Norman Kaye
Encyclopedia
Norman James Kaye was an Australian actor and musician. He was best known for his roles in the films of director Paul Cox
.
Kaye was born in Melbourne and educated at Geelong Grammar School
. He was an exemplary musician; he was noticed by Dr A E Floyd, the organist of St Paul's Cathedral, who gave him free tuition in recognition of his great potential as an organist. He 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.
As an adult he was the choirmaster and music teacher at Caulfield Grammar School
from 1958 to 1977. It was the security of a teacher's salary that allowed Kaye to explore the acting world.
As an actor he was commonly cast in minor character roles including Paul Cox
's Illuminations (1976) and Kostas (1979). Kaye shared the lead with Wendy Hughes
in Cox's 1982 film Lonely Hearts and the lead in Man of Flowers (1983), for which he won an AFI Award. He appeared in minor roles in many subsequent Cox films including Innocence (2000). Other films in which he appeared included Mad Dog Morgan, Turtle Beach
, Oscar and Lucinda
and Moulin Rouge!
. He also wrote a number of film scores.
Kaye is the subject of Cox's biographical film
The Remarkable Mr Kaye (2005), a tribute to their long standing friendship and working relationship. Of the 21 films that Cox has made, Norman Kaye appeared in 16 of them.
Norman Kaye was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
prior to 1997. His inability to memorize scripts for the film Innocence led to the end of his collaboration with Paul Cox. 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 at his side at his death.
In 2007 a retrospective CD The Remarkable Norman Kaye was issued by Move Records
.
Paul Cox
Paulus Henriqus Benedictus "Paul" Cox is an award-winning Australian film director.Cox was born in Venlo, Limburg, the Netherlands, the son of Else , a native of Germany, and Wim Cox, a documentary film producer. Cox emigrated to Australia in 1965...
.
Kaye was born in Melbourne and educated at Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
. He was an exemplary musician; he was noticed by Dr A E Floyd, the organist of St Paul's Cathedral, who gave him free tuition in recognition of his great potential as an organist. He travelled to France to study the organ with Pierre Cochereau
Pierre Cochereau
Pierre Eugène Charles Cochereau , was a French organist, improviser, composer, and pedagogue.- Biography :Pierre Cochereau was born on July 9, 1924 in Saint-Mandé, near Paris. In 1929, after a few months of violin instruction, he began to take piano lessons with Marius-François Gaillard...
at Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
, and he won a Premier Prix for conducting at the Nice Conservatoire.
As an adult he was the choirmaster and music teacher at Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield began admitting girls exactly one hundred years later...
from 1958 to 1977. It was the security of a teacher's salary that allowed Kaye to explore the acting world.
As an actor he was commonly cast in minor character roles including Paul Cox
Paul Cox
Paulus Henriqus Benedictus "Paul" Cox is an award-winning Australian film director.Cox was born in Venlo, Limburg, the Netherlands, the son of Else , a native of Germany, and Wim Cox, a documentary film producer. Cox emigrated to Australia in 1965...
's Illuminations (1976) and Kostas (1979). Kaye shared the lead with Wendy Hughes
Wendy Hughes
-Career:Hughes began her career on television in the early 1970s with appearances in Homicide, Number 96, Matlock Police and in 1976, ABC Mini-Series, Power Without Glory...
in Cox's 1982 film Lonely Hearts and the lead in Man of Flowers (1983), for which he won an AFI Award. He appeared in minor roles in many subsequent Cox films including Innocence (2000). Other films in which he appeared included Mad Dog Morgan, Turtle Beach
Turtle Beach (film)
Turtle Beach is a 1992 Australian film directed by Stephen Wallace and starring Greta Scacchi and Joan Chen. The screenplay was written by Ann Turner, based on the novel of the same name by Blanche d'Alpuget...
, Oscar and Lucinda
Oscar and Lucinda
Oscar and Lucinda is a novel by Peter Carey which won the 1988 Booker Prize, the 1989 Miles Franklin Award, and was shortlisted for The Best of the Booker.-Plot introduction:...
and Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
. He also wrote a number of film scores.
Kaye is the subject of Cox's biographical film
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
The Remarkable Mr Kaye (2005), a tribute to their long standing friendship and working relationship. Of the 21 films that Cox has made, Norman Kaye appeared in 16 of them.
Norman Kaye was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
prior to 1997. His inability to memorize scripts for the film Innocence led to the end of his collaboration with Paul Cox. 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 Neidhardt
Elke Cordelia Neidhardt AM is a German-Australian actress and opera and theatre director. She has appeared in theatre, television and feature films in Germany, Austria, France and Australia, and has directed operas in Zurich, Amsterdam, Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, Vienna, Cologne and Australia...
, and she was at his side at his death.
In 2007 a retrospective CD The Remarkable Norman Kaye was issued by Move Records
Move Records
Move Records is an Australian record label that was started in 1968 by Martin Wright. It concentrates primarily in classical and jazz music, particularly Australian, and most frequently Melbourne-based musicians and composers....
.
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)
External links
- Years May Pass On... (Caulfield Grammar School 1881–1981) by Horace Weber ISBN 0 9594242 0 2
- Obituary in The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, 31 May 2007, by Fabian Muir, Elke NeidhardtElke NeidhardtElke Cordelia Neidhardt AM is a German-Australian actress and opera and theatre director. She has appeared in theatre, television and feature films in Germany, Austria, France and Australia, and has directed operas in Zurich, Amsterdam, Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, Vienna, Cologne and Australia...
's son whom Norman Kaye helped to raise. - Muir, Fabian. "Norman Kaye, Artist and Composer", Move RecordsMove RecordsMove Records is an Australian record label that was started in 1968 by Martin Wright. It concentrates primarily in classical and jazz music, particularly Australian, and most frequently Melbourne-based musicians and composers....
, Obituary as reproduced from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 June 2007.