Sir Les Patterson

Sir Les Patterson is a fictional character portrayed by the Australian comedian Barry Humphries. Supposedly President of the Australian Cheese Board, he used to hold the post of Australia's cultural attaché to Britain.

Related Topics:
Fiction - Australia - Comedian - Barry Humphries - Cultural attaché - Britain

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He is Dame Edna Everage's mirror image: she is female, refined, Protestant, and from Melbourne; he is male, uncouth, Catholic, and from Sydney. A farting, belching, nose-picking figure of Dionysiac or Rabelaisian excess who is partly based on Humphries' earlier creation Bazza McKenzie, he allows Humphries to satirize Australia and its culture in a way that has often been resented there. However, criticism of the character has only encouraged him to make Sir Les's appearance and behavior worse.

Related Topics:
Dame Edna Everage - Protestant - Melbourne - Catholic - Sydney - Dionysiac - Rabelais - Bazza McKenzie - Satirize

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In 2000, a portrait of Barry Humphries as Sir Les Patterson by painter Bill Leak won the Packing Room award at the Archibald Prize.

Related Topics:
Bill Leak - Archibald Prize

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