Early Years
He was born Robert Murray Helpman (spelt with one "n") in Mount Gambier, South Australia, and was known as "Bobby" by those close to him. He was the eldest of three children of James "Sam" Murray Helpman (1881–1927), a Victorian-born stock and station agent, and his wife Mary "Maytie", née Gardiner, born in South Australia. Sam Helpman was born in Warracknabeal, Victoria, the son of Walter Stephen Helpman and Isabella Murray; Isabella's brother was Jack Murray the 23rd Premier of Victoria.
Robert was educated at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, but left school at 14. From childhood, Helpman had a strong desire to be a dancer. This was an unusual ambition in provincial Australia of the 1920s. In a 1974 interview he recalled that he was taught the moves and dances of a girl because his dance teacher had no prior experience teaching boys.
In the Margot Fonteyn biography, he is described as being dark haired, pale, and having large dark eyes. Helpman had a younger sister Sheila Mary Helpman, and a younger brother Max, or Maxwell Gardiner Helpman, and he welcomed them both into his theatrical world, both of them becoming part of it like audience members and then becoming involved into his style of work as actors themselves.
Read more about this topic: Robert Helpmann
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