Esben Storm
Australian actor, television producer, and director
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Esben Storm (26 May 1950 – 28 March 2011) was a Danish Australian actor, screenwriter, television producer, television director, voice artist and songwriter.
- Actor
- screenwriter
- producer
- director
- voice artist
- songwriter
Esben Storm | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 May 1950 Støvring, Denmark |
| Died | 28 March 2011 (aged 60) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1969–2008 |
| Spouses |
|
Early life
Storm came to Australia with parents Laurits and Ane in 1958, after Laurits lost the family farm to lawyers. After settling in Melbourne, his father worked as a builder's labourer and built a darkroom, where Esben learned photographic processing, composition and lighting.
Career
Storm was well known for his work with the Australian Children's Television Foundation, headed by Patricia Edgar, where he worked for 15 years. The company sold programs to 92 countries, and Storm was involved in writing, acting, editing, and directing numerous programs, including Round the Twist.[1] He worked to adapt John Marsden's Tomorrow series but lost the rights to the film.
Film making
Storm started making films at 18 with his then partner Haydn Keenan.[2] His early work was mostly serious in nature, including a 1983 documentary about the Hilton Bombing in Sydney called With Prejudice. He wrote and directed 27A (1974), In Search of Anna (1978) (with film stills and publicity shots by Carol Jerrems, who was then his girlfriend),[3] Deadly (1991), and Subterano (2003). He directed Devil’s Hill (1988), the Tasmanian film in the Touch the Sun series of bicentennial telemovies. In 2007, he directed the SBS comedy series Kick.[4]
Storm also worked on several television series such as Round the Twist, The Genie from Down Under (as scriptwriter and director), Sky Trackers (as script consultant), Li'l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers (as the show's creator, scriptwriter and dialogue director), Blue Heelers (as a director), Crash Zone, and Winners (for which he directed the episode "The Other Facts of Life").
Acting
In 1976, Storm acted in Hanging About, a film by Carol Jerrems, who was then his girlfriend and living with him in Willoughby. He appeared in Room to Move and in two episodes of Winners. He played Pat in Phoenix and Colin in an episode of Blue Heelers.
Feature film roles included The Coca-Cola Kid, Wrong World (both 1985) and Young Einstein (1988).
Storm’s last acting role was in the medical drama series All Saints.[4]
Death
Storm died, aged 60, on 28 March 2011 from a heart attack.[5]
Filmography
Short film
Director
- Doors (1969)
- In His Prime (1972)
- A Motion Picture (1973)
- Grace Crowley (1975)
Production assistant
- Gentle Strangers (1972)
- Flashpoint (1973)
Editor
- Floating This Time (1973)
Unspecified assistant
- A Handful of Dust (1975)
Actor
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Doors | |
| 1972 | In His Prime | |
| Stephanie | ||
| A Motion Picture | ||
| 1976 | Hanging About: A Short Film by Carol Jerrems | |
| 1981 | Making Weekend of Summer Last | Out of Work Actior |
| 1982 | Last Breakfast in Paradise |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 27A | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| 1978 | In Search of Anna | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1982 | With Prejudice | Yes | No | No | No |
| 1984 | Stanley | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 1991 | Deadly | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 2003 | Subterano | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Tasty Bust Reunion | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2006 | The Bridge at Midnight Trembles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Monkey Grip | Record Producer |
| Going Down | Michael | |
| 1983 | Birthin' Hips | |
| 1984 | Stanley | Menswear Attendant |
| 1985 | Wrong World | Lawrence |
| The Coca-Cola Kid | Country Hotel Manager | |
| I Live with Me Dad | Blindman | |
| 1987 | Les Patterson Saves the World | Russian Scientist |
| Pandemonium | E.B. De Woolf / Husband | |
| 1988 | Young Einstein | Wilbur Wright |
| 1991 | Deadly | Reporter |
| 1993 | Terrormisu: A Night of Just Desserts | |
| Rusty & the Bathtub Banana | ||
Other credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Avengers of the Reef | Production manager | |
| 1990 | The Crossing | Story consultant | |
| 1992 | de Vil's tas Mania (aka Three Cornered Island) | Script advisor | |
| 2012 | Aspects of a Life: Working with Indigenous Australians | Editor | Video documentary |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-1990 | Winners | Yes | No | No | Episodes "The Other Facts of Life" and "The Big Wish" |
| 1988 | Touch the Sun: Devil’s Hill | Yes | No | No | TV movie |
| 1989-2001 | Round the Twist | Yes | Yes | No | 18 episodes (Director); 31 episodes (Writer) |
| 1995 | Blue Heelers | Yes | No | No | Episode "Breaking the Cycle" |
| 1996 | The Genie from Down Under | Yes | Yes | No | 6 episodes (Director); 15 episodes (Writer) |
| 1998 | Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers | No | Yes | No | Episode "Caught in a Trap"; Also creator, scriptwriter and dialogue director |
| 1999 | Crash Zone | Yes | No | No | 4 episodes |
| 2001 | The Lost World | Yes | No | No | Episode "True Spirit" |
| 2007 | Kick | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also creator |
Script consultant
- Round the Twist (1989) (13 episodes)
- Sky Trackers (1995) (26 episodes)
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | With Prejudice | Documentary | |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Cox | Episode "Brothers" |
| 1985 | Winners | Leo George / Tom | Episodes "The Other Facts of Life" and "Room to Move" |
| More Winners | Waiter | Episode "The Big Wish" | |
| 1986 | The Fast Lane | Lester | Episode "All the World's Going Through a Bit of a Stage" |
| Alice to Nowhere | Raymond 'Frog' Gardiner | Miniseries | |
| A Single Life | Paul | TV movie | |
| 1987 | The Riddle of the Stinson | Meissner | TV movie |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules | Norm Angstrom | Episode "Mum's the Word" |
| Hard Knuckle | Vince | TV movie | |
| 1989–2000 | Round the Twist | Mr Snapper | 36 episodes |
| 1992 | Phoenix | Pat | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Law of the Land | Peter Bozavich | Episode "Death Before Dying" |
| 1995 | Blue Heelers | Colin Roper | Episode "Breaking the Cycle" |
| Snowy River: The McGregor Saga | Frobisher | Episode "In Duty Bound" | |
| 1997 | Good Guys Bad Guys: Only the Young Die Good | Jerry | TV movie |
| 2002 | Don’t Blame the Koalas | First AD | Episode "A Star is Born" |
| 2007 | Kick | Jeff Abbott | Episode "You Can't Stop the Music" |
| All Saints | Laszlo Shucs | Episode "Echoes" |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Anaheim Magic | Playwright | Lion Theatre, Adelaide, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Magpie Theatre Company |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Title | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | In Search of Anna | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Screenplay | Won[7] |
| Best Film | Nominated | |||
| Best Director | Nominated | |||
| 1991 | Deadly | Mystfest | Best Film | Nominated |
| Winners: The Big Wish | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Achievement in Direction in a TV Drama | Nominated | |
| 1993 | Round the Twist | Best Screenplay in a TV Drama | Nominated | |
| 1999 | Crash Zone | Best Direction in a TV Drama (episode 1) | Nominated |