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Why Barry Humphries most outrageous character Les Patterson couldn't survive today's woke world
Racist, sexist, homophobic, a shameless drunk vulgarian who dribbled spit, told toilet jokes and ogled women, Sir Les Patterson was Barry Humphries' favourite character.
Representing the worst of Australian males of the 1970s, wrapped up into one outrageous but often hilarious package, Sir Les was an anachronism almost from the moment he lurched on stage - and one that would never have survived today.
He was a favourite on Sir Michael Parkinson's chat show, stumbling on to set dishevelled and drunk - all the while smoking, sloshing a whisky over a broken forest of teeth and leering at female guests or cracking lines about women in the audience.
Racist, sexist, homophobic, a shameless drunk vulgarian who dribbled spit, told toilet jokes and ogled women, Sir Les Patterson was Barry Humphries' most favourite character
Les Patterson was gloriously repulsive, with infamous unsavoury eating and drinking habits, the sex-mad Australian 'cultural attaché to the court of St James' would engage in toilet humour, copiously drooling on to his spit-stained lapels.
Inside his trouser pants was an apparently giant appendage which Sir Les unashamedly rocked back and forth while making lewd comments.
Sir Les Patterson was a hit with audiences of his time but his vulgarity and vile gags may not have well received by a more sensitive modern audience.
Recent examples of comedians being targeted for simply making a joke include Reuben Kaye sparking outrage over an X-rated gag about Jesus in March and comic Lewis Spears being met by protesters on Tuesday after making fun of the Dalai Lama for telling a young boy to 'suck his tongue'.
But Humphries, who died on Saturday aged 89, once said that none of his characters gave him quite as much pleasure as Australian ambassador Sir Les Patterson, with his alcoholic red cheeks, embarrassing trousers and formidable frothing.
'I enjoy playing Les more than any other character because it release my inner vulgarity. It liberates my repressed ribaldry,' he once said.
'I can expectorate six rows into the stalls'.
Humphries played the so-called 'Minister for the Yartz' - a debauched diplomat who travelled the world, corruptly taking advantage of anything free.
In a 1986 Parkinson interview, Sir Les wears a new 'bag of fruit' from a tailor in Kowlo (Kowloon) and boasts that he is promoting Australia around the globe, dipping into his slush fund, and will be a guest at a forthcoming royal wedding.
He pretended to know everyone from the prime minister to King Charles, taping a video for the then Prince Charles' or 'Chazza' on his 50th birthday, with advice for Prince William, then 16, to send the 'horny lasses' pursuing him over to Les.
He told The Guardian UK newspaper, interviewed as Sir Les rather than Humphries, 'Prince Charles likes Les a lot'.
Gloriously repulsive, with infamous unsavoury eating and drinking habits, the sex-mad Australian 'cultural attaché to the court of St James' would engage in toilet humour
Inside his trouser pants was a giant appendage which Sir Les unashamedly rocked back and forth while making lewd comments and outrageously name dropping
In another interview, when the late Bob Hawke was Australia's prime minister - but his ratings had slipped as preferred PM- Sir Les quipped: 'Bob, you used to be Mr 74 per cent, now you're as popular as herpes on a honeymoon'.
For a while, old footage of Sir Les Patterson was disappearing off video platforms, perhaps becoming a victim to political correctness and 21st century woke consciousness against offending people on the basis of gender and race.
But if Sir Les didn't fit in the modern world, his creator certainly wasn't backing off.
In mid-2018, almost five years before his death, Barry Humphries was interviewed by The Guardian about Dame Edna and Sir Les, who he said he was planning to take on one last tour of the UK
'I think Les might have adapted to new conditions,' Humphries said, and when asked if he had become 'less offensive', Humphries laughed.
'No, he's more offensive. He's had to ramp it up.
'I defend to the ultimate my right to give deep and profound offence.
'So long as people laugh while they're being offended.'
Asked if people laughed as much at him in the current time, Humphries replied, 'Oh yes, of course they do.'
The comic genius, who died in Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital on Saturday aged 89, is being remembered as a giant of the entertainment industry in Australia and around the world.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: 'For 89 years, Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone.
