Talk:Dame Edna Everage

Quotes, apparently
Hello Possums!!! Barry Humphries, Australian comedian, born on February 17, 1934; as Dame Edna Everage

I'm on my little "Tourette" around North America … I'm loving my tour and it's such a relief that I fired my producer Barry Humphries. It's a spooky feeling finishing a week's work on stage, to find I have considerably more than 5% of the takings in my purse. That man had his hand in the till up to the armpit! Dame Edna Everage

There's no doubt about it, Beryl makes a lovely sponge finger. Dame Edna Everage

... really go down market ... buy Australian. Barry Humphries, Australian comedian, born on February 17, 1934; as Sir Les Patterson

Australia is an outdoor country. People only go indoors to use the toilet, and that's only a recent development. Barry Humphries, Australian comedian, born on February 17, 1934

There is perhaps, no more dangerous man in the world than the man with the sensibilities of an artist but without creative talent. With luck such men make wonderful theatrical impresarios and interior decorators, or else they become mass murderers or critics. Barry Humphries

My mother used to say that there are no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet. She's now in a maximum security twilight home in Australia. Barry Humphries

My parents were very pleased that I was in the army. The fact that I hated it somehow pleased them even more. Barry Humphries

New Zealand is a country of thirty thousand million sheep, three million of whom think they are human. Barry Humphries

To live in Australia permanently is rather like going to a party and dancing all night with one’s mother. Barry Humphries

I still seem to shock people even though I look terribly respectable now in my old age ... I think what I do is encourage people to look at Australia critically and with affection and humour, which is what all comedians should do. Barry Humphries

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 was a very good way of befriending them. People couldn't hit you could they if they were laughing. Barry Humphries

I'm very lucky to do a job that makes me happy and seems to give a lot of people pleasure because when you laugh you know you use muscles that you don't use in any other way and so it's very good for you when you laugh. I like to think that doctors send people to my shows. Barry Humphries

Oh, I was down by Manly Pier Drinking tubes of ice-cold beer With a bucket full of prawns upon me knee. But when I'd swallowed the last prawn I had a technicolour yawn And I chundered in the old Pacific sea. Barry Humphries; (Chunder in) The Old Pacific Sea), early 1960s song

Possible Merge // Real vs Fictional Cat
Merged with Barry Humphries? Objections? Mandel 12:10, Aug 14, 2004 (UTC)

I think I would prefer not to have this merged with Barry Humphreys. But what I came here was to suggest was that perhaps it isn't correct to have a ficticious character in the 'Australian people' category. Mintguy (T) 10:26, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)


 * I've been consciously leaving the real-person cat alone for some time by thinking of her as fictional mostly in the sense that she lies so much. I certainly use "fictional" in one sense that she is solidly within, but that sense is trampled on daily by e.g. the widespread treatment as historical of figures like Jesus and Moses. All accounts of their existence rest on fundamentally non-credible sources that:
 * have a powerful self-interest furthered by acceptance of their tales, in terms of extending their own influence (and presumably of getting their glee-mania-supporting self-deceptions shored up by others in response to the claims they make)
 * are clearly unreliable on the basis of the ridiculous "miraclulous events" they also attest to in the same context.
 * In contrast to those plaster religious figures, i have seen Dame Edna in the flesh, and observed that she has an integrated personality such as i expect of real people.
 * In any case, someone just killed the real-person cats & substituted Fic char, but i'm reverting, since she's stood as real for nearly 14 months (since 6 days after the creation of Category:Australian people), and the [statement of the distinction between [[:Category:People]]) and Category:Fictional characters). Long enuf that IMO it deserves more discussion. --Jerzy·t 05:45, 2005 July 27 (UTC)

I certainly don't think the page should be merged with Barry Humphries, after all, many fictional characters have pages - just see Homer Simpson, and I have never even seen him in the flesh. - Matthew238 22:57, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

Anyone who would dare consider merging Dame Edna with Barry Humphries will receive a complimentary photo of my pet Atrax Robustus.--Kinopanorama widescreen 11:21, 9 April 2006 (UTC)


 * To suggest a merge of this article with that of Barry Humphries is foolish. I will assume the Wikipedian whom suggested this move is not Australian nor has ever been to Australia (even though suggestion was made 2 years ago). Dame Edna is an Australian icon in her own right, the same can be said for Humphries. --Biggles 17:02, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Dame Edna should definitely have her own page. We believe in her, don't we? Is there any other widely-known persona/alter-ego that has had a continuing existence for so many years? I can't think of one. I suspect that Dame Edna is in a class of her own, Possums!

