Norman Yemm

Yemm's film roles included Night of Fear and The Fourth Wish. On the small screen, he was perhaps best remembered for his long-running role in the television drama The Sullivans as Norm Baker. He had previously played regular roles in Homicide as Detective Jim Patterson and Number 96 as Harry Collins.

Further TV credits included Prisoner as police officer Eddie Stevens, Division 4, Matlock Police, Riptide, Tandarra, A Country Practice, Possession, Neighbours, The Henderson Kids, Blue Heelers and Something in the Air.^[1][2]

Yemm appeared in such roles as Don Pasquale, and was a frequent performer in musical theatre including roles in Oklahoma and The Pirates of Penzance, South Pacific and The Sound of Music.^[3] As a vocalist, he spent years as chief baritone with Opera Australia.

Yemm was a professional track athlete for most of his adult life, winning 96 finals, including three races at the Stawell Gift.^{[citation needed]} Yemm was also an Australian rules footballer, having played for Victorian Football Association (VFA) club Port Melbourne.^[4][5][6] Transferring from Essendon to Port Melbourne in June 1956, he debuted at centre half-back in the Round 14 match against Oakleigh and reprised that role against Prahran the following week. Dropped for the Round 16 match against Coburg, Yemm would fail to regain his place for the rest of the season, but remained selected as an emergency during the 1956 finals series. This included Port's losing grand final match against Williamstown.

Norman Yemm was born in 1933 in Elsternwick, Victoria.^[7] 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.^[8] He has three children; his daughter Jodie Yemm is an actress.

Yemm died on 3 February 2015, aged 81, and his death was announced two days later.^[9]

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