Norman James Kaye (17 January 1927 – 28 May 2007) was an Australian actor and musician. He was best known for his roles in the films of director Paul Cox.
Early life and education
Kaye was born in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
and won a scholarship to study at Geelong Grammar School. His parents were distant, and both died early, his mother in a psychiatric hospital.
Musician
Kaye's musical abilities were noticed by A. E. Floyd, the organist of
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria.
...
, who gave him free tuition in recognition of his potential as an organist.
Kaye travelled to France to study the organ with Pierre Cochereau at Notre Dame de Paris and he won a Premier Prix for conducting at the Nice Conservatoire.
Caulfield Grammar School
He was the choirmaster and the music teacher at
Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...
from 1958 to 1977, during which time he " aidthe foundation for he school's… high reputation on the world of music nd it was hisenthusiasm and constructive knowledge hatmade choral singing and the playing of orchestral instruments activities of a central rather than peripheral importance to the school." It was the security of a teacher's salary that allowed Kaye to explore the acting world.
Actor
As an actor, he was strongly associated with the films of Paul Cox, appearing in 16 of them. He had small roles in Cox's '' Illuminations'' (1976) and ''Kostas'' (1979), and shared the lead with
Wendy Hughes
Wendy Hughes (29 July 19528 March 2014) was an Australian actress known for her work in theatre, film and television. Her career spanned more than forty years and established her reputation as one of Australia's finest and most prolific actors. ...
in Cox's 1982 film '' Lonely Hearts'' and the lead in ''
Man of Flowers
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...
'' (1983), for which he won an AFI Award. He appeared in minor roles in many subsequent Cox films including ''
Innocence
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relatio ...
Moulin Rouge!
''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and co ...
''. He also wrote a number of film scores.
Kaye is the subject of Cox's
biographical film
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
''The Remarkable Mr Kaye'' (2005), a tribute to their long standing friendship and working relationship.
Illness
Norman Kaye was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...
prior to 1997. His inability to memorise scripts for the film ''Innocence'' led to the end of his collaboration with Paul Cox, as well as the end of his career in 2004. Kaye was in the advanced stage of the disease at the time of his death in Sydney on 28 May 2007. He had enjoyed a 35-year relationship with the opera director
Elke Neidhardt
Elke Cordelia Neidhardt AM (5 July 194125 November 2013) was a German Australian actress and opera and theatre director. She appeared in theatre, television and feature films in Germany, Austria, France and Australia, and directed operas in Zur ...
*''The Secret of Susanna'' (1961, TV Movie) - Sante
*''
The First Joanna
''The First Joanna'' is a 1943 play by Dorothy Blewett that was adapted for radio and television.
Plot
An English girl called Joanna marries an Australian wine-grower and moves to his family home in South Australia. She does not like it and is ab ...
'' (1961, TV Movie)
*''
Boy Round the Corner
''Boy Round the Corner'' is an Australian film which aired in 1962. Broadcast live on ABC, it was set in Sydney but produced in Melbourne. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.
The archival status of the film is not known, given t ...
'' (1962, TV Movie) - Shannon
*''
Fury in Petticoats
''Fury in Petticoats'' is a 1962 television play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was directed by Christopher Muir.
It was based on a play which had been filmed by British TV the year before.
Although fictional, the plot ...
'' (1962, TV Movie) - Charlies Darwin
*'' You Can't Win 'Em All'' (1962, TV Movie) - Selasco
*''
The Angry General
''The Angry General'' is a 1964 Australian television play written by Australian author Allan Trevor.
Premise
The play is set in London in the present day. Former wartime minister, Lord Athol Medway, publishes his memoirs attacking the leadership ...
'' (1964, TV Movie) - Major Derek Barrington-Hunt
*''Martha'' (1964, TV Movie)
*'' The Road'' (1964, TV Movie) - Sir Timothy Hassall
*'' Wind from the Icy Country'' (1964, TV Movie) - Ehrbar
*''
Everyman
The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them.