--Amandajm 10:43, 7 July 2006 (UTC)


 * "Is there any other widely-known persona/alter-ego that has had a continuing existence for so many years?" Madonna?

--TEHodson 09:00, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Merge with Barry Humprhies? I think she has met Humphries, pretty sure she doesn't even like him. Deathlibrarian (talk) 13:37, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

Gay Icon Project
In my effort to merge the now-deleted list from the article Gay icon to the Gay icons category, I have added this page to the category. I engaged in this effort as a "human script", adding everyone from the list to the category, bypassing the fact-checking stage. That is what I am relying on you to do. Please check the article Gay icon and make a judgment as to whether this person or group fits the category. By distributing this task from the regular editors of one article to the regular editors of several articles, I believe that the task of fact-checking this information can be expedited. Thank you very much. Philwelch 20:30, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Jubilee appearance
Is it worth mentioning that Dame Edna introduced Sir Paul McCartney at the concert to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II? Confusing Manifestation 16:30, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Aussie English
argues in an edit summary (of the article) that
 * Australian spelling & punctuation goes without saying

No, it doesn't go without saying. --Jerzy•t 12:24, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
 * 1) While the corresponding principle re British English is well established, that reflects very rough parity between British English and American English. Smaller & less predominant Commonwealth variations on those two varieties of English require individual consideration, with comprehensibility to natives of America and England as a major factor.
 * 2) While her honor (and shame) certainly  reflect on Australia, an international mega-star belongs to the world, or at least to the venues where she mostly performs. Do even her East End "tours" match her Broadway ones? (Without irony, i don't know.) Does she devote even a significant portion of her performing time to Australia lately (in the last decade), and in whatever future plans are known?
 * Whilst your points are valid, she is an Australian icon and represents Australia where ever she travels.

--Biggles 17:05, 23 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia, in my experience, being a colaboration of authors and editors from all over the globe, to its credit, does not adhere to the mistaken notion that there exists only two dialects of English worth consideration. Let me quote from Wikipedia's manual of style.

For the English Wikipedia, while a nationally predominant form should be used, there is no preference among the major national varieties of English; none is more "correct" than any other.


 * My interpretation of this is that the principle is intended to go for all national dialects of English (it is clear that "major" is meant to include Australian English: it appears in a list in the same section). How well-established is this?  Well enough to be included in the manual of style.  Can you think of any better indication of well-establishedness?


 * I will accept the idea that comprehensibility to English speakers world-wide is a major factor to consider. Yes, it's an international project.  I would, however, reject the idea that "comprehensibility to natives [sic] of America and England" specifically is a major factor to consider.  No, it's an international project.


 * Whenever an Australianism that may puzzle an American appears it should be clarified. No less is it true, however, that whenever an Americanism that may puzzle an Australian appears it too should be clarified.  Such instances of inter-dialectal incomprehensibility are not all that common in formal written English.


 * "an international mega-star belongs to the world" ... I'd argue that if Dame Edna belongs to anyone it's Barry Humphries but let's grant you this premise. The question of which national variety of English to use still comes up.  Quoting the manual of style, yet again, we're advised

If there is a strong tie to a specific region/dialect, use that dialect.


 * Jerzy, you point out Edna's Broadway performances. Her future plans I can't predict ... I do doubt that she's going to start calling poeple opossums any time soon ... but isn't her past of equal if not greater importantance here?


 * Biggles points out that "she is an Australian icon and represents Australia where ever she travels." Edna might not have devoted much time to Australia in the last decade, no, but she still is an Australian character who began her career in Australia and who is played by an Australian comedian.  Edna herself speaks Australian English.  Have a look at the top of this very page and what do you see?

Dame Edna Everage is part of WikiProject Australia, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Australia and Australia-related topics.


 * Jezza, I reckon you've been kind of trumped, mate. This is an Australia-related topic. There is a strong tie to Australia and Australian English.  Australian spelling & punctuation, indeed Aussie English in general, do go without saying.


 * Anyway ... as for my edits, I'll explain what they were & you judge for yourself whether they would be comprehensible to an international audience. The Australian spelling was theatre as opposed to theater and the Australian punctuation was to put the full stop outside the inverted commas (i.e. the "period" outside the "quotation marks") as recommended by ... yes, you guessed it ... the Wikipedia Manual of Style.


