Zack Norman dead at 83: Romancing The Stone star who played crocodile- loving smuggler in iconic 1984 film passes away from natural causes
Actor Zack Norman has died at the age of 83.
The star, best known for his role as crocodile-loving antiquities smuggler Ira in 1984’s Romancing The Stone, died Sunday night of “natural causes” at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, his son-in-law confirmed. Deadline.
He also starred in 1990’s Cadillac Man and the TV series The Nanny from 1993-1995.
Norman has never married and is not known to have children.
Born Howard Zuker on May 27, 1940, Norman earned an MBA from Harvard Business School before entering the world of entertainment.
Actor Zack Norman has died at the age of 83 (photo 2010).
He worked as a comedian in the 1960s and performed at the Playboy Clubs, the Flamingo and Copacabana with the Temptations.
In 1966 he headed to Europe to work in the U.S. Army basic circuit, operating out of Frankfurt, Germany, and playing in Army clubs throughout Western Europe.
Norman made his television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 28, 1969.
Norman was also a prolific art collector, acquiring five pieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose Untitled sold at Sotheby’s New York in May 2017 for $110.5 million.
In 1982, Norman purchased Basquiat’s Hannibal from the artist’s studio for $3,200. That piece sold at Sotheby’s London on October 9, 2016 for £10.6 million.