Actor Zach Norman, best known for playing Danny DeVito’s sidekick in Romancing the Stone, died Sunday of natural causes in Burbank, California.
He was 83 years old.
Norman’s daughter, Lori Zuker Briller paid tribute to her father In a Facebook post.
“No matter where you drift, I know everything is more vibrant,” she wrote. “You were the most enigmatic person wherever you went. The best father, husband, grandfather and friend, you brought so much laughter and richness to our lives.”
Born Howard Jerrold Zuker in Boston, Massachusetts, Norman was a renaissance figure whose career spanned six decades as a musician, comedian, actor, producer, and art collector.
After appearing in off-Broadway plays in the 1960s and then building a successful career as a touring stand-up comic, he began working in films, most notably Trucks (1977) and Sitting Ducks, directed by Henry Jaglom. appeared in the work. (1980) and “Baby Fever”.
Most famously, she played Cousin Ira, an antiques dealer, in Robert Zemeckis’ Romancing the Stone, co-starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, and Robin Williams and Fran in 1990’s The Cadillac Man. – He played the role of Harry, co-starring Drescher.
A few years later, Norman made three guest appearances on Drescher’s popular comedy The Nanny. He also appeared on episodes of “The A-Team” and “Baywatch.”
As producer and financier, Norman worked on the 1974 film Hearts and Minds, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. This was a personal highlight of his long and varied resume.
“The movie I’m most proud of is the 1975 Academy Award.” [winner] “Hearts and Minds” won the award for Best Documentary. This is really, really, really important and part of the reason we stopped the Vietnam War. ” he said on the podcast “Not Real Art.” January 2023. “What a life.”
During the 1970s, Norman also developed a passion for art. His collection includes works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Keith Haring.
Norman is survived by his wife, Nancy; my sister Jane; daughters Lori and Tracy; sons Stephen and Michael; and grandchildren Sasha, Addison, Benjamin, Henry, Liliana, Jonathan, Justin, Jaden, Jackie, Gabriel, Rachel, Susie, Joseph, and Seth.
