“Reincarnated” Actor, Norman Chui, Dies at 73
Known for his role in 1979’s Reincarnated <天蠶變>, Hong Kong actor Norman Chiu (徐少強) passed away in Beijing due to esophageal cancer at the age of 73 years old. Norman’s daughter Erica Chui (徐頴堃) confirmed the news and shared she was planning his funeral processions.
Wuxia Hero
Born in Hong Kong, Norman auditioned for the third training class of Shaw Brothers Studio to become an actor in 1972. In the early days of his debut, he was mostly utilized as a stuntman. Martial arts movies were popular in the 1970s and he often appeared as the hero. Later in his career, he transitioned to villainous roles. His breakthrough came in 1979 when he played Yun Feiyang in Rediffusion Television’s wuxia drama Reincarnated and gained popularity across Hong Kong and Taiwan.
During his career, Norman has participated in more than 100 film and television works. In 1993, Asia Television remade Reincarnated with Norman once again as Wan Fei Yang. As the Hong Kong film market slumped in the late 1990s and Asia Television reduced its drama production due to successive years of losses, Norman decided to focus his career in China and moved there permanently.
Wife Died in Heartbreak
Norman has been married three times. His current wife was a Mainland dancer who was 30 years his junior. Norman’s good friend Tin Kai Man (田啟文) had known Norman for more than 45 years and was very affected by his passing. “My first drama was Norman’s Reincarnated. Afterwards, we worked together many times on different dramas. He was a very good actor and hardworking. He never brought his script on set because he had already memorized it all.”
Tin Kai Man pointed out Norman had lived in Hengdian and Beijing, “Norman didn’t know he had cancer. The older generation don’t like doing physical examinations, so he passed very quickly. When a friend contacted Norman at the end of January, he was fine then and said he was in Bejing.”
When asked if Norman’s wife would be handling his funeral, Tin Kai Man shared that she had died shortly after Norman’s death. “She had a heart attack while dealing with his passing, so now Norman’s daughter is taking care of everything.”
This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.