Dame Edna Everage remains Humphries' most identifiable invention but for many fans the character who began life as a Melbourne housewife in the 1950s was not even his greatest work
'But the brightest star in that galaxy was always Barry.
'A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift. May he rest in peace.'
The comedian passed away at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital surrounded by his immediate family, including his wife of 30 years Lizzie Spender.
For weeks the comic had brushed aside concerns about the seriousness of his condition, but on Saturday before midday a spokesperson confirmed he had died.
Humphries tripped on a rug while reaching for a book in February and underwent surgery at St Vincent's where he was readmitted this week with family including Spender by his side.
'He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,' his family said in a statement.
Dame Edna Everage remains Humphries' most identifiable invention but for many fans the character who began life as a Melbourne housewife in the 1950s was not even his greatest work.
While Edna's lilac permed hair, outlandish cat-eye glasses and garish gowns became internationally recognisable over the decades, Humphries had much more than one act in his repertoire.
Humphries recently thanked a gossip columnist for not calling him 'an icon' but his achievements make that difficult. He was a fixture of the local entertainment scene for seven decades and became a genuine international star
For some, the uncouth, alcoholic 'cultural attache' Sir Les Patterson with his mottled face, food-spattered wardrobe and stained tombstone teeth was even more memorable.
For others, his most endearing alter-ego was the grandfatherly returned serviceman Sandy Stone clad in his dressing gown and reducing audiences to tears with his gentle monologues.
But Humphries was even more than the sum of those brilliant parts. He was a successful musical theatre actor, talented landscape painter, film producer, author and scriptwriter.
While he did not welcome the title, the sometime social commentator and noted raconteur was a public intellectual.
Away from the spotlight, he was a voracious reader and rare book collector, husband to fourth wife Lizzie Spender and father of four children.
Humphries recently thanked a gossip columnist for not calling him 'an icon' but his achievements make that impossible. He was a fixture of the local entertainment scene for seven decades and became a genuine international star.
Humphries befriended many of the best comedians, artists, musicians and writers of his generation and charmed most of the British Royal Family from the Queen Mother to King Charles III and Princess Diana.
Humphrie's memorable moments
From charming the British royal family, performing with Kylie Minogue and swapping fashion tips with Princess Diana, Barry Humphries provided many unforgettable moments during his nearly 70-year career in showbusiness.
The comedian, who died at 89 on Saturday from complications following hip surgery, also kept an eclectic circle of friends from Peter Cook, Salvador Dali and The Beatles.
Humphries was surrounded by his children and wife of 30 years Lizzie Spender when he passed away at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital.
For weeks the comic had brushed aside concerns about the seriousness of his condition, but on Saturday a spokesperson confirmed he had died.
Humphries tripped on a rug while reaching for a book in February and underwent surgery at St Vincent's where he was readmitted this week.
In a statement, his family said: 'He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit.'
They added that he 'was also a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and a friend and confidant to many. His passing leaves a void in so many lives.'
Biographer Anne Pender wrote in 2010 that Humphries was both 'the most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin' and 'the most significant theatrical figure of our time'.
Here Daily Mail Australia takes a look at some of the most iconic moments of the comedy legend behind Dame Edna Everage and and Sir Les Patterson.
The Australian comedy legend, who died aged 89 on Saturday after complications from hip surgery, kept an eclectic circle of friends from Peter Cook to Salvador Dali and The Beatles. He is pictured as Dame Edna
Charming the Queen, making prank calls with Princess Margaret and some very surprising chats with King Charles
Throughout his career, Barry – and Edna – have met and charmed most of the royal family, from the late Queen herself, to the Queen Mother and King Charles.
Dame Edna famously exchanged fashion tips with Princess Diana, and commentated on two royal weddings, including that of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson in 1986.
But it was through English poet John Betjeman that Humphries had a very memorable non-encounter with Princess Margaret.
'I was on stage in Treasure Island with Willie Rushton and Spike Milligan, and after the show we'd all repair to the bar,' he recalled to Weekend Magazine last year.
'One evening the barman shouted out, 'Call for you, Barry. Says she's Princess Margaret.' So I went to the phone and the voice at the other end said, ''Hello, it's Princess Margaret. I have Sir John Betjeman here. We want you to come over now and have some supper with us'.