 * Jimp 05:21, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

Style
This article reads like something out of Dame Edna's autobiography. It needs to be reworked so that it reads more like an encyclopaedia article. Exploding Boy 07:00, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Elton John glasses.
No, Toots, this is the wrong way around. Dame Edna has been wearing OTT glasses ever since she first appeared in 1955. Elton John has worn Dame Edna style glasses.

--Amandajm 10:27, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Her act
There's very little about her act in the article, I notice. In particular, there is not one single mention of possums and not a single gladiolus. I'm not entirely sure where to put such things, though. (This caused another editor to suspect me of vandalism when I made a Dame Edna reference at the opossum talk page; I'd had no idea until yesterday that she was referring to Australian possums, not American opossums.) --jpgordon&#8711;&#8710;&#8711;&#8710; 16:54, 7 October 2006 (UTC)


 * I'm amused at the frequent and matter-of-fact reference to Dame Edna as a "mega-star", as for example above: "an international mega-star belongs to the world". Mega-star at what? Does she sing? Does she dance? Does she recite poetry? Does she paint? Is she a writer, or a playwright? Does she play any instrument? Does she surf, skate, sky, play tennis, or golf, or baseball, or football, or perhaps frisbee? Is she some kind of athlete, or scientist, or diver, or astronaut? We know she is not very good at Literature, especially at Universal Literature. Then, what on Earth does she do, or has ever done, to deserve to be called "a star", much less a "mega-star"??? She has never made me laugh: just to smile, and only occasionally. I would just regard "her" as a third-rate comedian, that's all. Or, perhaps I've been wrong all the time: after all, she's a real star at the art of gossip. --AVM 22:06, 10 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Rolls eyes** That is the joke, AVM! She isn't really a "mega-star" at all...but that is a self-appointed title she gives herself. She is being ironic.220.233.131.62 (talk) 03:09, 11 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Well she says she's a mega star, she's not, but she actually gets treated by TV hosts as though she is.I mean, how many characters are left on TV that go back to the mid 1950s? Deathlibrarian (talk) 13:41, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

LGBT Studies
Just wondering why this article is part of the LGBT studies, as mentioned by the tag at the top of this article, the character Dame Edna isn't gay (had a husband, as mentioned) - although according to the article her sons are (despite her not knowing it), and Barry Humphries doesn't appear to be gay per his article (mentions wife and kids (yes I know that doesn't exclude someone from being gay), nor is there a similar tag on his article). The best I could figure is that Edna is a "gay icon" per earlier discussion, but what does that mean exactly? That she's popular with LGBT people? I'm sure a lot of people qualify as that (for example, it seems to be mentioned frequently (though I don't know how true it is) that Barbara Streisand is popular with gay males, yet her talk page don't have a "gay icon" discussion, nor an "LGBT Studies" icon as well. So just wondering where it comes from?  --Canuckguy 12:46, 14 May 2007 (UTC)


 * The "T" in LBGT? See the gay icon article for more info.  Exploding Boy 21:14, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Dame Edna's Family
The article says that so far only her daughter Valmai has been seen. But, I'm sure her mother appeared on screen with her at least once on the BBC. I think it was either at the Millennium, but it could have been Sydney Olympics. Anyone else remember? 89.241.153.57 20:34, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Edna's honours?
Since Dame Edan Everage has not been awared either the honour Dame of the Order of Australia (AD) nor been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), why do these postnominals follow her name in the text inline for this article? This is not only inaccurate information, it's deliberately misleading (a fictional character can't win these honours) and doesn't fit in with any of Wikipedia's standards. I know they make the article FUN, but that's not what Wikipedia is all about. I suggest the postnominals be removed. Thoughts? comments? Blake the bookbinder 21:50, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
 * The fictional character fictionally has won the fictional honours. --jpgordon&#8711;&#8710;&#8711;&#8710; 23:38, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
 * You might as well say that Mickey Mouse doesn't ware red pants because a fictional character can't pants. Jɪmp 07:25, 9 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm not saying Dame Edna doesn't wear horn-rimmed glasses and have purple hair. Mickey DOES wear red shorts - it's just that he's not been made a member of the Order of Australia any more than Edna has, so we don't put post nominals behind either of their names. --Blake the bookbinder (talk) 02:30, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
 * She's a fictional character, so they aren't real, they are referring to the character in that context. Deathlibrarian (talk) 13:43, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

Performances
Factual error: In that section "On Wednesday 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." contains an error. Either the day or date is wrong. 17 December 2006 was a Sunday. As I live in Texas, I'm not familiar with Australian TV schedules. RevZafod (talk) 00:43, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

