Norman Kaye

Norman James Kaye (17 January 1927 – 28 May 2007) was an Australian actor. He was best known for his roles in the films of director Paul Cox.

Early life and education

Kaye was born into a tough childhood in Depression Era Melbourne, as one of four children. His father was an injured, poor Boer War veteran, his mother suffered from mental illness, and both parents were distant. Kaye was taken in as a child by the Norton family, who provided him with a safe haven from the hardships at home.

Kaye won a scholarship to study at Geelong Grammar School. His parents both died early, his mother in a psychiatric hospital.

Career

Music

Kaye's musical abilities were noticed by A. E. Floyd, the organist of St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, who gave him free tuition in recognition of his potential as an organist.

Kaye travelled to England and then 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. He returned to Australia due to feeling lonely and homesick. Back in Melbourne, he continued his pursuit of music, including as the acting organist of St Paul's Cathedral.

Teaching

Kaye was the choirmaster and the music teacher at Caulfield Grammar School, a private school in Melbourne, 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.

Acting

With a passion for acting, Kaye began his career playing minor unpaid roles in small theatres, when television was still in its infancy. He did not however start acting full time until he was in his forties.

In 1967, Kaye met director Paul Cox, who at the time was a photographer, taking production stills at St Martin's Theatre. He ended up appearing in 16 of Cox's films, beginning with small roles in '' Illuminations'' (1976) and '' Kostas'' (1979), before sharing the lead with Wendy Hughes in Cox's 1982 film '' Lonely Hearts'' which saw him nominated for an AFI Award. He also played the lead in '' Man of Flowers'' (1983), this time winning an AFI Award. He appeared in minor roles in many subsequent Cox films including '' Innocence'' (2000).

Other films in which Cox appeared included '' Mad Dog Morgan'', '' Turtle Beach'', '' Oscar and Lucinda'' and Baz Luhrmann’s '' Moulin Rouge!''. He also wrote the scores for many films, including '' Lonely Hearts'' and the Burton Pugach documentary '' Crazy Love'' (2007).

Kaye's television credits included medical drama '' The Flying Doctors'', cult prison drama ''Prisoner'', police procedural series ''Homicide'', crime drama '' Wildside'' and miniseries '' Power Without Glory'', based on the historical novel by Frank Hardy.

Kaye is the subject of Cox's biographical film ''The Remarkable Mr Kaye'' (2005), a tribute to their long standing friendship and working relationship.

Personal life and death

Kaye was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease 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, and she was by his side at his death.

Legacy

In 2007 a retrospective CD, ''The Remarkable Norman Kaye'', was issued by Move Records.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

As actor

As crew

Awards and nominations

See also

* List of Caulfield Grammar School people

References

External links

*
* Obituary in ''The Age'', 31 May 2007, by Fabian Muir, Elke Neidhardt's son whom Norman Kaye helped to raise.
* Muir, Fabian
"Norman Kaye, Artist and Composer"
'' Move Records'', Obituary as reproduced from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 June 2007.

Portrait of Norman Kaye (1989), Photographer Angela Lynkushka, ''Collection of the National Library of Australia''.
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaye, Norman
1927 births
2007 deaths
People educated at Geelong Grammar School
Australian male film actors
Best Actor AACTA Award winners
Australian classical organists
Australian male classical organists
Deaths from dementia in Australia
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Australia
20th-century Australian organists
20th-century Australian conductors (music)
20th-century Australian male musicians
Musicians from Melbourne