her boisterous greeting "Hello, Possums !" As Dame Edna, Humphries wrote several books, including an autobiography, My Gorgeous Life ; appeared in several films; and hosted several television shows (on which Humphries also appeared as himself and other alter-egos). Humphries regularly updated Edna. Starting as
254-492: A New Zealander from Palmerston North who assisted Dame Edna with her appearances and television shows. (Perry died at the age of 100 in 2008 and Dame Edna's daughter Valmai replaced her on stage). Madge never spoke a public word (although she sang on Comic Relief ), and while she was often the butt of Dame Edna's jokes, the two were devoted. In Handling Edna, the Unauthorised Biography , Humphries gives Madge
381-572: A Show and the BBC television series The Barry Humphries Scandals , a growing awareness and appreciation among British audiences for Edna emerged and Humphries devised a stage show titled Edna Everage Housewife Superstar which was successfully presented in London's West End in the mid-1970s. The show featured monologues, songs and what was becoming an Edna trademark – interaction with the theatre audience. In April 1976, Edna made an appearance in A Poke in
508-585: A Show , staged at London's Fortune Theatre in 1969. It polarised the critics but was a hit with audiences and became the basis of a growing cult following in the UK. He further developed the character of Edna Everage in his early-1970s' shows, including A Load of Olde Stuffe (1971) and At Least You Can Say You've Seen It (1974–75). He finally broke through to widespread critical and audience acclaim in Britain with his 1976 London production Housewife, Superstar! at
635-601: A cameo as Edna in the Robert Stigwood musical film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , followed in 1981 by his part as the fake-blind TV-show host Bert Schnick in Shock Treatment , the sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show . Humphries was more successful with his featured role as Richard Deane in Dr. Fischer of Geneva (1985); this was followed by Howling III (1987), a cameo as Rupert Murdoch in
762-469: A century for that critic to die". Dame Edna's success grew in the UK throughout the 1980s and early 1990s with semi-regular stage and television shows. Her first TV specials were in 1978–1979 on BBC, but she became popular with broadcaster ITV after her initial performance on An Audience With ... Dame Edna Everage in 1980, in front of an audience of invited celebrities. She went on to perform two more An Audience With... specials (in 1984 and 1988),
889-454: A character similar to Edna in the back of a bus while touring country Victoria with Twelfth Night with the MTC at the age of 20. He credited his then mentor, Peter O'Shaughnessy , stating that, without his "nurturing and promotion, the character of Edna Everage would have been nipped in the bud after 1956 and never come to flower, while the character of Sandy Stone would never have taken shape as
1016-562: A credit in the closing credits). Claire Otoms is an anagram of "A Sitcom Role". In the 2002 motion picture Nicholas Nickleby Dame Edna plays the role of Mrs. Crummles, an actress and wife of the manager of a provincial theatre company. Barry Humphries also appears in the film as Mr. Leadville. Dame Edna appeared at the Party at the Palace in London in 2002 where she referred to the Queen as
1143-570: A deal to take over Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television in 1997, giving the broadcaster access to both Yorkshire and North East franchises. There was no further movement in the take-over of franchises until 2000, when Border Television and all of its radio assets were sold to Capital Radio Group , who consequently sold the television broadcasting arm to Granada Media Group. Granada then went on to purchase all of UNM's television interests (including its ITV franchises), which brought Meridian, Anglia, and HTV into its power, but due to regulation, Granada
1270-534: A different company running each. The service was very heavily regulated until the early 1990s. The regulator, the ITA (and later the IBA) operated the transmitters, awarded franchises and had a great influence over schedules, content and technical standards. Legally the regulator was the broadcaster – the companies were contracted to provide an "independent television service" to compete with the BBC. The ITV network existed in
1397-505: A drab Melbourne housewife satirising Australian suburbia, the character adopted an increasingly outlandish wardrobe after performances in London in the 1960s, through which she grew in stature and popularity. Edna was known for her outlandish spectacles. Humphries claimed the eyeglasses, and other aspects of Edna's personality, were inspired by Stephanie Deste , a Melbourne eccentric, beautician, radio broadcaster, actor and dancer. Following film appearances and an elevation to damehood in
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#17327803909071524-562: A film version of the Barry McKenzie cartoons. The Adventures of Barry McKenzie starred singer Barry Crocker in the title role and featured Humphries—who co-wrote the script with Beresford—playing three different parts. It was filmed in England and Australia with an all-star cast including Spike Milligan, Peter Cook, Dennis Price , Dick Bentley , Willie Rushton , Julie Covington , Clive James and broadcaster Joan Bakewell . It
1651-469: A friend of and was photographed by leading photographer Lewis Morley , whose studio was located above the club. Humphries contributed to the satirical magazine Private Eye , of which Cook was publisher, his best-known work being the cartoon strip The Wonderful World of Barry McKenzie . The bawdy cartoon satire of the worst aspects of Australians abroad was written by Humphries and drawn by New Zealand-born cartoonist Nicholas Garland . The book version of
1778-403: A half hours long, alternated satirical monologues and musical numbers and consisted of entirely original material, laced with ad-libbing, improvisation and audience participation segments. Humphries mostly performed solo, but he was occasionally joined on stage by supporting dancers and an accompanist during the musical numbers. Only one actor ever regularly shared the stage with Humphries, and this
1905-624: A jobbing actor rather than as a pampered star. In 1972, the character appeared as Barry McKenzie 's "Aunt Edna" in the film, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie . In the sequel Barry McKenzie Holds His Own , the Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam cameos at the close of the film to confer upon Edna the title of Dame , henceforth to be known as "Dame Edna". Following the lukewarm reception to Edna's early appearances in Humphries' 1969 stageshow Just
2032-447: A look at her "by invitation only, ladies audience" member's houses, and evaluating their housekeeping skills. U.S. television specials followed, as did an unsuccessful series which aired only one episode. She appeared as a guest of Phil Donahue on his talk show on 17 February 1993. In 1997, she appeared in another television talk show Dr Dame Edna Kisses It Better . Edna continued her Australian stage and television appearances including
