Norman Kaye was best known for his roles in the films of director Paul Cox.
15 Facts About Norman Kaye
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Norman Kaye's father was an injured, poor Boer War veteran, his mother suffered from mental illness, and both parents were distant.
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Norman Kaye was taken in as a child by the Norton family, who provided him with a safe haven from the hardships at home.
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Norman 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.
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Norman Kaye returned to Australia due to feeling lonely and homesick.
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Norman Kaye did not however start acting full time until he was in his forties.
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In 1967, Norman Kaye met director Paul Cox, who at the time was a photographer, taking production stills at St Martin's Theatre.
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Norman Kaye ended up appearing in 16 of Cox's films, beginning with small roles in Illuminations and Kostas, before sharing the lead with Wendy Hughes in Cox's 1982 film Lonely Hearts which saw him nominated for an AFI Award.
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Norman Kaye played the lead in Man of Flowers, this time winning an AFI Award.
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Norman Kaye appeared in minor roles in many subsequent Cox films including Innocence.
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Norman Kaye wrote the scores for many films, including Lonely Hearts and the Burton Pugach documentary Crazy Love.
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Norman Kaye is the subject of Cox's biographical film The Remarkable Mr Norman Kaye, a tribute to their long standing friendship and working relationship.
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Norman Kaye was in the advanced stage of the disease at the time of his death in Sydney on 28 May 2007.
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Norman Kaye had enjoyed a 35-year relationship with the opera director Elke Neidhardt, and she was by his side at his death.
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In 2007 a retrospective CD, The Remarkable Norman Kaye, was issued by Move Records.