I agree there is an error, because the Spicks and Specks season usually ends in early November and the show has always been on Wednesdays. However, every year there is a Christmas special aired in December. I don't know what that date was in 2006 but last year (2008) it aired on a Sunday.  dlh 1989  09:39, 24 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Why is this list of performances here at all? It's highly selective and not particularly useful or informative. --jpgordon:==( o ) 23:02, 25 March 2010 (UTC)

Introduction needs improvement
Intro is not comprehensive or accurate. It ignores key encyclopedic content such as when and where the character was first performed and is Anglo-centric, suggesting the character "came into its own" under Thatcher - in fact Edna rose to prominence in satirising Robert Menzies' and Gough Whitlam's Australia and pre-Thatcherite Britain, succeeding on stage and screen before Thatcher was anywhere near No.10.

The intro also lacks Humphries' nuance: Edna was born and remains in essence a parody of Melbourne suburbia - not Australian suburbia (she looks down on Sydney as being "common") and the intro seems to suggest that Humphries only targets consumerism and Thatcherism (associated with "the right") - but in fact he also critiques the artistic pretences of Gough Whitlam's Australia and champagne socialist tendencies of Cool Britannia and the modern "left". The line about @ignorant@ etc Austraians is POV and not accurate: apart from Humphries 1950s Australian suburbia produced many liminaries Germaine Greer, Clive James, Geoffrey Robertson, and Robert Hughes who have been immensley influential in Britain and elsewhere. In Humphries own words, Edna is critical critical yet affectionate.

The line about @La Dame aux Gladiolas is totally rendundant as Edna has appeared in multiple documentaries, so why single out one?

Suggest: delete Thatcher, and bring in specific factual references which cover whole career milestones in Oz/UK and USA.Ozhistory (talk) 09:47, 19 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Hi Oz. You make several good points, but here's the thing: when I came along and edited this article for clarity and greater precision, it had been tagged as being too long, too detailed, and was considered by the administrators (I assume they were the ones who tagged it), more thesis-like than encyclopedia-like, mainly due to length. The opening paragraph is meant to be a brief summary, not a comprehensive re-telling of the subject's entire life, so if you want to lengthen the article, you'll have to leave the opening brief, about the length it is now, and add sections to cover the extensive stuff you want to include. I'm not sure the article will be left as long as you want to make it--as I said, it was considered too long for a long time, and only got "un-tagged" after I tightened it up. Also, you can't delete Thatcher. Edna only achieved European-wide, then world-wide attention during the 80's, once she had her two "gorgeous" television shows, and Humphries has said many times that this was her chance. John Lahr's book is an excellent place to find this, by the way. She gained fame here in the U.S. only after those shows were seen on PBS, and they were fueled by the rage Humphries felt about the adoption by Britain of "middle-class" values--on her show, Germaine Greer talked about Thatcher wanting to turn England in Moonie Ponds. This is important, though if you're an Australian, it may irk you. There are also already too many appearances listed, and only recently were the quotes taken out of the article, again because it was tagged for length. I have to go, but let's continue this discussion before any more changes are made, and come to something we both like (no one else seems to be editing the page right now). --TEHodson 02:08, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I'll put some more thought into it and hopefully suggest some word efficient adjustments. Minimum, i think we want to say: character debuted in Melbourne 1955, has appeared on stage, screen and print in Aus, UK and USA. I've got no problem with recognising Edna's international persona and milestones above all else in fact one thing I want in there in intro is reference to USA - but giving Australian context in the article should only enhance the reader's appreciaton for the character's story. My point in singling out Thatcher is that Humphries' trick is to keep Edna contemporary by constantly adjusting her "circle of friends" to include the latest incumbents in Canberra, London and Washington and so all of them have copped it! Ozhistory (talk) 03:41, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Hi Oz. Of course it should be well understood that Edna began in Australia, in Melbourne, specifically. Re Thatcher, there has been so much that Humphries has said about the climate of "vindictiveness" in Britain at that time (to Lahr and in interviews) and how that gave him a kind of permission to be as savage about the society as he'd always wanted to be; the hypocrisy was just so great, that the reference to her coming into her own then is necessary, I think. The first page of Lahr's book introduces this context forcibly, so we can't deny that it was through this context that Edna was able to just go for it. Just as she was advisor to Ronald Reagan and then to the Bush's, she moved with the times for awhile, but it was interesting to see that in none of the four shows I saw in San Francisco (2000-2009), did she introduce politics at all. Her commentary was more general to the culture (such as it is), and specific to San Francisco's milieu (and Seattle's, where I also saw her). She made reference to Obama only momentarily in 2009, but it wasn't a big deal (our first tinted president, I think she said) and in no way averred that she was in touch with him. Maybe he isn't "star material" the way Reagan was, sort of not very big a presence, re glamour. Anyway, I need to go in to edit the name of her "Farewell" tour (I just found the program), and I'll beef up the Australian connection. Come back tomorrow and let me know what else you want to do--I have no authority here, and am pretending to none, but I've seen many edit wars and would rather work it out between us if that's okay with you. Then you do what you want to do, if what I've done isn't enough yet. It's bad to just revert, revert, revert (it's discouraging, for one thing). --TEHodson 06:27, 20 October 2010 (UTC)
 * I've just had a great luagh reading through Edna's "Life Story". It's very funny!Ozhistory (talk) 09:00, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks! You can see I've just added citations and re-written the life story section (which used to be called "Fictional Biography" which is inelegant. What else would you like to see here? Let's talk some more.--TEHodson 09:05, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * A great documentary series narrated by Humphries with Edna and Sir Les was Flashbacks which was a history of Australia from the 50s to the 80s, done for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and based on Humphries' recolletions.