2159-454: A national channel with slots for regional opt-outs – similar to channels like BBC One and France 's France 3 – rather than a group of independent regional broadcasters sharing programmes. The unification was consolidated in 2004 when Granada plc acquired Carlton Communications to form ITV plc . By then, the two companies had acquired all the regional Channel 3 companies in England and Wales. ITV plc later acquired Channel Television in
2286-452: A new channel branding called ITV Day , used to identify ITV1 between 9:25am and 6:00pm. ITV Day was treated as a separate entity to ITV1 and featured its own presentation set focusing using the colours of red, orange and yellow and featured scenes of typical "daytime" activities. Promotions were used in a similar format to ITV1, and all daytime programmes advertised within ITV1 hours branded with
2413-484: A new chat show called The Dame Edna Treatment . The show began on Saturday 17 March 2007, with the set-up being that Edna runs a health spa where various famous guests come for treatment. On 17 December 2006, Dame Edna appeared as a guest panellist on the ABC TV Show Spicks and Specks where she sang with presenter Adam Hills . On 16 December 2007 she appeared as the last guest on the final episode of
2540-536: A new common name, ITV1, was launched on 11 August 2001. On 28 October 2002, regional continuity and idents were dropped in the English regions while the service in Wales was rebranded ITV1 Wales. At this time all English regional continuity announcers were replaced with a single team of national continuity announcers – initially, there were six but the number was later reduced to just four. In 2005, ITV plc introduced
2667-540: A one-off, Humphries decided to revive "Olympic Hostess" for Phillip Street and its success helped to launch what became a fifty-year career for the self-proclaimed "Housewife Superstar" (later Megastar, then Gigastar). The next Phillip Street revue was Around the Loop , which again teamed Oldaker, Gordon Chater , Blacklock and Humphries, plus newcomer June Salter . Humphries revived the Edna character (for what he said would be
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#17327803909072794-682: A piece of graffiti on Sunderland 's Penshaw Monument read "Edna Woz Ere 09" and a pair of Everage's signature glasses were drawn next to it. Dame Edna performed the "Last Night of the Poms" at the Royal Albert Hall accompanying the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on 15 September 2009 and on 21 September, she appeared as a guest on Channel 4's " The Paul O'Grady Show ". Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries AC CBE (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023)
2921-468: A poor review from Bamber Gascoigne , then the drama critic for The Spectator . Barry Humphries cites Cook as being instrumental in launching Edna's UK career. While her first appearances at the Establishment Club were a flop, the mousy Edna being too quiet to please that raucous crowd, a 2016 interviewer William Cook saw the early failure as a blessing, so that Humphries spent the sixties as
3048-671: A possible re-structure of the ITV regional layout, stating the existence of smaller regional services "no longer makes sense" relative to the regional audience they serve. The plan was confirmed in September 2007, reducing the number of regional news programmes from 17 to just 9, saving around £35 to £40 million each year, and affecting every ITV plc regional company with the exception of ITV London, ITV Wales, and ITV Granada. These changes were implemented in early 2009. All sub-regional news programmes ceased; ITV Border 's Lookaround programme
3175-453: A post in which she distanced herself from the comments, stating that she had fired him years earlier but that he "refuses to accept dismissal" and opining that he "is losing the plot" and "deserves our pity not our disapproval". In the same message, she also claimed partial Aboriginal Australian and Jewish ancestry. On 7 March 2007, Melbourne renamed a city street in her honour: Dame Edna Place, formerly Brown Alley off Little Collins Street,
3302-496: A presence on the stage". In 1957, Humphries moved to Sydney and joined Sydney's Phillip Street Theatre , which became Australia's leading venue for revue and satirical comedy over the next decade. His first appearance at Phillip Street was in the satirical revue Two to One , starring veteran Australian musical star Max Oldaker, with a cast including Humphries and future Number 96 star Wendy Blacklock . Although he had originally assumed Edna's debut Melbourne appearance would be
3429-613: A record five appearances as guest presenter at the TV Week Logie Awards and a role as a co-narrator (along with Humphries and Les Patterson) of the ABC 's Australian social history series Barry Humphries Flashbacks in 1999. In 2000 and 2004, Dame Edna appeared on Broadway, and toured America with both shows. These were ostensibly not "performances", but rather "appearances", with Dame Edna giving monologues and interacting with audience members. Her 2000 show, The Royal Tour, won
3556-513: A region-heavy form from its inception through to the 2000s, although the switch to a single unified service was gradual. ITV1 became the generic on-screen brand name used by the twelve franchises of the ITV network in the United Kingdom. The ITV1 brand was introduced on 11 August 2001 by the franchisees owned by Carlton and Granada, initially used alongside the local regional name, such as "ITV1 Anglia" and "ITV1 Meridian". However, it became
3683-609: A series of three chat-show specials filmed in the U.S. for the NBC and the Fox network . Like The Dame Edna Experience , these included an array of top celebrity guests such as Burt Reynolds , Cher , Bea Arthur , Kim Basinger and Barry Manilow . Edna's most recent television special was Dame Edna Live at the Palace in 2003. He starred in the Kath & Kim telemovie Da Kath & Kim Code in late 2005. In 1977, Dame Edna guest-starred on
3810-565: A spoon with a sheep's eye. Humphries had written and performed songs and sketches in university revues, so after leaving university he joined the newly formed Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC). It was at this point that he created the first incarnation of what became his best-known character, Edna Everage . The first stage sketch to feature Mrs. Norm Everage, called "Olympic Hostess", premiered at Melbourne University's Union Theatre on 13 December 1955. In his award-winning autobiography, More Please (1992), Humphries related that he had created
3937-416: A tweaked version with the new UTV logo. On 1 January 2019, ITV refreshed its on-air presentation again. The logo and trailers were modified to use a different colour scheme, but the main change was to the idents. In a project known as ITV Creates , a new set of idents were used weekly. They were built around interpretations of the ITV logo commissioned from British visual artists. The first artist featured
Dame Edna Everage - Misplaced Pages Continue
4064-489: A voice and explains the sad loss of her own husband in New Zealand's boiling mud, whilst the couple were on their honeymoon. On some of her shows ( The Dame Edna Experience ) Dame Edna was joined on stage by 'Chuck' ( Charlton Heston ) where he would be mildly humiliated and mistreated. Dame Edna was praised for her insights into her homeland. When asked why Australians are so good at sport she commented: "the cli- mate,
