Eighties Hong Kong martial arts star Norman Chui Siu Keung died from oesophageal cancer on Sep 1 in Beijing. He was 73.
The news was confirmed by veteran actor and spokesperson for the Hong Kong Film Workers Association Tin Kai Man, who expressed his condolences following enquiries from the media.
Chui’s sudden death shocked and saddened fans and colleagues.
But what was more shocking was a few days after Chui’s passing, his wife died from a heart attack while handling his funeral.
Little is known about her except that she was a Chinese dancer who was 30 years younger than him. She was also this third wife.
The couple have a daughter and an 11-year-old son.
This year would have marked their 20th wedding anniversary.
“After [Norman] passed away, his wife took charge of the funeral arrangements. In China, the cremation process has to be done within a few days. While handling the funeral, she started feeling unwell and she too passed away, possibly due to a heart attack. Now, their daughter is handling the arrangements,” said Tin.
He shared that Chui, who shuttled between Hengdian and Beijing, was unaware that he had cancer.
“The older generation doesn’t like to get health checks, so his passing was very sudden. We met not long ago in Hengdian. A friend contacted him at the end of January this year, and he seemed fine and said he was in Beijing,” said Tin.
He also praised Chui as a hardworking and dedicated actor: “In Hong Kong, there are two actors who don’t bring scripts to the set: One is Norman, and the other is Ng Man Tat.”
Both veteran actors were known for their professionalism, thoroughly preparing and memorising their scripts before filming, earning great respect within the industry.
Ng Man Tat died at 70 from liver cancer in 2021.
