The Melbourne Worldwide Comedy Competition has acknowledged the passing of Barry Humphries, a person who performed an important function in establishing what has develop into one of many world’s largest such occasions however who had in recent times develop into one thing of a persona non grata.
“We’re saddened to listen to of the passing of comedian legend Barry Humphries,” the pageant stated in an announcement posted on Saturday evening, as information broke that the comedy legend had died in Sydney.
Barry Humphries on the Melbourne Comedy Competition with Peter Prepare dinner.Credit score: Melbourne Comedy Competition
“Having began his profession in Melbourne, Barry’s early help, together with Peter Prepare dinner, helped kick off and lift the profile of the Competition nationally and internationally. With Competition founder John Pinder, Barry was a part of a artistic technology who celebrated and developed a world platform for Australian comedy.
“He shall be remembered by legions of followers around the globe for his wit, inimitable characters and biting satire. Our ideas are together with his household and associates. Vale Barry.”
Information of Humphries’ loss of life broke simply hours after the pageant introduced Gillian Cosgriff’s Really, Good had received the Melbourne Worldwide Comedy Competition Award for Most Excellent Present – an award that was, till 2019, referred to as the Barry, in honour of the town’s most well-known comedy export.
However following a lot of detrimental feedback made by Humphries about transgender folks, the pageant renamed the award. As probability would have it, English transgender comic Jordan Grey was among the many nominees for this yr’s prime prize.
The pageant posted its announcement to its personal web site and to a lot of social media platforms. It was, nonetheless, conspicuously absent from Twitter, the place trans rights points are sometimes hotly and viciously debated.
With the pageant in its last day, and 316 performances scheduled, there have been no particular plans to pay tribute to Humphries, although in an announcement a spokesperson for the pageant stated “we don’t have management over how particular person artists tribute Barry Humphries”.
At a media name on the Spiegeltent on Sunday morning, pageant director Susan Provan stated Humphries “made a rare contribution to Australian comedy”. She added that “he notably made a really constructive contribution to the Melbourne Comedy Competition, notably in our early days … and was right here to assist us rejoice our thirtieth birthday. He made a tremendous contribution for which he’ll all the time be celebrated.”
Requested if his legacy had been tarnished by a few of the controversies round his views in recent times – Humphries had additionally been recognized to make disparaging feedback about Asian immigrants from time to time – Provan stated “nothing can ever detract from his nice contribution as an artist. He was outstanding. That can all the time be with us.”