4191-533: Is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc . It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for the central and northern areas of Scotland where STV provides the service. ITV1 as a consistent national channel (with dedicated slots for regional news and other regional programmes) evolved out of
4318-537: Is located by the Yarra river near Harbour Town which also includes statues of singer John Farnham, Dame Nellie Melba, and Graham Kennedy. In 2020, a species of brightly iridescent Australian soldier fly was named Opaluma ednae in honour of the character, "whose signature hair has a striking resemblance to the colouration of this species." Other species described in the same article were named O. rupaul (after drag queen RuPaul ) and O. fabulosa . Barry Humphries
4445-471: Is married to Joylene from Ivanhoe , and her youngest, Kenneth (or Kenny), who is a fashion designer in London and designed all of her frocks. Dame Edna refers often to him and his partner, Clifford Smale, both of whom Edna believes are searching for "Miss Right", although she admits they are looking "in some very strange places". Kenny appeared in Sir Les Patterson 's documentary Les Patterson and
4572-626: Is not available in the main channels (e.g. channel 203 on Sky, channel 34 on Freeview, channel 112 on Freesat), and may be in the regional variation channels instead (e.g. channel 973 on Sky). In the English regions (plus Border Scotland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man), the channel was known from 2006 until 2013 as ITV1, from 2013 until 2022 as ITV, and from 15 November 2022, ITV1 at all times. Regional references no longer appear before any programming at all in these areas. ITV network areas without full ITV1 channel branding and continuity: In June 2007, ITV plc executive chairman Michael Grade hinted at
4699-590: Is registered to broadcast within the European Union/EEA through ALIA in Luxembourg. Since 27 March 2013, ITV1 London has been offered by British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) to members of HM Forces and their families around the world, replacing the BFBS3 TV channel, which already carried a selection of ITV programmes. ITV was not consistently promoted as a brand name until 1989 although
4826-421: Is usually spoken by the continuity announcer prior to local programmes. After ITV1's unification in 2002, the two London franchises, Carlton Television and London Weekend Television were merged into a single entity, ITV London , while the Wales and West franchise lost its official identity, and instead was substituted with ITV1 Wales and ITV1 West on-air, with no reference linking the two together (the licence
4953-542: The Parkinson UK talk show. On 29 May 2008 she appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside Ray Mears and Alanis Morissette . On 8 August 2008 she appeared on Loose Women on the final show of that year's series. On 12 September and 15 December 2008, and also on 27 May 2009, she made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . Accompanied by her daughter Valmai in America and Sir Les Patterson in
5080-613: The Apollo Theatre . Its success in Britain and Australia led Humphries to try his luck with the show in New York City in 1977 at the off-Broadway Theatre Four (now called the Julia Miles Theatre), but it proved to be a disastrous repeat of his experience with Just a Show . Humphries later summed up his negative reception by saying: "When The New York Times tells you to close, you close." His next show
5207-597: The Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne while 1000 "Commonwealth Dames" danced around the arena wearing purple wigs, garish costumes and gladioli, singing along to her song, "We've Made The Most of Melbourne" : "It's not as small as Adelaide, Compared to Canberra, it's bliss, And if you've been to Melbourne, You can give Sydney a miss." On 20 May 2006 she appeared on ITV's coverage of The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday Concert. During
Dame Edna Everage - Misplaced Pages Continue
5334-532: The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show , and a Tony Award . During 2001 and 2002, Dame Edna appeared in the fifth season of the television show Ally McBeal playing the guest role of Claire Otoms, a client of the show's law firm who later became a secretary at the same firm. The character shared Dame Edna's voice and style and was explicitly listed in the opening credits as being played by Dame Edna Everage (although Barry Humphries received
5461-776: The EP Wild Life in Suburbia , which featured liner notes by his friend, the Modernist architect and writer Robin Boyd . In 1959, Humphries moved to London, where he lived and worked throughout the 1960s. He became a friend of leading members of the British comedy scene including Dudley Moore , Peter Cook , Alan Bennett , Jonathan Miller , Spike Milligan , Willie Rushton and fellow Australian expatriate comedian-actors John Bluthal and Dick Bentley . Humphries performed at Cook's comedy venue The Establishment , where he became
5588-679: The Freeview HD service. The channel has its roots in ITV HD, which began as a trial service in 2006 on a low-power digital terrestrial ( DVB-T ) channel from London's Crystal Palace transmitting station , and on Telewest TV Drive cable service. The channel was revived on 7 June 2008, in time for the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament, this time exclusively available on the Freesat digital satellite service. With its debut on Freeview HD,
5715-714: The London Palladium . In 1967, his friendship with Cook and Moore led to his first film role, a cameo as "Envy" in the film Bedazzled , starring Cook and Moore, with Eleanor Bron and directed by Stanley Donen . The following year, he appeared in The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom , with Shirley MacLaine . Humphries contributed to BBC Television 's The Late Show (1966–67), but Humphries found his true calling with his one-man satirical stage revues, in which he performed as Edna Everage and other character creations including Sandy Stone. A Nice Night's Entertainment (1962)
5842-649: The Mermaid Theatre and was transferring to the West End . Humphries performed with Milligan in the 1968 production of Treasure Island in the role of Long John Silver . He described working with Milligan as "one of the strangest and most exhilarating experiences of my career". In 1961, when Humphries was in Cornwall with his wife, he fell over a cliff near Zennor and landed on a ledge 50 m (150 ft) below, breaking bones. The rescue by helicopter
5969-592: The Midlands . Days afterwards, Granada plc , owner of Granada Television of the North West , purchased London Weekend Television (LWT). Meridian's owner, Mills and Allen International, then went on to purchase Anglia Television in the same year, before merging to become United News and Media (UNM) in 1995. UNM then went on to purchase Wales and West broadcaster, HTV in 1996, while Carlton purchased Westcountry Television later that year. Granada then agreed
6096-655: The Samuel Beckett play at the Arrow Theatre in Melbourne directed by Peter O'Shaughnessy who played Vladimir. In 1958, Humphries and O'Shaughnessy collaborated on and appeared in the Rock'n'Reel Revue at the New Theatre in Melbourne, where Humphries brought the characters of Mrs Everage and Sandy Stone into the psyche of Melbourne audiences. In the same year, Humphries made his first commercial recording,
