Anyone know how Norm is doing??

[Fred Voorhees]

I treated myself tonight to a few shows of The New Yankee Workshop that I taped long ago. Nice to look back at Norm and watch him again after all of these years. Got me wondering.....does anyone know how Norm is holding up these days. Pretty sure that he was suffering from Parkinsons disease and I know that progresses and I wonder how he is doing currently. Anyone have any information on his condition these days?

[ken masoumi]

He was a guest on a recent episode of This old house,looks a bit oder,wearing the usual plaid shirt.

[ed vitanovec]

I watched a 2015 This Old House episode last night, Norm looked okay and yes a bit older now......like some of us too.

[Evan Patton]

I saw a video of him at a Festool event last year. Looked fit--lost some weight, and gave a good talk.

[Peter Aeschliman]

The Parkinson's thing is a rumor right? I can't find anything that supports it.

[Randy Red Bemont]

The Parkinson's thing is a rumor right? I can't find anything that supports it.

This is the first I've heard about it. I hope it's just a rumor. I've met him several times, what a great person and easy to talk to.

Red

[Jim German]

Seems like he's doing well. Looked like he dyed his hair for the TOH episodes that have been running lately.

[Curt Harms]

The Parkinson's thing is a rumor right? I can't find anything that supports it.

That may have come from a few videos where he appeared to have a bit of a tremor in his hands. What many don't realize is that it's possible to have a tremor without having Parkinson's. SWMBO has occasional tremor in her hands. She does not have Parkinson's.

[Fred Voorhees]

That may have come from a few videos where he appeared to have a bit of a tremor in his hands. What many don't realize is that it's possible to have a tremor without having Parkinson's. SWMBO has occasional tremor in her hands. She does not have Parkinson's.

Curt....I am fairly positive that that is where I got the notion about the Parkinsons. I remember a thread on this forum back when his show was coming to an end and Parkinsons was discussed. Maybe I just misunderstood and he didn't have it and I certainly hope so. That would take away his ability to use his hands in his incredible way and I am sure it would be a tremendous hit to his life.

[John McClanahan]

I noticed on the TOH episode that Tom was giving the advise on how to stain Maple, not Norm. As if Norm is gradually stepping away from TV.


John

[Paul Bylin]

I treated myself tonight to a few shows of The New Yankee Workshop that I taped long ago. Nice to look back at Norm and watch him again after all of these years. Got me wondering.....does anyone know how Norm is holding up these days. Pretty sure that he was suffering from Parkinsons disease and I know that progresses and I wonder how he is doing currently. Anyone have any information on his condition these days?

Norm is alive and well. He's getting older (aren't we all...) but he's pretty much a regular on This Old House.

[Phil Thien]

I noticed on the TOH episode that Tom was giving the advise on how to stain Maple, not Norm. As if Norm is gradually stepping away from TV.


John

Yeah but I don't think Tom is much younger than Nahm. They are going to need an infusion of younger people.

Russell Morash is no spring chicken, either.

[Rick Potter]

I have what my doctor calls 'essential tremors'. My hands shake when trying to do something like turning a page , writing or using a fork. At rest they are fine. The doc tells me that Parkinsons would shake all the time. It's very annoying, but for me it happens the most when I am tired or stressed, and I am told there is medicine for it when it gets worse.

Perhaps that is Norms problem also.

[Jason Roehl]

I saw Norm on an episode of "The This Old House Hour" recently, and he did have a tremor of some sort that I caught when they did a close-up of something he was doing (he was helping turn a dresser into a bathroom vanity). I don't know if it's Parkinson's or not, but it made me wonder if that didn't contribute to why he quit NYW.

[Mike Schuch]

I got my hands on a couple of episodes from the first season of New Yankee Workshop. Norm had a Craftsman radial arm saw and some other classic hobbyist tools. He actually had a foot long stick with a chunk of steel on the end that he used for driving in brads. It is a lot of fun to watch him and his shop progress over the years.

I grew up watching NYWS and still love watching reruns! Even the years when he assembled everything with brad nailers are good shows.

NormShopSmith.JPG
Anyone recognize the tool Norm is walking towards?