Had his first Dada exhibition while a university student

Created the character of Mrs. Everage, a Melbourne housewife who would evolve into the celebrated Dame Edna, for a sketch in connection with Melbourne's Olympic Games

Joined Sydney's Philip Street Theatre, where he appeared as Estragon in "Waiting for Godot", the first Australian production of a Samuel Beckett play

Created the character of Sandy Stone, a kind of eustralian Beckett figure, as a scathing satire of suburban boredom

Sailed for Venice, Italy

Appeared in numerous West End (London) theatrical productions during the 1960s

Acted in Stanley Donen's "Bedazzled", starring the team of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore

Starred as Fagin in the Piccadilly Theatre's revival of Lional Bart's musical "Oliver!" with Phil Collins as the Artful Dodger

Introduced Mrs. Everage to the British stage in his one-person "Just a Show", which led to a short-lived BBC series, "The Barry Humphries Scandals"

Created the comic strip character of Barry McKenzie in British satirical magazine Private Eye

Teamed with director Bruce Beresford to write screenplay for "The Adventures of Barry McKenzie", introducing the beer-swilling, Australian lout to screen audiences; played three charactes including the very proper Aunt Edna to Barry Crocker's McKenzie

Reprised Dame Edna in Beresford's "Barry McKenzie Holds His Own", again co-scripting with the director; also appeared as three additional characters

Acted in third film with Beresford, "Side By Side"

Last film (to date) with Beresford, "The Getting of Wisdom", playing Reverend Strachey

Brought Dame Edna to New York for the unmitigated disaster of "Housewife/Superstar"

Won the Society of West End Theatres Award for his "A Night With Dame Edna"

Awarded the Order of Australia

Part of the excellent cast of "Doctor Fischer of Geneva" (BBC-2), including James Mason, Alan Bates and Cyril Cusack, among others; aired on PBS the following year

Co-scripted George Miller's "Les Patterson Saves the World", playing both Les Patterson and Dame Edna Everage

Appeared as Dame Edna in Phillipe Mora's "The Marsupials: The Howling III"

Portrayed Rupert Murdoch in "Selling Hitler", a five-part British black comedy detailing the great Hitler diaries hoax of 1983

Wrote and appeared in NBC comedy special, "Dame Edna's Hollywood" (followed by 1992 and 1993 NBC specials of the same name); also wrote lyrics for "Dame Edna's Nicenesss Theme"

Played Clemens Metternich in Bernard Rose's "Immortal Beloved", starring Gary Oldman as Beethoven

Portrayed theater director Humphrey Beal in John Duigan's "The Leading Man"

Reteamed with Mora for "Pterodactyl Women from Beverly Hills"

Contributed the voice of Kangaroo to animated "Napoleon"

Made cameo appearance in Stefan Elliott's "Welcome to Woop Woop"

Performed "Edna, the Spectacle" at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket

Appeared in "Spice World"

Brought Dame Edna to the US stage for the first time since 1977, receiving rave notices from the San Francisco press like "a marvel of comic endurance" and "savagely entertaining"; city proclaimed November 26 as "Dame Edna Day"

Appeared for Australian audiences sans Edna regalia in "Remember You're Out", playing different characters

Tackled the Great White Way in "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour"

Contributed humor column to Vanity Fair

Had recurring role of Claire Otoms on the Fox comedy "Ally McBeal"