6223-683: The University of Melbourne , where he studied law, philosophy and fine arts. During this time, he was a private in the Melbourne University Regiment , serving a period of national service in the Citizens Military Force of the Australian Army . He did not graduate from university (although he would receive an honorary doctorate almost 50 years later). During this time he became a follower of
6350-447: The cult of celebrity , class snobbery , and prudishness and was often used by Humphries to poke fun at the political leaders and fashions of the times. Her exuberant persona and scathing commentary on society and celebrity, as well as her habit of treating celebrities like ordinary people (on her television shows) and ordinary people like celebrities (in her stage shows) have become signatures. Although Humphries freely stated that Edna
6477-503: The platypus , a beloved and protected species in Australia. He was part of a group that made a series of Dada-influenced recordings in Melbourne from 1952 to 1953. "Wubbo Music" (Humphries said that "wubbo" is a pseudo-Aboriginal word meaning "nothing") is thought to be one of the earliest recordings of experimental music in Australia. Other exhibits the group mounted include "Creche Bang", a pram covered in meat and "Eye and Spoon Race",
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#17327803909076604-709: The "jubilee girl". The nostalgic "Barry Humphries: Back to my Roots" tour featured Humphries, Edna, Sir Les and Sandy Stone around Australia in 2003. In 2002 New Zealand artist Maurice Bennett was commissioned by an Australian bread company to create a 7.35 m (24.1 ft) tall 2,989-slice toast portrait of Dame Edna. It was exhibited on a billboard in La Trobe Street in Melbourne . In 2003, she had an interview punctuated with NPR Weekend Edition's host Scott Simon's table-pounding laughter. The character celebrated her 50th "birthday" in 2005. She appeared in
6731-471: The 1970s, the character evolved to "Housewife and Superstar", then "Megastar" and finally "Gigastar". Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Dame Edna became increasingly known in North America after multiple stage and television appearances. Edna described her chat-shows as "an intimate conversation between two friends, one of whom is a lot more interesting than the other". The character was used to satirise
6858-486: The 2005 Myer Christmas advert. To mark the occasion, in 2006, Australia Post featured Edna on a postage stamp and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne presented Edna with the key to the city. She toured Australia with the stageshow "Barry Humphries Back With a Vengeance" and appeared on camera "together" with Humphries for the first time in an interview by Ray Martin for Australia's 60 Minutes . She also appeared on screen at
6985-413: The 2014 "Dead Point" episode. In 2000 Humphries took his Dame Edna: The Royal Tour show to North America winning the inaugural Special Tony Award for a Live Theatrical Event in 2000 and won two National Broadway Theatre Awards for "Best Play" and for "Best Actor" in 2001. Asked by an Australian journalist what it was like to win a Tony Award , he said "it was like winning a thousand Gold Logies at
7112-527: The Anglia region is divided into West and East. This arrangement was suspended in February 2009, when ITV implemented plans to save the company £40m a year on the amount it spent making local news, but was reinstated (with slightly fewer sub-regions) on 16 September 2013. Since 27 October 2002, on all ITV plc-owned franchises, regional programming has been preceded or plugged by an oral regional announcement, in
7239-572: The Borders, for example, saw a return to a Border-only news service, with all stories covered solely on Southern Scotland and Cumbria, similar to the pre-Tyne Tees merger in February 2009. Meanwhile, in the Westcountry, viewers in Devon and Cornwall also saw a return to a more localised service. A high-definition simulcast of ITV1, ITV1 HD , debuted on 7 June 2008, with the technical launch of
7366-620: The Channel Islands and UTV in Northern Ireland. ITV1 is today the biggest and most popular commercial television channel in the United Kingdom. ITV1, and its predecessor regional channels, have contended with BBC One for the status of the UK's most watched television channel since the 1950s. However, in line with the other former analogue channels, ITV1's audience share has fallen as a result of availability of multi-channel television, and more recently streaming services, in
7493-950: 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 . Humphries
7620-451: The Eye (with a Sharp Stick) — the first of what became Amnesty International 's Secret Policeman's Ball series of benefit shows. Edna performed a song for the show and was featured in the film of the show. She also appeared in the 1981 Amnesty show The Secret Policeman's Other Ball . Edna made a cameo appearance in the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band . In 1979 she was
7747-535: The Great Chinese Takeaway as a boutique owner in Hong Kong. Dame Edna's mother was incarcerated in a "maximum-security twilight home for the permanently bewildered". Valmai and Kenny are the only family members who appeared on stage or screen with their mother. Her husband, Sir Norman Everage, died in 1988 after many years in hospital with prostate problems and a "testicular murmur"; Edna founded
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#17327803909077874-469: The ITV Association set out a basic package with a new "ITV" logo, which included idents, promotions and general on and off air design, and an edit of this package was designed for each franchise holder within the ITV network. The dual branded idents included a large "ITV" logo, in which the "V" contained part of the franchise logo, and written below the logo in a grey capitalised font was the name of
8001-499: The ITV Day logo. A similar "UTV Day" branding was adopted in Northern Ireland. In January 2006, the channel adopted a new on-air look, designed mainly to improve cross-channel promotion across ITV's multichannel presence. The new logo brought ITV1, ITV2, and ITV3 in line with ITV4's and had been observed on various billboard ads in the UK when the new identity was first used on-screen on 16 January 2006. The overhaul also put an end to
8128-458: The U.S. sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live . In 2007, Humphries returned to the UK's ITV to host another comedy chat show called The Dame Edna Treatment , a similar format to The Dame Edna Experience from 20 years earlier. The series once again had a collection of high-profile celebrity guests, such as Tim Allen , Mischa Barton , Sigourney Weaver , Debbie Harry , and Shirley Bassey . In March 2008, Humphries joined
8255-471: The UK, Dame Edna again toured with what was declared My First Last Tour . On television in early 2009, she appeared in adverts to publicise the insurance company Norwich Union 's change of name to Aviva , quoting her change of name from Mrs Everage. On 9 June 2009, she appeared as a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. On 17 July 2009, she appeared as a guest on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross . On an episode of The One Show in September 2009