'I thought it was a hoax so I laughed and put the phone down. Well, it turned out it really had been Princess Margaret, which didn't bode well for our next encounter. I could tell by a certain froideur when I was presented to her in a line-up. It was clear she hadn't been best pleased.'
Then there was the Lord Snowdon incident. Barry was friendly with the composer Stanley Myers, and one evening they went for dinner at Chez Moi, a fashionable restaurant in London's Holland Park.
'I had a habit when I'd taken a few drinks of dropping my trousers to shock people. Lord Snowdon and some friends were at another table. Stanley goaded me to perform my 'trick', so on my way back from the gents I allowed my trousers to descend to my ankles as I passed Snowdon's party.
'Back at my table the head waiter approached and told me I had to leave. Lord Snowdon, apparently, had not been amused. Two burly waiters lifted me from my chair and propelled me out into the street. I couldn't get back in because the door had been locked from the inside.'
Barry recounts putting the phone down on Princess Margaret because he thought the call was a hoax. Pictured: Barry as Dame Edna with the Queen in 1977
Undeterred, Barry found a phone booth and called the restaurant.
'When they answered I said in my best fluting tones, 'Please could I speak to Lord Snowdon? It's his mother.' When he came to the phone I said, 'Tony, how dare you be so rude to my dear friend Barry. He's very nice but he's given to these pranks'.
'You should excuse him, particularly when I remember some of the things you got up to before you were married. So please apologise and buy him a large bottle of Champagne.
'I believe he's outside the restaurant now.' Snowdon was spluttering at the end of the line, 'Who is this?' That's when I put the phone down.'
Despite his close relationship with the royals, Humphries avoid the usual pomp and circumstance when he mingled with family members.
Instead of a stiff upper lip, hosting jubilee coverage twice saw him refer to Her Majesty by his famous catch line, 'possum'.
'Here's the Jubilee Girl, possums,' he said in 2002 while co-hosting the Party at the Palace concert to mark the Queen's 50th Jubilee.
After meeting the Queen in 2008, when he was presented with his Commander of the British Empire medal by Her Majesty, he revealed she was a fan.
'She said that she'd been greatly entertained by a lot of my shows,' he said.
'I've just celebrated my 50 years on the stage, so it's a great honour that my sovereign should bestow this on me, and I'm very, very pleased.
'I like medals, and all that sort of thing.'
Barry said Kylie Minogue (pictured together) is one of nature's life-enhancers
Chasing Kylie Minogue off the stage
While he often rubbed shoulders with the British royal family the comedian was also close friends with Australia's princess of pop.
'She's gorgeous, beautiful inside and out, and she's had a great career,' Barry said of Kylie Minogue in 2022.
'She's one of nature's life-enhancers. I know her parents and I sometimes have lunch with her father.'
But at London's Royal Festival Hall in 1999, while in character as Sir Les, he chased the hitmaker off the stage.
'I know a lot of you are asking what is Les Patterson doing in a beautiful venue like this?' he told the audience.
'And I tell you, I'm asking the same question.'
Later, he duetted with Kylie, who said: 'Dear old Sir Les got a bit carried away. I said to Barry afterwards, 'You're very naughty and you deserve a big smack.'
'That Kylie Minogue should be chased off the stage by a phallus-brandishing Australian diplomat seemed, in a way, a first,' added Humphries.
'For me, anyway, it was a taste of the old outrageous days.'
Telling the world Tom Jones 'had work done'
Known for his cheeky performances on chat shows, Dame Edna was a favourite guest of British presenter Michael Parkinson.
Back in 2002, she appeared alongside Welsh singer Tom Jones.
Usually known for his cool persona, the Sex Bomb hitmaker got worked up when Dame Edna insinuated he 'had a bit of work done'.
Ignoring his protestations, Dame Edna insisted Jones 'had a bit of tightening here and there' but charmed him by saying 'the thing is you are still recognisable and that's what I like'.
'Some people go in to see these cosmetic surgeons and they forget, before the anaesthetic takes over, to say, 'I want people to know who I am when I come out.'
'They go in like a Mercedes and they come out looking like a the backside of a Ford Mondeo.'