Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Barry Humphries

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Barry Humphries

Barry Humphries at The Lucky One World Premiere At Bondi Junction, Sydney, Australia. Author: Eva Rinaldi. WIKIMEDIA

John Barry Humphries is an Australian actor, author and satirist. Barry was born on 17th February 1934 in the suburb of Kew, Melbourne, Victoria.

He was the son of John Albert Eric Humphries who was a construction manager. His mother of Barry was known as Louisa Agnes Brown.

His grandfather was an emigrant from Manchester, England to Australia. Barry grew up in a clean, tasteful and modern home on Christowel Street before they relocated to one of Melbourne’s new garden suburbs.

John Barry is well known for writing and playing in his on-stage and television productions Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. Other than being an actor, Batty is also a film producer and a scriptwriter, star of London’s West End musical theatre and landscape painter.

Barry was once described as “The most significant theatrical figure and comedian of our time since Charlie Chaplin”. Below are the ten fascinating facts about Barry Humphries:

1. Barry Got Everything He Needed During His Early Childhood

Living in a better and new garden suburb in Melbourne, Barry Humphries was from a well-off family. His home life was so crucial in setting the pattern for his eventual stage career.

Barry’s parents bought him everything he wanted. However, his father never spent much time with him. 

This made Barry spend hours playing at dressing up in the back garden. Barry was nicknamed “Sunny Sam” by his parents during this time which was happy and uneventful.

2. Barry Disliked Several Subjects but Passed English and Art in School

John Barry first attended Camberwell Grammar School before joining Melbourne Grammar School after his father’s business prospered. While at Melbourne Grammar school, Barry was not that good in all subjects. 

Barry spurned sport, detested mathematics and shirked cadets. However, he was so brilliant in English and Art.

Later on in life, Barry described his early schooling life as “self-educated, attended Melbourne Grammar school”. This meant that he never liked the idea of schooling at all.

3. Barry Enrolled on University to Study Law and Never Graduated

Barry Humphries at The Lucky One World Premiere At Bondi Junction, Sydney, Australia. Author: Eva Rinaldi. WIKIMEDIA

After completing his secondary education, Barry Humphries joined the University of Melbourne. He spent two years at the university studying Law, Philosophy and Fine Arts.

However, Barry never got to graduate from the university after he had enrolled. Fifty years later, Barry Humphries received an honorary doctorate from the University of Melbourne.

4. Barry was Legendary in Public Provocative Pranks

Barry Humphries. Photo Sourced from WIKIMEDIA

Barry was always interested in art and pranking the public as he grew up. However, while in university, he developed some provocative public pranks that were never that interesting.

One example of his pranks is when he dressed as a French man with the accomplice pretending to be a blind man. The two boarded a tram. Barry alighted from the tram pushing the ‘blind’ man and yelled “Get out of my way, you disgusting blind person.”

His other infamous public prank was on an aircraft where he used a tin of Heinz Russian Salad and its contents. Barry pretended to vomit loudly into the air sickness bag. Then he disgustingly proceeded to eat the contents.

5. Barry Moved to London and Became Friends with Leading British Comedians 

Barry Humphries. Photo Sourced from WIKIMEDIA

After his success in Australia, Barry Humphries decided to explore the world and interact with new audiences. In the 1960s, Barry relocated to London where he worked for the whole decade.

During this period, Barry became friends with the leading members of the British comedy scene. They included: Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, Spike Milligan, Willie Rushton and his fellow countrymen John and Dick Bentley. 

6. Barry Fell Over a Cliff Breaking his Bones

While living in London, several events occurred around Barry Humphries with some posing danger to his health. In 1961, Barry suffered one of the nastiest falls from a cliff.

As he was with his wife in Cornwall, Barry Humphries fell over a cliff near Zennor and landed on a ledge that was 50 metres below. Barry broke several of his bones.

The rescue helicopter was filmed by the crew from the ITN news podcast. Barry Humphries saw the footage of his rescue from the fall in 2006 on a BBC show.

7. Barry Was Used to a One-Man Show seconded by Occasional Dancers

Barry Humphries during one of the acting. Author: Eva Rinaldi. WIKIMEDIA

Barry Humphries used to perform solo in a one-man show at least throughout his career. His shows were typically two and half hours long accompanied by satirical monologues and musical numbers.

Sometimes he was joined on stage with occasional dancers and some musical numbers. Barry enjoyed massive success in the one-man shows he held in London even though some were criticised.

In 1962 during his first one-man show in London, Barry Humphries received scathing reviews from the audience. However, he never gave up as his second show was a success.

8. Barry Has Been Married Four Times

Barry Humphries. Photo Sourced from WIKIMEDIA

Barry Humphries was married four times and had children out of his marriages. The first marriage of Barry was to Brenda Wright when he was twenty-one years old.

Their marriage lasted for less than two years. The second and third wives of Barry Humphries were Rosalinda Tong and Diane Millstead.

Barry had two daughters, Tessa and Emily, and two sons, Oscar and Rupert with his second and third wives respectively. The fourth wife of Barry Humphries, Elizabeth Spender, is a previous actor. 

She is the daughter of British poet Sir Stephen Spender and concert pianist Natasha Spender. Barry and Elizabeth have been living in a terraced townhouse in West Hampstead for the last forty years.

9. Barry was Addicted to Alcohol Which Cost his First and Second Marriages

While living in London in the 1960s, Barry was becoming increasingly dependent on alcohol. This behaviour made his family and friends get worried about his future.

His career was threatened by his alcoholism habit that was draining him. The first and second marriages of Barry Humphries are speculated to have ended due to alcoholism.

In the early 1970s, his family decided to admit him to a private hospital where he was rehabilitated. This came after he was knocked out by alcohol.

10. Barry is a Self-proclaimed Bibliomaniac with Some 25,000 Books

Barry Humphries in a previous event. Author: Eva Rinaldi. WIKIMEDIA

Barry loved reading books a lot even though he never completed university. He is a self-proclaimed bibliomaniac.

In his house in West Hampstead, London, Barry Humphries has got more than 25,000 books. Many of these books are first editions of the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Barry will always remain to be a legend in the entertainment industry for the positive impact he made.