Talk:Dame Edna Everage

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Contents 1 Quotes, apparently 2 Possible Merge // Real vs Fictional Cat 3 Gay Icon Project 4 Jubilee appearance 5 Aussie English 6 Style 7 Elton John glasses. 8 Her act

[edit] 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

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] Aussie English

Jimp (talk • contribs) argues in an edit summary (of the article) that

Australian spelling & punctuation goes without saying

No, it doesn't go without saying.

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?

--Jerzy•t 12:24, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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^∇∆∇∆ 16:54, 7 October 2006 (UTC)