 * Edna also starred the 1987 comedy film: Les Patterson Saves the WorldOzhistory (talk) 09:46, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

Would you like the first sentence or two to state that Edna debuted in Melbourne in 1955? If so, we'll need more than that. I'll go through Lahr's book for the date if you want me to, and what the show was. We'll need a citation for something that obscure (from the Wiki p.o.v.). Do you want me to add the show noted above, or are you going to do it? It should go into the Performances section in its proper chronology. I think that section is too long already (what with every Leno appearance, etc.) but I haven't cut it because I've also added things (like how her shows were seen here in the U.S.) so I don't want to cut anyone else's favorite factoids. I've asked that the article now be reviewed for GA status, so they'll have suggestions if they think it needs to be changed more. If you add other stuff to the intro, be sure to use citations. If you still want to do a major re-write, can we talk first? Maybe wait to see what the review says? It's great to be talking instead of arguing! It is hard not to be propietory about an article one has worked so hard on, but I'm doing my best. By the way, I'm dying to put in something she said in her "My first last tour" shows: that she plans to adopt an African baby from the same country where Madonna shops for her loved ones! But I can't figure out how to work it in. She said it again on The View in 2010. People gasped! I met B.H. on that "final" tour, and had a nice chat. My brother played Norm on stage with her in 2004 (we were in the front row, right in the Danger Zone). I reviewed the DVD sets on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Dame-Edna-Experience-Complete-Collection/dp/B0002J4ZZA/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1287567986&sr=1-1 and here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A18C1PCR8WUASTie=UTF8&display=public&sort_by=MostRecentReview&page=4. Talk to you tomorrow. --TEHodson 09:59, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * I'll make some edits and you can review. I have source for first appearance of ednaOzhistory (talk) 10:16, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

The second paragraph of the introduction contains incredibly un-neutral POV statements regarding Thatcherism. The attribution of remarks such as "brutal" is fine, but only if the piece is written in a way that makes it clear it is an opinion rather than a fact! If this was a point of view held by BH (and which then influenced his act) then this should be attributed to him. --621PWC (talk) 21:28, 23 March 2012 (UTC)


 * You are correct. Unfortunately there is rather stubborn editor (who I'm sure is otherwise very nice) who keeps reverting it every time somebody fixes it. Go ahead though! The whole Thatcher section, should be deleted from the intro and (at most) placed down in the main article as the personal opinion of one author. Humphries himself is a noted conservative-contrarian in the Anglo-Australian context, and the Edna character long pre-dates and survives Maggie Thatcher, so I have serious doubts about the whole the comments to begin with, let alone placing them in the lead!Ozhistory (talk) 00:35, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Edna's debut
Oz, I have her debut on 19 Dec 1955, per Humphries to John Lahr. Humphries says she had no specs, no make-up, no wig, just his own brown hair combed down. Is this what you have? (p.82, Lahr)--TEHodson 10:44, 20 October 2010 (UTC) --TEHodson 10:44, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * At first I couldn't get your link to load, but finally it did. Two different days, but same month. Shall we just go with December 1955? She was "Mrs. Everage," according to Lahr, no first name. I'll look in tomorrow to see what you've done. Have fun! --TEHodson 10:50, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * I recall Humphries tells the full story in Flashbacks (the ABC series i linked above), but I don't have access to it.Ozhistory (talk) 10:59, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * OK. Done for now. I inserted your Madonna adoption story into the Life Story section - see what you think. Somebody has since flagged it as needing to be re-written to clearly show fictional nature. I've adjusted a couple of lines accordingly, but maybe would help to restore old title: "Fictional Biography"Ozhistory (talk) 13:11, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * You did a great job, Oz. I think it's better overall. I'm done for now. --TEHodson 20:49, 21 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks alot, glad you enjoy. On the Thatcherism comments, I suspect that it its gonna remain a problem for editors until it is adapted to something less POVy such as "Humphries' parody thrived on the fashionable materialism of the 1980s and Edna's popularity soared along with the fortunes of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher". If you want to quote an academic or Humphries' personal opinions of the era, do it further down in the article, as I think it is distracting in the intro.Ozhistory (talk) 10:36, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

