Richard Norton, martial arts and Hollywood stunt coordinator, dead at 75

Norton’s death was confirmed over the weekend in an Instagram post by his wife, Judy Green.

“I am numb and devastated. I have no words, I have lost my everything. I know there is, and will be lots of love and shock that we have lost this incredible human being. The love of my life. I’m using this time to come to terms with my great loss,” she wrote.

Norton began his Hollywood career in 1980 with his role as Kyo in The Octagon, where he battled Chuck Norris in a sword fight. He quickly made a name for himself in Hong Kong action cinema, starring in Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars(1985) and City Hunter (1993), where he fought Jackie Chan.

Norton’s long-time collaboration with Cynthia Rothrock led to a string of martial arts classics, including China O’Brien (1990) and its sequel. His recent works include high-profile stunt and fight choreography roles in films such as Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Suicide Squad (2016), Dark Phoenix (2019), X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019), and The Suicide Squad (2021).

Throughout his career, Norton worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. He frequently collaborated with Chuck Norris, both as an actor and as a fight coordinator on Walker, Texas Ranger. Norton also trained stars like Scarlett Johansson, Sophie Turner, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ben Affleck, Margot Robbie, Liam Neeson and others.

Earlier, it was reported that American filmmaker David Lynch died at the age of 78.