This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2016) |
The Dame Edna Experience | |
---|---|
![]() Series One DVD cover (North America) | |
Created by | Barry Humphries |
Presented by | Dame Edna Everage |
Starring | Barry Humphries Emily Perry The Laurie Holloway Orchestra |
Narrated by | Robin Houston |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 14 (inc. 2 specials) |
Production | |
Production locations | LWT Studios London |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Production company | London Weekend Television |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 12 September 1987 – 22 December 1989 |
Related | |
|
The Dame Edna Experience is a British television comedy talk-show hosted by Dame Edna Everage. It ran for twelve regular episodes on ITV, plus two Christmas specials. [1] This show was also aired in re-runs with Dutch subtitles in the Netherlands.
The first seven aired for the first time in 1987, the next seven in 1989. It was directed by Ian Hamilton and Alasdair MacMillan and produced by London Weekend Television. Regulars on the program, besides Dame Edna, were her "bridesmaid" Madge Allsop (played by Emily Perry) and Robin Houston who was the announcer, with orchestra conducted and arranged by Laurie Holloway.
Each program featured several celebrity guests, [2] usually three, but some programs included up to eight guests. There would also be other invited "guests" (such as Kurt Waldheim and Imelda Marcos), who, once introduced at stage right, would fall victim to a trap door or something similar and fail to make it to their chair.
The entire series was released on DVD (for Region 1) by BBC Video in June 2004, and can now also be purchased as a complete set including the 1987 Christmas special and the three An Audience with Dame Edna specials, plus other material. [1]
The series was released for Region 2 by Network DVD in the UK in 2007, as a four-disc set. It includes the 1987 Christmas special and the one-off 1990 Christmas special A Night on Mount Edna with guests Mel Gibson, Charlton Heston, Gina Lollobrigida and Julio Iglesias.
For reasons unknown, neither the Region 1 or the Region 2 releases include the 1989 Christmas special "The Dame Edna Satellite Experience" that ended the second series and featured Ursula Andress, Yehudi Menuhin, and Robert Kilroy-Silk.
Several potential guests were "aborted" throughout the series. Kurt Waldheim, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Larry Hagman and Barry Humphries were announced as guests, but Dame Edna decided to abort the interviews as they entered the set. Hagman and Gabor were permitted to appear after apologising to Dame Edna (off camera), whereas Waldheim and Humphries were not. Charlton Heston fell down the staircase accidentally, preventing his initial interview. Both Jeffrey Archer and Cliff Richard were ejected midway through their interviews; Cliff only as a demonstration and warning to future guests and Archer because Dame Edna was bored with him.
Both Imelda Marcos and Princess Michael of Kent were introduced as guests, but fell foul of Dame Edna's security system and were ejected from the studio.
Charlton Heston was an American actor and political activist. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction films and action films. He won the Academy Award as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, and three Primetime Emmy Awards. He won numerous honorary accolades including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1978, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1967, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1971, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1997, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003.
Zsa Zsa Gabor was a Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were socialites and actresses Eva Gabor and Magda Gabor.
Eva Gabor was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite. She voiced Duchess and Miss Bianca in the animated Disney Classics, The Aristocats (1970), The Rescuers (1977), and The Rescuers Down Under (1990). She was popular in her role on the 1965–71 television sitcom Green Acres as Lisa Douglas, the wife of Eddie Albert's character Oliver Wendell Douglas. Gabor was an actress in film, on Broadway, and on television. She was also a businesswoman, marketing wigs, clothing, and beauty products. Her elder sisters, Zsa Zsa and Magda Gabor, were also actresses and socialites.
The Colbys is an American prime time television soap opera that originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and Eileen and Robert Pollock and produced by Aaron Spelling, it is a spin-off of Dynasty and revolves around the Colbys, another vastly wealthy family who own a large multinational conglomerate and are connected to the Carringtons of Dynasty. Intended to surpass its predecessor in opulence, the series' producers were handed an immensely high budget for the era, and cast a handful of well-known movie stars among its leads.
John Barry Humphries was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. Humphries's characters brought him international renown. He appeared in numerous stage productions, films and television shows. Originally conceived as a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife who caricatured Australian suburban complacency and insularity, the Dame Edna Everage character developed into a satire of stardom – a gaudily dressed, acid-tongued, egomaniacal, internationally fêted "housewife gigastar".
Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured hair and cat eye glasses ; her favourite flower, the gladiolus ("gladdies"); and her boisterous greeting "Hello, Possums!" As Dame Edna, Humphries wrote several books, including an autobiography, My Gorgeous Life; appeared in several films; and hosted several television shows.
Green Acres is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to Petticoat Junction, the series was first broadcast on CBS, from September 15, 1965, to April 27, 1971.
Sir Leslie Colin Patterson is a fictional character created and portrayed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries. Patterson is obese, lecherous and offensive.
Anne Charleston is an Australian actress, notable for her career locally and in the United Kingdom and Ireland in theatre and television. Charleston started her career in theatre in the mid 1950's, and has been a staple of the small screen since the early 1960s, starting with roles in telemovies, before making appearance's in the various Crawford Productions series starting from the latter 1960s and 1970s, before becoming known for her three different recurring roles in cult classic series Prisoner
Fractured Flickers is a live-action syndicated half-hour television comedy show that was produced by Jay Ward, who is otherwise known for cartoons. The pilot film was produced in 1961, but the series was not completed until 1963. Twenty-six episodes were produced; they were syndicated by Desilu Productions and played for several years on local stations.
Climax! is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color, using the massive TK-40A color cameras pioneered and manufactured by RCA, and used primarily by CBS's rival network, NBC. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live, but, although the series was transmitted in color, only black-and-white kinescope copies of some episodes survive to the present day. The series finished at #22 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1955–1956 season and #26 for 1956–1957.
Les Patterson Saves the World is a 1987 Australian comedy film starring Barry Humphries as his stage creations Sir Les Patterson and Dame Edna Everage.
Patricia Emily Perry was an English actress and dancer. Born in Torquay, Devon, she was best known for her recurring role as Madge Allsop, Dame Edna Everage's long-suffering, silent "bridesmaid" from Palmerston North, New Zealand.
December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959. It was adapted from the original CBS radio network series of the same name that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.
Sweethearts is an American television game show which aired from September 12, 1988 to September 8, 1989. It was based on the 1987 British series of the same name. The show was syndicated throughout the United States by Multimedia Entertainment.
Madge Allsop is a fictitious character invented by satirist Barry Humphries as the long-time companion of his most popular and enduring character, Dame Edna Everage. First mentioned in Edna's monologues in the 1960s, Madge was subsequently depicted on stage, TV and film, over three decades, by several people. The character was discontinued following the retirement of British actress Emily Perry, who played the role for over 15 years.
The Two Ronnies 1987 Christmas Special was first broadcast on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1987 as part of the 12th series of the show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, being also their last outing as Barker decided to retire from showbiz.
Madeleine Grace Orr was an Australian-born film, stage and TV actress who worked for many years in London. She is best known as the first person to portray Madge Allsop, bridesmaid and companion to Barry Humphries' most popular and enduring comic character, Dame Edna Everage.
The Joan Rivers Show is an American talk show hosted by comedian Joan Rivers that premiered on September 5, 1989, in broadcast syndication.