8382-604: The UK. Following the creation of the Television Act 1954 , the establishment of a commercial television service in the UK began. The Independent Television service, later abbreviated to " ITV ", was made up of distinct regions, with each region run by different franchisee companies. The three largest regions, London, the Midlands, and the North of England, were initially sub-divided into weekday and weekend services, with
8509-632: The UTV name was retained, but on 2 April 2020 the station began using ITV's national continuity-at first as an emergency measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom , then announced as a permanent transition on 26 November 2020. The ITV1 channel consists of thirteen regional franchises in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which each broadcast regional news and other local programming to its area. Many franchise areas in England have sub-regions providing separate regional news bulletins. For example,
8636-488: The World , directed by George T. Miller of Man From Snowy River fame and co-written by Humphries with his third wife, Diane Millstead. In 2003, Humphries voiced the shark Bruce in the Pixar animated film Finding Nemo , using an exaggerated baritone Australian accent. During 2011, Humphries travelled to New Zealand to perform the role of the Great Goblin in the first instalment of Peter Jackson 's three-part adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Hobbit . At
8763-437: The channel was re-branded as ITV1 HD in December 2009. The time-shift channel ITV1 +1 launched on all TV platforms, including Freeview in 2011. ITV channels are available on cable and IPTV in Switzerland and Liechtenstein . In the Republic of Ireland, ITV (as UTV ) was widely available; however, UTV Ireland was launched in 2015 and replaced UTV in the Republic of Ireland. UTV has since ceased broadcasting in Ireland. ITV
8890-421: The character was billed as "Mrs Norm Everage" (Humphries describing this name as "Everage as in 'average', husband Norm as in 'normal'") and had none of the characteristic flamboyant wardrobe of later years. His mother (whom the interviewer William Cook said "sounds like a frightful snob") was a major inspiration for Edna, although he denied it when she was alive to protect her feelings. Her first monologue in 1955
9017-495: The comic strip, published in the late 1960s, was for some time banned by the Australian government because it "relied on indecency for its humour". Humphries appeared in numerous West End stage productions including the musicals Oliver! and Maggie May , by Lionel Bart , and in stage and radio productions by his friend Spike Milligan. At one time, he was invited to play the leading role of Captain Martin Bules in The Bedsitting Room , which had already opened successfully at
9144-451: The deconstructive and absurdist art movement, Dada . The Dadaist pranks and performances that he mounted in Melbourne were experiments in anarchy and visual satire that have become part of Australian folklore. An exhibit entitled "Puss in Boots" consisted of a pair of Wellington boots filled with custard; a mock pesticide product called "Platytox" claimed on its box to be effective against
9271-554: The diet, the outdoor life, and the total lack of any intellectual distraction". Dame Edna launched a campaign to be appointed as a BBC newsreader in 2009 after the corporation announced it wished to seek a female newsreader over 50 years old. Dame Edna claimed to have various medical conditions, such as Asperger syndrome , bipolar disorder , gluten intolerance , restless legs and attention deficit disorder . In 2016, after Humphries made comments that were criticised as transphobic , Dame Edna's official social media accounts made
9398-408: The early years, the network was sometimes referred to as the "ITA network", and the companies as "ITA contractors" or "ITA stations". The companies were principally identified on air using by their own names though some did make reference to ITV too. There were also specific uses of the ITV name – for instance, ITV Schools , ITV Sport , and Children's ITV were used for programming strands. In 1989,
9525-405: The format ITV1 regional brand ; e.g. ITV1 Granada. In English regions, up until 13 November 2006, regional names were also superimposed (post-production) on these idents below the ITV1 logo, but this practice has since ceased. ITV Wales remains unaffected, and still continues to use dual-branding across all of its on-screen presentation. Despite the lack of regional names on screen, the regional name
9652-451: The former ITV Day brand, which was axed in favour of a full-time ITV1 identity. On 14 January 2013, ITV unveiled a huge rebranding, including a new corporate logo inspired by handwriting, and the renaming of the flagship channel back from ITV1 to just ITV. Its colour schemes vary on-air to complement its surroundings; a practice referred to internally as "colour picking". Following the buyout in 2016, UTV also rebranded to these idents, using
9779-454: The judging panel on the BBC talent show I'd Do Anything to find an unknown lead to play the part of Nancy in a West End revival of the musical Oliver! . In May 2013, Australia's ABC Network announced that Humphries would be joining the cast of the Australian telemovie series, Jack Irish , playing a high-profile judge in the third movie in the series. He appeared as Justice Loder in
9906-560: The last time) and the revue proved to be a major hit, playing eight shows a week for 14 months. During this period Humphries was living near Bondi and while out walking one day he had a chance meeting with an elderly man who had a high, scratchy voice and a pedantic manner of speech; this encounter inspired the creation of another of Humphries's most enduring characters, Sandy Stone . In September 1957, Humphries appeared as Estragon in Waiting for Godot , in Australia's first production of
10033-488: The late 1960s, Humphries appeared in numerous films, mostly in supporting or cameo roles. His credits included Bedazzled (1967), the UK sex comedy Percy's Progress (1974), David Baker's The Great Macarthy (1975), and Bruce Beresford's Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974), in which Edna was made a dame by then Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam . His other film credits included Side by Side (1975) and The Getting of Wisdom (1977). The same year, he had
10160-967: The miniseries Selling Hitler (1991) with Alexei Sayle , a three-role cameo in Philippe Mora 's horror satire Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills (1995), the role of Count Metternich in Immortal Beloved (1994), as well as roles in The Leading Man (1996), the Spice Girls ' film Spice World , the Australian feature Welcome to Woop Woop (1997), and Nicholas Nickleby (2002), in which he donned female garb to play Nathan Lane 's wife. Humphries featured in various roles in comedy performance films including The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1982) and A Night of Comic Relief 2 (1989). In 1987, he starred as Les Patterson in one of his own rare flops, Les Patterson Saves
10287-681: The most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin ". Humphries's numerous television appearances in Australia, the UK and the U.S. included The Bunyip , a children's comedy for the Seven Network in Melbourne. In the UK, he made two highly successful series of his comedy talk show The Dame Edna Experience for London Weekend Television . The series featured a variety of famous guests, including Liza Minnelli , Sean Connery , Roger Moore , Dusty Springfield , Charlton Heston , Lauren Bacall , and Jane Seymour . These highly popular programmes have since been repeated worldwide, and
