Iconic Martial Artist and Actor Richard Norton Passes Away at75

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As a gamer, I’d put it like this:

“I can’t believe it! One of my all-time favorite on-screen martial artists, Richard Norton, the Aussie actor who battled alongside legends like Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Cynthia Rothrock in action films, has sadly passed away at the age of 75. This is a big loss for the martial arts community.

Norton’s death was announced this weekend in a Instagram post by his wife, Judy.

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A post shared by Richard Norton (@rjnorton70)

Charismatic individual named Norton, skilled in various martial arts such as judo, karate, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and numerous others, devoted twenty years to the role of a bodyguard, serving prominent artists like The Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt, and James Taylor.

Apart from his acting roles, he was also a fight coordinator for the CBS show “Walker Texas Ranger” from 1993 to 2001, where his longtime friend Norris starred. His work can be seen in various films as well, such as “The Condemned” (2007), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015), “Dark Phoenix” (2019), and both the 2016 and 2021 versions of “Suicide Squad.

During his journey, he mentored Scarlett Johansson, Charlize Theron, Sophie Turner, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ben Affleck, Margot Robbie, Charlie Hunnam, Liam Neeson, among others.

In his debut acting performance, Norton assumed the character of the masked evil Ninja, Kyo, and engaged in a sword duel with Norris in the film known as “The Octagon” (1980).

In various Hong Kong action comedies, he squared off against Hung in “Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars” (1985), clashed with Chan in “City Hunter” (1993), and engaged in combat in the film “Mr. Nice Guy,” directed by Hung (1997).

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He faced off against Hung in the Hong Kong action comedy “Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars” (1985), took on Chan in “City Hunter” (1993), and battled it out in the film “Mr. Nice Guy,” which was helmed by Hung (1997).

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In action comedies set in Hong Kong, he encountered Hung in “Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars” (1985), went head-to-head with Chan in “City Hunter” (1993), and engaged in a fight scene for the film “Mr. Nice Guy,” which was led by Hung (1997).

All of these options convey the same information, but with slight differences in phrasing to make it more natural and easy to read.

In the process, Norton collaborated with Rothrock in movies such as “Millionaires’ Express” from 1986, the 1986 film “Magic Crystal” featuring Andy Lau, “Fight to Win” from 1987, “China O’Brien” and its 1991 sequel, “Lady Dragon,” both from 1992, as well as “Rage and Honor” and its 1993 sequel.

He mentioned during a conversation (without specifying the date) on his site, that we clicked exceptionally well and got on famously.

To put it simply, our work was filled with enjoyment and this enthusiasm shone through in our performances. An English magazine even likened us to the iconic dance duo, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, of martial arts films!

Born on January 6, 1950, in Croydon, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, Norton took up judo at the age of 11. “The main disadvantage was that I was quite small and thin, so I often served as practice material for some of the older, larger students,” he commented.

Upon learning karate during his high school years, he joined forces with Bob Jones in Melbourne to train bouncers and security staff at schools, incorporating skills derived from boxing, judo, and wrestling into their training regimen.

Back in the early ’70s, he and Jones provided security at the Sunbury Pop Festival in Australia, which eventually landed them the role of personal bodyguards for the Rolling Stones during their Australian tour.

For the subsequent two decades, Norton was involved in similar work, contributing to various projects alongside artists like ABBA, David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, and John Belushi.

In the year 1976, Norton encountered Norris for the first time when the performer visited Australia to showcase his kickboxing skills at competitions. After Norton shifted to Los Angeles in 1979 to dedicate himself to working with Ronstadt, they often trained together nearly every morning.

As a devoted fan, I’d like to highlight an intriguing fact about the 1985 dark comedy, “Gymkata”. In this film, Jean-Claude Van Damme, not just any actor, but a man of many talents, took on multiple roles. He trained the former U.S. Olympic gymnast, choreographed the intense fight scenes, and even portrayed the menacing lead villain. What an incredible display of versatility!

He took on roles in films like “Force Five” (1981), “The Sword of Bu-shido” (1990), “Under the Gun” (1995) – where he was also a producer – “Under a Red Moon” (2008), “Rage” (2021), and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (2024). Additionally, he performed stunt work for “The Green Hornet” (2011) and “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012).

Rhett Bartlett contributed to this report.

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2025-03-30 21:55