Norman Yemm

Norman Yemm (23 March 1933 – 3 February 2015) was an Australian actor, opera singer, musical theatre performer and sportsman. He had spent some years as a chief baritone with the Australian Opera appearing in such roles as Don Pasquale and was a frequent performer in the musical theatre world—most notably as Curly in Oklahoma!, and the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance. He also appeared in South Pacific and The Sound of Music, prior to his television roles. As a sportsman Yemm was a professional runner for many years and an Australian rules footballer.[1][2]

Norman Yemm
Born(1933-03-23)23 March 1933
Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia
Died3 February 2015(2015-02-03) (aged 81)
Rosebud, Victoria, Australia
Other namesNorm Yemm
Occupation
  • Actor (television and film
  • opera bariton
  • musical theatre performer
  • sportsman
Years active1965–2010
Spouse(s)Amanda Yemm
Partner(s)Emmy Hardy
ChildrenBryden Yemm
Jodie Yemm
Samantha Yemm

Television roles

He may be best remembered for his long-running role as Norm Baker in the television drama The Sullivans. He had previously played regular roles in Homicide as Detective Jim Patterson and Number 96 as Harry Collins. He later appeared, albeit briefly in Prisoner as police officer Eddie Stevens. Other TV credits include: Division 4, Matlock Police, Riptide, Tandarra, A Country Practice, Possession, Neighbours, The Henderson Kids, Blue Heelers and Something in the Air. His Australian film roles include Night of Fear and The Fourth Wish.[3][4]

Sporting achievements

Norman was a professional track athlete for most of his adult life, winning 96 finals, including three races at the Stawell Gift. Yemm was also an Australian rules footballer, having played for Victorian Football Association (VFA) club Port Melbourne.[5][6][7]

Personal life

Norman Yemm was born in 1933 in Elsternwick, Victoria.[8] He has an identical twin brother, Gordon, who is a professional musician and shares Norman's success on the track and as a performer.

"An actor's greatest attribute is to have a good memory, but I've always had a bad one." That didn't stop him from working that much harder to remember his lines on stage and screen, and it was some old-fashioned blood, sweat and tears that brought the brothers their success.[9] He has three children; his daughter Jodie Yemm is an actress.

Death

Yemm died on 3 February 2015, aged 81, and his death was announced two days later.[10]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1959 On the Beach Submarine Crewman Uncredited
1973 Night of Fear The Man
1975 Plugg Inspector Closer
1976 The Fourth Wish Specialist
1977 Raw Deal O'Neil
1994 Lex and Rory Drunk
2003 The Way Back Norm
2008 Lover's Walk
2010 The Beautiful and Damned
2010 El Monstro Del Mar! Joseph (final film role)

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1965–1972 Homicide Detective Jim Patterson / Malcolm Timms / Frank Bates / Errol Stewart / Blue Carmody / Geoff Archer / Bob Hills / Ivan Hondross 130 episodes
1968–1969 Riptide Const. Bob Rix / Andy Mercer 2 episodes
1969–1973 Division 4 Jack Miller / Stan Murray / Ernie 3 episodes
1972–1974 Number 96 Harry Collins 35 episodes
1974–1975 Matlock Police Reg Walker / Max Cooper 2 episodes
1976 Tandarra Taggart Episode: "Shadow of the Past"
1976–1977 The Sullivans Norm Baker 12 episodes
1982 A Country Practice Stewart Lawson 2 episodes
1983–1984 Prisoner Eddie Stevens 12 episodes
1985 Possession John Andrews
1986–1998 Neighbours Ray Murphy / Jack O'Connor 18 episodes
1987–1988 The Henderson Kids Mr Summers 6 episodes
1996–2001 Blue Heelers Roy Fletcher / Dan Ballard / Nigel Carmody 3 episodes
1998 Moby Dick Carpenter 2 episodes
2001 Something In The Air Old Mac Episode: "Reading the Signs"
gollark: You could just use an IMU with all three of those.
gollark: Oh, right, it would still respond more slowl.y
gollark: Couldn't you just make it average the *last* 5 values?
gollark: For backend stuff general purpose programming languages like Python which are less awful are preferred.
gollark: ÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆ please do not use PHP.

References
  1. Profile, viaf.org; accessed 16 February 2015.
  2. J., Harper, Amanda (2004). Treading the boards : a popular history of the Theatre Royal, Hobart, the Theatre Royal Light Opera Company and other theatrical developments. Pierrot Publ. ISBN 0975672703. OCLC 232005936.
  3. Norman Yemm on IMDb
  4. "Obituary: Norman Yemm » Television.AU". televisionau.com. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  5. Atkinson, p. 186.
  6. "Running Performances of Sporting Legends and other Celebrities - Runners' Soapbox". CoolRunning Forums. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  7. "Dandy Dollar Dash | VFLFOOTY.COM". www.vflfooty.com. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  8. Idato, Michael (5 February 2015). "From Don Pasquale to The Sullivans: Australian acting great Norman Yemm dead, aged 82". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  9. Profile, mednwh.unimelb.edu.au; accessed 18 February 2015.
  10. Vickery, Colin; Minear, Tom (5 February 2015). "Australian actor Norman Yemm from Homicide, Number 96 dies". Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 February 2015.

Sources
  • Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne; ISBN 0 86788 009 0.
  • Profile, mednwh.unimelb.edu.au; accessed 18 February 2015.
  • Interview, Classic Australian Television, Interview Norman Yemm
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