There was a good reason Dame Edna Everage hailed from the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds. Melbourne was, after all, the home of her creator.
Like Australia’s beloved television family The Sullivans, Barry Humphries grew up in the comfortably middle-class suburb of Camberwell in the 1930s. Dame Edna was a good-natured poke at the Australia he lived in.
Sadly, Melbourne did not, in the end, return the love. Humphries was a key founder of its International Comedy Festival. In his last years, though, the MICF ingraciously turned its back on its father, stripping his name from the festival and its awards. The government of Daniel Andrews did nothing about it.
Naturally, perhaps, Humphries’ family are not keen on the idea of “Dictator Dan”, or the Melbourne Establishment, capitalising on Humphries’ name after his death.
Legendary comedian Barry Humphries’ state funeral will be held in Sydney, after his family “declined” an offer for a service in Melbourne […]
The Herald Sun can reveal that while the Andrews government offered to host the state funeral, the family declined, choosing instead to accept the offer in Sydney.
Herald-Sun
And who could blame them, after the shameful way the Melbourne elite treated Humphries?
And who could stomach seeing Dictator Dan preening and fluffing his ego by posing with Humphries’ corpse at yet another photo-op disguised as a state funeral? State funerals, once solemn occasions of great merit, have been turned by Andrews into just another wing of his gargantuan propaganda state. A state funeral for Warnie, a state funeral for an Aboriginal career criminal turned “actor”…
Barry Humphries, if anyone, surely deserves a state funeral – but not a cheap media stunt for the rotten Andrews government.
Indeed, it seems the Humphries family don’t want Dictator Dan’s grubby paws anywhere near Barry’s coffin.
Legendary comedian Barry Humphries’ family could “pull the plug” on his joint state funeral over concerns of the Andrews government’s involvement.
Enter Dan’s good mate Albo, ever-ready to help out with a Labor propaganda exercise.
Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Humphries would be honoured in a joint state funeral, involving Victoria, NSW and the Commonwealth.
Not bloody likely, apparently.
Entertainment reporter Peter Ford said Humphries’ family was “greatly distressed”.
“I’m told the family are greatly distressed by how some of this is playing out, it seems to be wrong,” he told 3AW.
“They said from the beginning they did not want [the] Victorian government involved, they don’t want their fingerprints anywhere near it and yet you’ve got the Prime Minister announcing that Victoria is co-hosting it.
“Daniel Andrews is talking in a similar vein.”
Jobs for Labor mates even extend to co-opting other peoples’ funerals, it seems.
But the Humphries family are apparently not about to forgive Andrews for his role in the disgraceful treatment of Humphries by the MICF.
Ford said the family believed Mr Andrews could have stepped in when the comedian’s name was stripped from Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s major award in 2019.
“They are of the belief the Melbourne Comedy Festival is underwritten by the major events committee in Victoria, which is government funded,” he said.
“Therefore it would have been quite possible for Daniel Andrews, who was the premier at the time, to pick up the phone and say ‘this is wrong what you are doing’.
“Now that may be against protocol, it may be against etiquette but that’s what the family believes and he didn’t do it and we know the outcome.”
As if protocol and etiquette have ever stopped Dictator Dan before. Something it seems Barry Humphries was well aware of.
Ford said Humphries would have left “clear instructions” for his funeral, stating the Victorian government was “not to be involved”.
Herald-Sun
You can pose for next photo-op somewhere else, Andrews, you opportunist grub.