10414-625: The name in January 2006, bringing it to the Channel Islands . As national continuity is often used on Channel Television, ITV1 national branding had been seen on the station for several years previously. The licensees that use the ITV1 brand are: ITV Anglia , ITV Border , ITV Central , ITV Channel Television , ITV Cymru Wales , ITV Granada , ITV London (weekday) , ITV London (weekend) , ITV Meridian , ITV Tyne Tees , ITV West Country , ITV Yorkshire , and UTV . ITV Wales & West
10541-498: The name was in common public use. Independent Television, shortened to ITV , was the collective and generic name for the companies which held commercial television franchises. The name referred to the initial regulator the Independent Television Authority (ITA). It was keen to use this name for its franchisees to highlight the fact they were also public services and not simply commercial broadcasters. In
10668-739: The non-profit "Friends of the Prostate" in his honour. Dame Edna was not with Norm when he died. And due to his insistence that all his organs be donated, by the time she reached his bedside, Norm had been "globally recycled" and all that remained was "a dent in the pillow". As a result, Dame Edna almost believed that Norm's cremation was a "waste of money". In the 21st century, Edna demonstrated her social conscience and sensitivity, telling audiences of her intention to adopt an African child from "the country where Madonna shops for loved ones". Dame Edna spent many years accompanied by her bridesmaid and constant companion Madge Allsop (played by Emily Perry ),
10795-640: The old ITV network – a federation of separately owned regional companies which had significantly different local schedules and branding. During the 1990s, the differences between the schedules in each region gradually reduced – partly through the consolidation of ownership and partly through the standardisation in the volume and scheduling of regional programmes. In 2002, a major change of appearance occurred when all ITV regions in England and Wales adopted national continuity. Regional logos vanished and regional names were mentioned only before regional programmes. Effectively this left ITV1 in England and Wales looking like
10922-634: The only performer ever to make three shows in the series. In 1987, Edna starred alongside Humphries's vulgar alter-ego Les Patterson in the comedy feature Les Patterson Saves the World . In the same year The Dame Edna Experience , ostensibly a talk show which she described as "really a monologue interrupted by total strangers" aired, featuring high-profile "celebrity guests" such as Sean Connery , Mel Gibson , Joan Rivers , and Germaine Greer (an old friend of Humphries'), as well as Madge, her silent, sour-faced "bridesmaid and travelling companion". In 1989,
11049-434: The pattern for his eventual stage career; his father in particular spent little time with him, and Humphries spent hours playing at dressing-up in the back garden. Disguising myself as different characters and I had a whole box of dressing up clothes ... Red Indian , sailor suit, Chinese costume and I was very spoiled in that way ... I also found that entertaining people gave me a great feeling of release, making people laugh
11176-482: The press conference in Wellington, New Zealand, just before the film's world premiere, Humphries commented: It was thrilling to work on this film and when you see my extraordinary interpretation you realise why I immediately fell into the arms of Jenny Craig , and minor cosmetic surgery. I always thought motion capture was something you did when you were taking a specimen at the doctor. In 2015, Humphries voiced
11303-459: The regional broadcaster. However, only half of the regional broadcasters opted to use the package, which had completely failed by 1997. In 1998, another second ITV common presentation (once again using dual-branding with the ITV name) was launched, under the theme, "TV from the Heart". By 2001, all eleven franchises of England and Wales were owned by either Granada plc or Carlton Communications, and
11430-840: The role of Wombo the Wombat in Blinky Bill the Movie . In 2016, he appeared in a dual role in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie as Charlie, a rich former lover of Patsy Stone , and in a nonspeaking cameo as Dame Edna. Humphries's forte was always his one-man satirical stage revues, in which he appeared as Edna Everage and other character creations, most commonly Les Patterson and Sandy Stone. The longevity of Dame Edna endured for more than sixty years, but, in 2012, he announced his retirement from live performance. Humphries's one-man shows, which were typically two and
11557-699: The role when the production moved to Broadway in 1963. However, the song "That's Your Funeral" was omitted from the RCA Victor original Broadway cast album, so Humphries is not heard at all on it. In 1967, he starred as Fagin in the Piccadilly Theatre 's revival of Oliver! , which featured a young Phil Collins as the Artful Dodger . In 1997, Humphries reprised the role of Fagin in Cameron Mackintosh 's award-winning revival at
11684-470: The same time". Dame Edna's new-found success in the United States led to many media opportunities, including a semi-regular role in the hit TV series Ally McBeal . Vanity Fair magazine invited Dame Edna to write a satirical advice column in 2003, although, after an outcry following a remark about learning Spanish , the column was discontinued. ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV )
11811-401: The show was back for a second season, this time taking place in her "luxury penthouse suite" where her guests stayed and, in the case of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr , did her grocery shopping. Subsequently, these shows were aired in the U.S. on PBS, broadening her audience and enlarging her fame. Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch a reality/game show hybrid, aired in 1992, and saw her and Madge having
11938-529: The sole on-air identity in October 2002 when the two companies decided to create a single unified playout of the channel, with regional references used only prior to regional programming, such as local news and weather. Carlton and Granada went on to merge in 2004, creating ITV plc , which now owns thirteen of the fifteen regional ITV licences. The ITV1 name was only used in England, Wales, Southern Scotland , and Isle of Man , until Channel Television adopted
12065-623: The special A Night on Mount Edna won Humphries the Golden Rose of Montreux in 1991. He wrote and starred in ABC-TV 's The Life and Death of Sandy Stone (1991), and presented the ABC social history series Barry Humphries' Flashbacks (1998). His other television shows and one-off specials include Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch (1992), Dame Edna's Work Experience (1996), Dame Edna Kisses It Better (1997) and Dame Edna's Hollywood (1991–92),
12192-400: The subject of a BBC Arena mockumentary : La Dame aux Gladiolas . Humphries debuted the character off-Broadway in New York City in the late 1970s, but the show received such a poor review from The New York Times that Humphries later joked that he thought, "Well, I'll go back to Broadway but I'll wait till the critic's dead — and I had to wait 25 years. I had to wait a quarter of