Origin
The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...
'' (1964, TV Movie) - Discretion
*''
Six Characters in Search of an Author
''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist metatheatric play about the relationship among authors, the ...
'' (1964, TV Movie) - The Father
*''The Journey'' (1972)
*'' Illuminations'' (1976) - Gabi's Father
*'' Mad Dog Morgan'' (1976) - Swagman
*'' Inside Looking Out'' (1978) - Alex
*'' Kostas'' (1979) - Passenger
*''
The Killing of Angel Street
''The Killing of Angel Street'' is a 1981 Australian thriller film loosely based on the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) green bans against development in inner Sydney city waterside suburbs. It briefly touches on the real-life disappearance of ...
'' (1981) - Mander
*''
A Dangerous Summer
''A Dangerous Summer'' (aka ''Flash Fire'') is a 1982 Australian crime film drama film directed by Quentin Masters and starring Tom Skerritt, Ian Gilmour, Guy Doleman and James Mason.
Production
The film was inspired by the Sydney bush fire ...
'' (1982) - Percy Farley
*'' Lonely Hearts'' (1982) - Peter Thompson
*'' Buddies'' (1983) - George
*''
Man of Flowers
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...
Cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...
'' (1986) - Tom
*''
I Own the Racecourse
''I Own the Racecourse'' is a 1985 Australian children's film.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p340Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford ...
'' (1986, TV Movie) - Drunken Old Man
*''
Frenchman's Farm
''Frenchman's Farm'' is a 1986 Australian horror mystery film.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p294-295
Filming started 17 February 1986."Australian Productions Top ...
Island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...
'' (1989) - Henry
*''
Bangkok Hilton
''Bangkok Hilton'' is a three-part Australian mini-series made in 1989 by Kennedy Miller Productions and directed by Ken Cameron. The title of the mini-series is the nickname of a fictional Bangkok prison in which the main protagonist (Nicol ...
'' (1989, TV Mini Series) - George McNair (uncredited)
*'' Golden Braid'' (1990) - Psychiatrist
*''
A Woman's Tale
''A Woman's Tale'' is a 1991 Australian film directed by Paul Cox and starring Sheila Florance, Gosia Dobrowolska, Norman Kaye, Chris Haywood, Max Gillies and Ernie Gray.
Premise
Martha (Florance) is an elderly woman living alone in her flat a ...
The Custodian
''The Custodian'' is a 1993 Australian drama film, written and directed by John Dingwall, starring Anthony LaPaglia, Hugo Weaving and Barry Otto
Barry Otto (born 1941) is an Australian actor, primarily of cinema, and an amateur artist.
Ear ...
'' (1993) - Judge
*'' Bad Boy Bubby'' (1993) - The Scientist
*''
Exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
'' (1994) - Ghost Priest
*''
Lust and Revenge
''Lust and Revenge'' is a 1996 film directed by Paul Cox. It was shot in South Australia.Heaven's Burning'' (1997) - Store Owner
*'' Paws'' (1997) - Alex
*'' Oscar and Lucinda'' (1997) - Bishop Dancer
*''
Innocence
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relatio ...
'' (2000) - Gerald
*''
Moulin Rouge!
''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and co ...
'' (2001) - Satine's Doctor
*'' Human Touch'' (2004) - Charles (final film role)
Awards and nominations
*1983 AFI Award: Best Actor in a Lead Role (''Man of Flowers'')
*1982 Nominated for AFI Award: Best Actor in a Lead Role (''Lonely Hearts'')
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', 31 May 2007, by Fabian Muir,
Elke Neidhardt
Elke Cordelia Neidhardt AM (5 July 194125 November 2013) was a German Australian actress and opera and theatre director. She appeared in theatre, television and feature films in Germany, Austria, France and Australia, and directed operas in Zur ...