Donald Fisher - Norman Coburn

[Blaxland 89]

Really good job he left when he did. If he was still in it he'd have been put in jail at least twice for a crime he didn't commit, had more long lost children we didn't know about and gambling problem 

[Skylover]

On 21 June 2014 at 7:15 PM, Homeandawayfan. said:

On a very good Australian newspaper archive I found this very interesting article on Norman Coburn from 1970. He was over here in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s and the article says he owned 2 restaurants in London and had bought a 25 acre estate in Cornwall, so he was a bit of a businessman as well as an actor.

Your research is 1st class. Serious respect for you Homeandawayfan, I even got a little emotional reading those articles about Norman Coburn. Very very interesting to read that in 1970 he had given up acting and would never take it up again! Yet fast forward 18 years and he would have a career-defining moment lasting 15 years, creating an iconic character in the process. I wonder what happened to his vineyard and whether he still owns that land in Cornwall.

[Homeandawayfan.]

13 hours ago, Edward Skylover said:

Your research is 1st class. Serious respect for you Homeandawayfan, I even got a little emotional reading those articles about Norman Coburn. Very very interesting to read that in 1970 he had given up acting and would never take it up again! Yet fast forward 18 years and he would have a career-defining moment lasting 15 years, creating an iconic character in the process. I wonder what happened to his vineyard and whether he still owns that land in Cornwall.

Thanks. If I wrote a book about Home And Away I would pride myself on the accuracy of the book and research into the show. Norman Coburn did once play a labourer in Coronation Street once but I have not yet seen this episode. It was sometime in the 1960s and many 1960s eps have not been repeated since their original broadcast.

[Skylover]

5 minutes ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

Thanks. If I wrote a book about Home And Away I would pride myself on the accuracy of the book and research into the show. Norman Coburn did once play a labourer in Coronation Street once but I have not yet seen this episode. It was sometime in the 1960s and many 1960s eps have not been repeated since their original broadcast.

Very interesting! Shame we can't see that episode. I'd be interested to know what else you've found out during your research about the show  Where did you find out about Norman playing a labourer on Coronation Street?

I tell you what I do think is a shame - there seem to be hardly any TV interviews online with the Early Years cast. I only seem to find one of Kate Ritchie from 1997 but that's about it. Such a shame! I'd love to see interviews with Debra Lawrence, Daniel Amalm or Dieter Brummer and Melissa George! The 'where are they now' 2006 interview featuring some of the original cast was good though.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Edward Skylover

[Homeandawayfan.]

4 minutes ago, Edward Skylover said:

Very interesting! Shame we can't see that episode. I'd be interested to know what else you've found out during your research about the show  Where did you find out about Norman playing a labourer on Coronation Street?

I tell you what I do think is a shame - there seem to be hardly any TV interviews online with the Early Years cast. I only seem to find one of Kate Ritchie from 1997 but that's about it. Such a shame! I'd love to see interviews with Debra Lawrence, Daniel Amalm or Dieter Brummer and Melissa George! The 'where are they now' 2006 interview featuring some of the original cast was good though.

I did read in a book once about 20 years ago, also it says on several websites but it has not been verified. Norman did do several UK shows in the 1960s such as Z Cars and Dixon Of Dock Green. He was a jobbing actor who played minor roles and then decades later he got his big break. He is similar to Steve McFadden aka Phil in EE, who played minor roles in TV shows before he got his big break.

 

 

[Summer's Bay]

On 16/02/2015 at 06:46, CaptainHulk said:

The first time we saw Fisher act like a Dad to Bobby even before the reveal was when he tried to stop her bailing after Frank's accident.

 

Surprisingly, I think Don and Maz were believable for the short time they were together. It just sucked as just when things settled down for them, it all went wrong (Naturally in soapland).

 

He did save (or try to) Will from a kicking at the hands of Kane + friends and pretty much was crusading to help Alf during the tumour business. Seb (although a lot people didn't like him) gave Don a new leash of life to a degree. I reckon the character outline was in place from about '99 when Alan's book popped up again but wasn't fully realised until 2001.

 

Back to the Piano stunt, That had to have been made of the CHEAPEST matchwood available as it pretty much shattered on impact!

 

Don was rather prickly and probably thought a family of waifs and strays would "lower the tone" of the area, an attittude not unlike Mrs. Mangel on that other show on the other channel across the state line

Im not really sure if I can say he was being totally fatherly, more so wanting to help Ailsa who by this time, I think he still had feelings for.

 

I never watched the storyline but how did Son and Marilyn get together? That has always been the most unlikely pairing.

[CaptainHulk]

11 hours ago, Summer's Bay said:

Im not really sure if I can say he was being totally fatherly, more so wanting to help Ailsa who by this time, I think he still had feelings for.

 

I never watched the storyline but how did Son and Marilyn get together? That has always been the most unlikely pairing.

I explained earlier in your debut topic you made just before Christmas that he further educated her when she came back in 1995 in order to better herself and their feelings grew as they spent time together. It was a lot of on-off and so many hurdles which included age, local gossips, Haydn, etc.

 

 

[Sally Keating]

Yes there was a lot of on-off with Maz and Don initially. I think partially because obviously they write and film the episodes so far in advance of airing them, they weren't sure whether the pairing would be a hit with viewers or not, so they tested the waters a lot. Once it became obvious that viewers were rooting for Maz and Don to get together, the writers went for it and the on-off thing stopped.

[j.laur5]

It’s shame we didn’t see Donald give Angie walk of shame. 

[Luigi Severus Fletcher]

I kinda wish Donald would return, the show is lacking original (or near original) characters. We only have Alf, Irene and "Roo".