Dame Edna Everage's visits to Leeds remembered as entertainer Barry Humphries dies

Pictures from the Yorkshire Evening Post archives capture a visit in 1995 to promote shows by his most famous character, Dame Edna Everage, at Leeds Grand Theatre that autumn. In a 2004 interview with the Yorkshire Post, then Leeds Grand Theatre manager Warren Smith shared one of his memories of the performer. He said: “Barry Humphries is a very cultured man. The work of an artist he was interested in was showing at a Leeds gallery so we went straight from the theatre to have a look. Barry was in full Dame Edna costume and people there were suspicious of what he was up to. He didn't buy any art.”

Humphries would return to the theatre for the last time in early 2014 for what was billed as his Farewell Tour. It gave audiences the chance to say goodbye to Humphries and his cast of characters, which also included the lecherous Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone, an elderly, childless man living in the Australian suburbs.

On another memorable visit covered by the YEP in 1996, Humphries joined the millionaire Richard Branson in Leeds to celebrate the opening of a new Virgin Megastore in the city. With Humphries appearing as Sir Les, it was up to Branson to do the honours as Dame Edna Everage as the pair sprayed the gathered crowds with champagne.

Tributes to Humphries have poured in since the news of his death broke on Saturday. Aged 89, he died in hospital in Sydney, Australia, following complications from a hip surgery. He had first become a staple of the British comedy circuit after moving from Australia to London in 1959 and appearing in West End shows such as Maggie May and Oliver! He was among the leading members of the British comedy scene, alongside Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Spike Milligan.