Clyde Packer News Today

I was with Barry at the Rooty Hill RSL club for the very first appearance of the not-yet-knighted Les Patterson, the character he told me he most enjoyed playing because, as a long-time sober person, he could channel all of his many negativities into that dreadful drunkard. When Barry died in April last year, neither he nor I had touched a drink for 53 years

Humphries would have died in his 30s if he did not give up the drink in 1970, according to his friend of more than 60 years and fellow alcoholic, emeritus professor in history and politics Ross Fitzgerald.

Through a career spanning seven decades, Barry Humphries emerged as a creative genius and one of the world’s greatest comics.

This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning.

This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning.

This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning.

This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning.

This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning.

This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning.

This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning.