Key Points
Australian actor and martial artist Richard Norton’s 2025 death linked to peptide usage.
The 75-year-old died less than two weeks after a doctor prescribed the anti-aging medication.
“The injection caused an anaphylactic reaction which in turn led to cardiac arrest,” ruled the coroner.
Nineteen months after the death of Australian actor and martial artist Richard Norton, the cause has finally been determined: cardiac arrest triggered by peptide usage.
The 75-year-old, who appeared in dozens of movies opposite the likes of Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris, died on March 30, 2025 — only 11 days after a doctor prescribed Norton the experimental anti-aging drug therapy.
“Richard had been taking amounts of the medication in excess of the dose prescribed by his medical practitioner,” according to the Melbourne coroner’s report obtained and reviewed by Entertainment Weekly. “The injection caused an anaphylactic reaction which in turn led to cardiac arrest.”
Chuck Norris and Richard Norton in ‘The Octagon’ (1980)
Credit: American Cinema Releasing/Courtesy Everett
At the hospital, Norton’s wife, Judy, disclosed to medical staff that her husband “had been injecting peptides twice a day for muscle growth and healing.”
From his very first shot, Norton had been experiencing reactions, initially local redness and swelling. But on March 28, “he had whole of body flushing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.”
That same day, during an afternoon consultation with a nurse at his doctor’s clinic, Norton revealed that he had been doubling the dose but wasn’t feeling any adverse effects, according to the coroner. “Richard reported that he was experiencing better sleep, reduced pain, and increased exercise capacity with no side effects.”
Five hours later, he injected a second daily dose of CJC1295 and Ipamorelin and immediately “complained of feeling hot and flushed and then collapsed and became unresponsive” within minutes.
Norton’s wife began CPR as emergency services rushed to their home, but by the time they arrived he was already in cardiac arrest. At the hospital, tests showed Norton’s tryptase and troponin levels, which measures a body’s cellular damage, were elevated. “He subsequently developed ischaemic bowel and was deemed not suitable for medical intervention,” and died the next morning.
Richard Norton (far left) in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ in 2015
Credit: Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Everett
Norton, who held a 5th dan black belt in Gōjū-ryū karate and a 6th dan black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, appeared in more than 80 films and TV shows.
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His acting debut was opposite Norris in 1980’s The Octagon, and their fight scene in the martial arts action flick was ranked No. 13 by Fighting Stars Magazine. Norton also faced off with Chan in three feature films, including 1993’s City Hunter.
In his later years, he pivoted to working as a fight choreographer but still acted, most recently in Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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