Barry Humphries was a key figure in establishing the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but relations soured in recent years.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has acknowledged the passing of Barry Humphries, but has revealed it has no plans to officially mark the demise of a man who played a crucial role in establishing what has become one of the world’s largest such events before relations soured between him and organisers in recent years.
“Having started his career in Melbourne, Barry’s early support, along with [English comedian] Peter Cook, helped kick off and raise the profile of the festival nationally and internationally. With festival founder John Pinder, Barry was part of a creative generation who celebrated and developed a global platform for Australian comedy.
But following a number of negative comments made by Humphries about transgender people, and a pushback in which comedian Hannah Gadsby played a prominent role, the festival renamed the award. As chance would have it, English transgender comedian Jordan Gray was among the nominees for this year’s top prize.
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