12319-419: The telethon-style segments of the event, she took part in a game of Blind Date picking former X Factor contestant Chico Slimani over actors Roger Moore and Richard E Grant . In the summer of 2006, Dame Edna appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno alongside Billy Crystal . On 23 September 2006, during an interview on Parkinson , she revealed that she would be returning to ITV in 2007 with
12446-499: The troupe in each town. At Lawler's suggestion, Mrs Everage (later named Edna after Humphries' nanny) made her first appearance in a Melbourne University 's UTRC revue at the end of 1955, as the city prepared for the 1956 Olympic Games . The sketch involved a houseproud "average housewife" offering her Moonee Ponds home as an Olympic billet, spruiking her home as possessing "burgundy wall-to-wall carpets, lamington cakes and reindeers frosted on glass dining-room doors". At this time
12573-492: The two companies. By 1981, due to regulation, the company was forced to de-merge; however, they resumed their alliance in 1993 as Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television , which therefore owned the two franchises, and integrated the two companies' assets more than its predecessor. The intense race to own a larger share of the ITV network began in 1994, when Carlton Communications , the owner of London weekday broadcaster Carlton Television, took control of Central Independent Television in
12700-432: The voice of Humphries' outrage. In a 2011 interview with CUNY TV , actor Zoe Caldwell claimed that the character had been written with her in mind, but that she turned it down as she did not believe she could make it funny. She then suggested to Humphries that he perform the role himself. Humphries played the character at comedy clubs, satirising the atmosphere of 1950s Melbourne suburbia. An interview with "Mrs Everage"
12827-635: The years, she was born Edna May Beazley in Wagga Wagga , New South Wales , with a sibling who would give birth to Barry McKenzie . Everage started her stage career in a sketch entitled "Olympic Hostess" in the revue Return Fare on 19 December 1955 as Mrs. Norm Everage, an "average Australian housewife" from Moonee Ponds , a suburb in Melbourne , Victoria . She spent her time visiting world leaders and jet-setting between her homes in Los Angeles, London, Sydney, Switzerland and Martha's Vineyard . She
12954-855: Was Isn't It Pathetic at His Age (1978), and, like many of his shows, the title derives from the sarcastic remarks his mother often made when she took Humphries to the theatre to see superannuated overseas actors touring in Australia during his youth. His subsequent one-man shows included: He made numerous theatrical tours in Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and the Far and Middle East. In 2003, he toured Australia with his show Getting Back to My Roots (and Other Suckers) . For his delivery of Dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, his biographer Anne Pender described Humphries in 2010 as not only "the most significant theatrical figure of our time ... [but]
13081-401: Was Ravi Deepres . UTV continued with its 2013-era idents until it adopted ITV continuity and trials in 2020. However, it used the new on-air presentation on trails with a tweaked version to accommodate the UTV logo. On 15 November 2022, ITV renamed the channel back from ITV to ITV1 which was used as the name on the channel between 2001 and 2013. ITV1 also received another rebrand, as part of
13208-521: Was a character he played, Edna referred to Humphries as her "entrepreneur" or manager. Humphries and his staff of assistants and writers only referred to Edna as "she" and "her", never mixing the character with Humphries. In March 2012, Humphries announced that the character would be retired at the end of the current stage tour, but later in 2013 he decided to bring her back. Humphries died in April 2023, having played Edna for almost 68 years. While Dame Edna
13335-458: Was a fictitious character (whose life story was entirely created by Barry Humphries), so complete is her identity as an individual that Macmillan published My Gorgeous Life , Edna's "autobiography" (written by Humphries but credited to Edna herself), on its non-fiction list. Humphries also wrote an "Unauthorised Biography" of his life as Edna's manager: Handling Edna , published in 2010. According to My Gorgeous Life , and statements Edna made over
13462-466: Was a friend and confidante of Queen Elizabeth II and advised prime ministers and presidents. Edna once took an on-air phone call from President Ronald Reagan to assure him that he was, indeed, still the president; and at stageshows she claimed to be giving former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard , elocution lessons. The character had three adult children, Bruce, Kenny, and Valmai. Her first daughter, Lois, when still an infant, went missing and
13589-417: Was a very good way of befriending them. People couldn't hit you if they were laughing. His parents nicknamed him "Sunny Sam", and his early childhood was happy and uneventful. However, in his teens, Humphries began to rebel against the strictures of conventional suburban life by becoming "artistic", much to the dismay of his parents, who, despite their affluence, distrusted "art". A key event took place when he
13716-616: Was about her "lovely home", reflecting young Barry's own site visits accompanying his builder father. Originally she was a "mousy" character and too quiet to please the raucous crowd at The Establishment club in London. According to John Lahr , Edna came into her own during the 1980s when the policies of Thatcherism —and what he described as the "vindictive style of the times"—allowed Dame Edna to sharpen her observations accordingly. Lahr wrote that Edna took Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher 's "seemingly hypocritical motto" of "caring and compassion" for others and turned it on its head, Edna became
13843-483: Was almost unanimously panned by Australian film critics, but became a huge hit with audiences. The film became the first Australian feature film to make more than $ 1 million at the box office, paving the way for the success of subsequent locally made feature films such as Alvin Purple and Picnic at Hanging Rock . It has been argued that Humphries was the first "proper" movie star of the Australian movie revival and
13970-429: 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,
14097-474: Was awarded a place in the school's gallery of achievement. As his father's building business prospered, Humphries was sent to Melbourne Grammar School , where he spurned sport, detested mathematics, shirked cadets "on the basis of conscientious objection" and matriculated with strong results in English and art. Humphries described this schooling, in a Who's Who entry, as "self-educated, attended Melbourne Grammar School". Humphries spent two years studying at
14224-643: Was believed to have been abducted by a "rogue koala" during a family camp in the outback, à la Azaria Chamberlain . In Handling Edna, the Unauthorised Biography , Humphries absolves the koala of any role in the affair and reveals the true fate of Lois, who in fact survived abduction to become a Catholic nun. Edna's surviving daughter, Valmai, assisted Dame Edna on her most recent programmes for ITV1 , including The Dame Edna Treatment and assisted on her live tour shows. Edna takes great pride in her two sons: Bruce, who works as an engineer in South Melbourne and
