Esben Storm (26 May 1950 – 28 March 2011) was a Danish Australian actor, screenwriter, television producer, television director, voice artist and songwriter.

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. 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. 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), 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. 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.

Death

Storm died, aged 60, on 28 March 2011.

Filmography

Film

Television

As director / writer / producer

Film

Television

Unmade films

Theatre

Awards and nominations