Inspiration to others section
Hi to the anonymous editor who created the new section, Inspiration to others. The references you cited do not support the suggestion that these comics were in any way inspired by Dame Edna. If you have a source where the comics themselves are stating that Dame Edna was an inspiration to them, that would satisfy the citation requirement. Other people saying that is not enough, but these references either didn't mention Dame Edna at all (the Mail online page was just a bunch of mini-articles about dozens of people), or they just grouped her in with cross-dressers. Dame Edna is, first of all, not a transvestite character in the usual sense of the word, but in any case, someone has to say they were inspired to create their own character as a result of exposure to Edna in order for the section to exisit. Sorry. The Hero Icon section also has to be properly cited and in the right place. Maybe just a sentence about Humphries being inspired by Danny LaRue someplace else, but properly cited.--TEHodson 00:18, 13 June 2011 (UTC)

Dame Edna NOT at the Royal Wedding
The details of the photo of "Dame Edna at the Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton" says it was taken on 28 April 2011 at 14:31. The wedding was on the following day, 29 April, at 11:00. The un-cropped version of the photo shows Edna outside a building (not inside Westminster Abbey), speaking to a camera (perhaps some of the reporting mentioned in the article?). This is clearly not Dame Edna at the wedding: it's the wrong day and the wrong location. How about something more credible, like "Dame Edna reporting on the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, April 2011". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.75.82.183 (talk) 20:21, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

Humphries fan of Thatcher, not critic
Re this:

According to one author, 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.[14] 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 the voice of Humphries' outrage. [14][dubious – discuss][vague]

This makes Humphries and Edna look like left wingers. They most certainly are NOT. Humphries is one of the most right-wing of all Australian / British entertainers. I remember an TV "interview" with Edna during Thatcher's reign, in which Thatcher was criticised. Edna actually leapt out of character (very rare) and noted that feminists had been calling for more female politicians, and now that they had a most successful female Prime Minister, did nothing but criticize her. She added something like: "I suppose you are surprised to hear me speak like this, but there it is."

I have NEVER heard Humphries or Edna say a word in support of any underdogs. Recently, he came to Australia, and called us all "common", a word that no liberal or left winger would ever use. The views in the quote above are diamatrically opposite to what Humphries believes and occasionally promotes. (But he IS a genius, and hilariously funny, no doubt about that. I've seen just about every stage show he's ever done.) Myles325a (talk) 04:53, 5 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Edna is a upper class conservative character, that parodies priveleged people. That's the whole point. So Dame Edna is never going to be supporting the underdog. Deathlibrarian (talk) 05:51, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

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I have just modified 3 external links on Dame Edna Everage. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20071102142523/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C23599%2C21915846-2%2C00.html?from=public_rss to http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C23599%2C21915846-2%2C00.html?from=public_rss
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100331191613/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138257-Brief-Duet-Broadways-All-About-Me-with-Feinstein-and-Everage-to-Close-April-4 to http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138257-Brief-Duet-Broadways-All-About-Me-with-Feinstein-and-Everage-to-Close-April-4
 * Added tag to http://www.itv.com/dameedna
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070202222342/http://virtually-edna.theartscentre.net.au/ to http://virtually-edna.theartscentre.net.au/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 15:43, 3 September 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Dame Edna Everage. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130927013512/http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/raymartin/259443/great-dame to http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/raymartin/259443/great-dame

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 10:55, 10 December 2017 (UTC)

Seems to be some mistake
Seems to be some error on this page, claiming that "Dame Edna is a character played by Barry Humphries" ? - Bizarre. Deathlibrarian (talk) 05:48, 24 October 2022 (UTC)