14351-542: Was born on 17 February 1934 in the suburb of Kew in Melbourne , Victoria, the son of Eric Humphries (né John Albert Eric Humphries) (1905–1972), a construction manager, and his wife Louisa Agnes (née Brown) (1907–1984). His grandfather John George Humphries was an emigrant to Australia from Manchester , England, in the late 1800s. His father was well-to-do, and Barry grew up in a "clean, tasteful, and modern suburban home" on Christowel Street, Camberwell , then one of Melbourne's new " garden suburbs ". His early home life set
14478-556: Was during the Edna segments: English actress Emily Perry played Edna's long-suffering bridesmaid from New Zealand, Madge Allsop , whose character never spoke. Humphries presented many successful shows in London, most of which he subsequently toured internationally. Although he eventually gained worldwide popularity, he encountered stiff resistance in the early years of his career: his first London one-man show, A Nice Night's Entertainment (1962), received scathing reviews. He gained considerable notoriety with his next one-man revue, Just
14605-470: Was filmed by a news crew from ITN . The footage of the rescue was shown to Humphries for the first time on a 2006 BBC show, Turn Back Time . Humphries's first major break on the British stage came when he was cast in the role of the undertaker Mr Sowerberry for the original 1960 London stage production of Oliver! He recorded Sowerberry's feature number "That's Your Funeral" for the original London cast album (released on Decca Records ) and reprised
14732-556: Was forced to sell HTV to Carlton. By this time, all of the franchises in England and Wales were owned by either Carlton or Granada. On 2 February 2004, Granada plc officially merged with Carlton Communications, creating ITV plc , although it was in effect, a takeover by Granada. In 2011, ITV plc acquired Channel Television from its private owners Yattendon Group plc . On 19 October 2015, ITV announced they were to buy UTV for £100 million subject to regulatory approval. The deal also included UTV Ireland , UTV's Irish channel. Initially,
14859-543: Was formally split in two by Ofcom from 1 January 2014, when the West region merged with the Westcountry region to form the West Country franchise). Channel Television adopted the ITV1 brand on-air prior to the 2011 ITV plc takeover of the channel. UTV was purchased by ITV plc in 2016, but did not adopt national continuity until April 2020 (see above). Areas with full ITV1 channel branding and continuity: * ITV1 +1
14986-402: Was formed by the unification of eleven of the ITV licences. The United Kingdom Broadcasting Act 1990 changed many of the rules regulating the ITV network, which most notably relaxed separate franchise ownership, and hours of production. However, as far back as 1974, Yorkshire Television and its North East neighbour, Tyne Tees Television, formally created Trident Television , a merged entity of
15113-518: Was invited to join the fledgling Union Theatre Repertory Company early in 1955 and toured Victorian country towns performing Twelfth Night , directed by Ray Lawler . On tour, Humphries invented Edna gradually as part of the entertainment for the actors during commutes between country towns. Humphries gradually developed a falsetto impersonation of a Melbourne housewife, imitating the Country Women's Association representatives who welcomed
15240-581: Was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for "services to the theatre" and on 16 June 2007 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to entertainment. In MAC Cosmetics 2008 Winter Line-Up, a Dame Edna collection of cosmetics were released including eye shadow, lipstick, powder, and nail polish. A bronze statue was unveiled at Melbourne Docklands in January 2009. It
15367-469: Was merged with ITV Tyne Tees ' North East Tonight programme, ITV Westcountry's Westcountry Live merged with ITV West 's The West Tonight programme, and ITV Meridian 's Meridian Tonight south and south east editions merged with ITV Thames Valley 's Thames Valley Tonight . On 16 September 2013, ITV reverted to a more localised system, as was the case prior to a shake-up in 2009, with 14 news regions (rather than eight). This meant people in
15494-545: Was nine – his mother gave all of his books to the Salvation Army , cheerfully explaining: "But you've read them, Barry." Humphries responded by becoming a voracious reader, a collector of rare books, a painter, a theatre fan and a surrealist . 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 . Educated first at Camberwell Grammar School , Humphries
15621-471: Was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, John So . Dame Edna Place is opposite Royal Arcade and The Causeway, between the major roads, Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street; it was, until its renaming, a service alley for adjoining buildings. Dame Edna was not at the renaming ceremony but was represented by ten look-alike Dames. Everage Street in suburban Moonee Ponds has also been named in her honour. In 1982, Dame Edna's alter-ego Barry Humphries
15748-443: Was one of the programmes screened on HSV-7 's first day of programming in 1956. Another revue called Rock'n'Reel followed in 1958 at the New Theatre in Melbourne. She appeared in a televised revue shown on New Year's Eve, 1958, Wild Life and Christmas Belles . The character's overseas debut, now as Edna Everage, was in the early 1960s at comedian Peter Cook 's nightclub, The Establishment , in London's West End, where she received
15875-742: Was the first such revue. It and Excuse I: Another Nice Night's Entertainment (1965) were only performed in Australia. In 1968 Humphries returned to Australia to tour his one-man revue Just a Show ; this production transferred to London's Fortune Theatre in 1969. Humphries gained considerable notoriety with Just a Show . It polarised British critics but was successful enough to lead to a short-lived BBC television series, The Barry Humphries Scandals . In 1970, Humphries returned to Australia, where Edna Everage made her movie debut in John B. Murray's The Naked Bunyip . In 1971–72 he teamed up with producer Phillip Adams and writer-director Bruce Beresford to create
16002-644: Was the only exception, using the name ITV1 Wales at all times for the Welsh part of its broadcast area, as it has a higher regional commitment. Latterly, the ITV1 Wales name was only used on break-bumpers and regionally advertised programmes until 2013. Non ITV plc-owned licensees on the ITV network, nowadays only STV Group , generally did not refer to the ITV name. The network production arms of nowadays ITV plc-owned licensees have been gradually combined since 1993, to eventually form ITV Studios . The ITV1 channel
16129-453: Was under-used as a star of local films. Another artistic production undertaken at this time was a 1972 collaboration between Humphries and the Australian composer Nigel Butterley . Together, they produced First Day Covers , a collection of poems about suburbia – read in performance by Edna Everage – with accompanying music by Butterley. It included poems with titles such as "Histoire du Lamington" and "Morceau en forme de 'meat pie'". From
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