Hong Kong martial arts actor Norman Chui dies aged 73, wife also dies few days later

Veteran Hong Kong martial arts actor Norman Chui died in Beijing on Sept 1.

According to Hong Kong media, the 73-year-old suffered from oesophageal cancer and his wife, who was 30 years younger, died a few days after.

His long-time friend, Hong Kong actor Tin Kai Man, told As1 that she felt unwell while preparing his funeral and likely had a heart attack.

"He didn't know he had cancer. Some older folks don't like to do health checks so he died quite soon. I met him at Hengdian a long time ago and a common friend met him in January this year. He was well then and he said he was living in Beijing," Kai Man told the online publication.

He added that Norman was a "hard-working" and "dedicated" actor, revealing that he wouldn't bring scripts to film sets because he would do his homework beforehand and memorise the script well.

Norman entered showbiz in the 1970s playing the hero in many martial arts films and dramas.

He was married twice and had one son before dating Hong Kong actress Shirley Yim, with whom he had son Edward and daughter Erica.

He tied the knot with his third and last wife in 2004 and they left behind a son and daughter.

Actress Erica, 37, posted a tribute on her Instagram Story, adding Jacky Cheung's song You are the Only Legend in my Life and writing, "I love you".

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com