Zack Norman starred in Romancing The Stone (Picture: Getty)
Zack Norman has died aged 83.
The actor appeared in films including Romancing The Stone, Cadillac Man, and TV series The Nanny, The A-Team, and Baywatch.
His son-in-law Jeff Briller confirmed the news that Norman had died from natural causes on April 28 to Deadline.
Boston-born Norman received an executive MBA from Harvard Business School before becoming a comedian in the 1960s. He performed comedy at Playboy clubs, and in prestigious venues in America such as The Flamingo in Las Vegas and Copacabana in New York.
He also traded in real estate. ‘I became a very rich guy in a couple of years,’ he told the New York Times. Norman returned to show business after feeling miserable. ‘I now knew a lot about things such as tax shelters and depreciation, I was able to start financing movies,’ he added.
His TV debut came in 1969 on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, where he performed stand-up.
In the 1970s, he began working on films before starring in Ragtime in 1981 and Romancing the Stone in 1984, which also stars Danny DeVito and Michael Douglas.
Norman in Romancing the Stone (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
The action-adventure romantic comedy earned over $115 million worldwide at the box office. Norman played a criminal called Ira, who helps kidnap romance novelist Joan Wilder’s (Kathleen Turner) sister.
His character, who had an affinity for crocodiles said: ‘Look at those snappers!’ A line that is often quoted.
He continued to star in films for the next four decades and began to also sit in the producer’s chair. Norman co-directed and starred in Chief Zabu, which was released in 2016, 30 years after work began on it, and worked with filmmaker Jaglom on multiple films including Festival in Cannes (2001), Hollywood Dreams (2006) and Ovation (2015).
On top of his work in the entertainment industry, Norman was an avid art collector, who sold a piece by Jean-Michel Basquiat in 2017 for $110.5 million. It was a record price for an American artist at auction.
Norman resided in California before his death. He died at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.