Barry Humphries was, his family said, "an entertainer to his core".
His talent spanned generations and continents, with the man behind Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson becoming a household name himself.
Humphries died peacefully in Sydney, on Saturday, aged 89.
"He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit," his family said in a statement.
With his passing, the entertainment industry has lost a man who blazed a trail for others, defined a genre and changed the face of comedy.
A 'genius' with an 'anarchic approach'
UK comedian Ricky Gervais summed up his legacy, farewelling a "comedy genius".
Comic actor and friend Rob Brydon spent time with Humphries in hospital only three days before he died, calling him "a true great who inspired me immeasurably".
"He was, as ever, making me laugh. His talent shone until the very end," he said.
Singing superstar Leo Sayer called his friend "an incredibly inventive, gifted, kind and funny man, whose cunning wordplay changed the Australian language forever, and the rest of the world's, too, I'm sure".
"I'm simply reeling with the very sad news that I'm not going to see my dear friend Barry Humphries ever again," Sayer said.
Satirist and impressionist Rory Bremner said the world had lost an "all-time great" and a "true genius".
"Lightning quick, subversive, mischievous, widely read, deeply knowledgeable about art, music and literature — and savagely funny," he said.
What catapulted Humphries into super stardom was an undeniable stage presence, a quick wit and and brilliant comedic timing.
However, underneath Dame Edna's jewels, or Sir Les Patterson's grey hair, or Sandy Stone's dressing gown, Humphries had an inquisitiveness that meant his larger-than-life characters somehow felt like home.
"What struck me most was his incredible incisiveness. He always wanted to get below the surface," his biographer, Susan Pender, said.
With Humphries appearing in the modernist play Waiting for Godot in the 50s, Ms Pender said the actor was "ahead of his time".
"He listened so carefully to the ways people spoke, particularly in Australia … so he was really inquisitive," she said.
"But he also had that sort of anarchic approach. You never knew what was next, what was going to come. So, it was a very, very creative and anarchic spirit of comedy.
"And a comedy of ordinariness, as well."
'Like being struck by magic'
Longtime friend and Australian entertainment royalty Steve Vizard said that, when working with Humphries, you were "dealing with a genius".
"He had a gift for observing what was under his nose, up close and personal, what was hidden, in fact, in plain sight," Vizard said.
It was this gift that helped characters — such as Moonee Ponds' housewife, Dame Edna, and the "uninteresting" Sandy Stone — cement themselves in the hearts of millions.
"That puckish kind of rascality that he had was irresistible and allowed him to blow raspberries, especially at the at the upper echelons of British society," friend and author Kathy Lette said.
"And he was also just so charming. I mean, in real life, his charm was more disarming than a UN peacekeeping force, you know. He was a great gift.
"Of course, there was the Dame Edna with those lethal one-liners.
"I mean, Australia is famous for our kind of deadly creatures. We've got the box jellyfish, we've got the funnel web spider, we've got the tiger shark, we've got the tiger snake and we've got the Dame Edna Everage."
Little Britain star Matt Lucas reflected that Humphries was "quite simply … the best", and a genius who was "lovely".
Lucas's co-star, David Walliams, said seeing Humphries live was "like being struck by magic" and that, "off-stage, he was elegant and sophisticated but just as funny as Dame Edna".
Australian satirist and comedian Shaun Micallef said he did not know Humphries well, but the comic legend was a formative influence on him.
Australian characters that sparked 'a laugh of recognition'
Micallef said Humphries's comedy, particularly his Australian characters, managed to tread the fine line between affection and mockery.
"I saw it as a gentle teasing of the middle class. He'd mention things like sand-blasted reindeers on the glass dividing doors of a particular house, and I looked at my mother, we had that! It was definitely a laugh of recognition, I think that's what gets you through the door, then a gentle chiding, then a vicious chiding," Micallef told ABC Radio Melbourne.
"He revelled in the detail, the minutiae of it. I didn't get a sense he was dismissive, I don't know, it's hard to tell, isn't it, when you're watching a performance of a character, to try and say then, 'what does the artist performing that character really think?' I don't think it really matters."
Famed director and long-time friend and collaborator of Humphries, Bruce Beresford, said his late friend was generous and supportive from the moment they first met in London in the early 1970s.
The two of them went on to make The Adventures of Barry McKenzie together, although Beresford said the success of the film and its sequel did not necessarily aid his career.
"For me it was somewhat catastrophic, although it was very popular with the audiences — both films were — but the critical reviews were dreadful. I sort of painted myself into a corner as the yobbo director and I couldn't get any more work," Beresford laughed.
A 'glorious trail' blazed from Australia to the world
John Barry Humphries was born in Melbourne in 1934 and grew up in Camberwell in the city's east.
His career took him from post-war Australian suburbs to London stages, Hollywood sets and to rubbing shoulders with royalty.
However, his connection to home and the Australian entertainment industry was never broken.
Magda Szubanski — who worked with Humphries when he guest-starred in a Kath & Kim movie — thanked the star for "the manifold gifts of your great genius".
"You blazed a glorious trail across the globe and we were blessed to be in your slipstream," she said.
Adam Hills said the world had lost "one of the greatest comedians of our time", who "was nothing but an utter gentleman to me and, occasionally, a Dame".
Actor Jason Donovan worked with Humphries on a number of projects and said the entertainer was "always generous and supportive".
Another actor, Christie Whelan Browne, said Humphries was a "champion" of her work who "sent me flowers every opening night".
In 2017, Humphries told the ABC's 7.30 that his work was "an expression of my gratitude to my Australian public".
While much of his career was based overseas, Humphries was instrumental in founding the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF).
His contribution was such that one of the world's most prestigious comedy awards, for best show at the MICF, was given his name for nearly two decades.
"Barry made an extraordinary contribution to Australian comedy, to putting Australian comedy on a global platform," MICF director Susan Provan said.
However, the Barry Award was renamed in 2019, after comments he made about transgender people. The comments included calling gender-affirmation surgery "self mutilation" and labelling being transgender "a fashion".
British-Australian television personality Miriam Margolyes said she had known Humphries since she was 17 and was "heartbroken" by his passing.
She also took aim at the festival for what she called Humphries being "cancelled" late in life.
The winner of this year's now-titled Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award, Gillian Cosgriff, said Humphries left "undeniably a powerful legacy for Australian comedy and on the international stage".
"I disagreed very strongly with a lot of his politics. And it was a shame towards the end of his life he certainly lost his ability to read the room," Cosgriff said.
Comedian Sammy J said he wanted to elevate the role of Humphries in creating the festival, which came to an end on Sunday night.
"And it's thanks to Barry and his peer group of professional provocateurs that we still get to enjoy [the festival], see it evolve, and have it taken in new directions by new generations," he said.
Vizard said Humphries was "always provoking, always challenging".
"And even if we didn't agree with his particular views on things, he did that great thing: He provoked us to ask, 'Why don't we agree with him? What do we think about this?' That was his great gift, to challenge us to look better at it ourselves?"
The Victorian government is in discussions with Humphries's family about the possibility of a state funeral to honour his contribution to the state.
Humphries is survived by his fourth wife, Lizzie Spender, four children who followed him into the arts — actor Tessa, studio owner Emily, fine art and design dealer and journalist Oscar and screenwriter and games developer Rupert — and 10 grandchildren.
"His passing leaves a void in so many lives," the family said on Saturday night.
