Australian martial artist, actor and stuntman Richard Norton dies at 75

By   |  Mar 31, 2025

Australian martial artist, actor, stunt performer/coordinator, and fight choreographer Richard Norton has passed away at the age of 75.

Born in the Croydon suburb of Sydney, Australia in 1950, Norton began studying Judo at 11, and later took up Gōjū-ryū karate, earning his black belt at 17. In 1970, he was hired by Bob Jones as the chief instructor for his Melbourne dojo, which later developed into Zen Do Kai, while also working as a security guard.

He cross-trained in various arts including Brazilian jiu-jitsu (under the Machado brothers), Chun Kuk Do (under Chuck Norris) and Ukidokan kickboxing (under Pete Cunningham and Benny Urquidez), as well as Aikido, Judo, Muay Thai and Kobudo.

Norton made his acting debut in 1980 with a part in Chuck Norris’s ‘The Octagon’. This led to a few other B-Movie roles before he gained real recognition with his work on Hong Kong films. As fans of this site will no doubt already be aware, his credits include ‘Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars’, ‘Millionaires’ Express’, ‘Magic Crystal’, ‘City Hunter’, and ‘Mr. Nice Guy’.

Following his newfound success, Norton went on to become an action movie star in his own right, taking the lead in low budget actioners like ‘Equalizer 2000’ (1987), ‘Return of the Kickfighter’ (1987), ‘The Sword of Bushido’ (1990), and ‘Rage’ (1993). He also forged a strong on-screen partnership with Cynthia Rothrock, and the pair appeared together in ‘China O’Brien‘ and ‘Rage and Honor’, along with their respective sequels.

As the years rolled on, Norton moved behind the camera to work as a stunt coordinator and fight choreographer. He worked on productions like ‘The Condemned’ (2007), ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015), ‘Suicide Squad’ (2016), ‘Dark Phoenix’ (2019) and ‘The Suicide Squad’ (2021).

His final on-screen appearance was in the martial arts western ‘Black Creek’ (2024) which reunited him with several friends and former co-stars, including Cynthia Rothrock, Don Wilson, Olivier Gruner, and Keith Cooke.

Richard Norton left an indelible mark on action movies from the East and West, and his influence in the industry will be sadly missed. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.


Millionaires’ Express (1986)

Equalizer 2000 (1987)

Rage and Honor (1992)

Sources: Wikipedia

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