Famous Actor Ed Norton Dies at Age 38

July 21, 2008
SAN DIEGO, Calif.
Danielle Parker

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Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee Edward Norton died July 20, 2008.

“Acting? It's a long-standing compulsion I've had since I was about five or six years old,” said the actor in 1998.

Although Norton knew he wanted to act at a young age, he did not get his big break until 1996 when he was cast opposite Richard Gere in Primal Fear. He played Aaron Stampler, a young choir boy accused of murder. The film won Norton critical acclaim. He received a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor as well as an Academy Award nomination.

Norton was nominated for his second Academy Award in 1998 when he played a white supremacist in the film American History X. Another one of his well-known roles is that of the narrator in Fight Club. Recently, Norton played Dr. Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk.

He has also directed, produced and scripted movies.

Norton was born in Boston, Mass., but spent his formative years in Columbia, Md. He eventually attended Yale University.

Norton died of a heart attack in his New York City home. He leaves behind his father, Edward Norton Sr., and his two younger siblings, Molly and Jim. His mother, Robin, died of a brain tumor in 1997.

Ed Norton was single at the time of his death. But, he had been previously been engaged to both Courtney Love and Salma Hayek and involved with Drew Barrymore at one time.

“Life, like poker, has an element of risk. It shouldn't be avoided. It should be faced,” said Norton in 1998 after playing a card shark in Rounders.

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