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Chuck Norris Dies at 86 as Family Pays Tribute to “Symbol of Strength”
Chuck Norris, martial arts champ, movie star, Walker, Texas Ranger lead, has died at the age of 86.
Norris was taken to a hospital in Hawaii on Thursday, and family in a statement told on Friday that he died the following day. “We would like to keep the details private but be assured that he was with his family and at peace, ” the family said.
“He was a martial artist, actor, and a symbol of strength for the whole world. However, to us, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an amazing brother, and our family’s core, ” the family went on to say.
In addition, they mentioned that, “Throughout his life he was guided by faith, purpose, and a steadfast dedication to those he loved, ” further noting that his efforts, discipline, and good nature quite literally shocked the world, and he therefore, made a lasting difference globally.
Chuck Norris: Martial Arts Legend and Powerful Action Star
When it comes to action heroes, nobody had the same level of credibility as Chuck Norris.
First of all, he was the kung fu antagonist of Bruce Lee in their legendary film, The Way of the Dragon. Besides, he was not just a martial arts champion but a multi-discipline expert who held several black belts, 10th degree in Chun Kuk Do, 9th degree in Tang Soo Do, and 8th degree in Taekwondo besides 5th degree in Karate, 3rd degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and a Judo black belt.
Quite a few years before that, Norris got into the film business with a bang and kept doing it for a very long time.
He was producing one successful and popular action movie after another which includes, Good Guys Wear Black (1978), The Octagon (1980), Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), Code of Silence (1985), Firewalker (1986), and the Missing in Action along with The Delta Force series.
In the end, he dramatically presented himself to the new generation after a gap of 7 years he appeared in the screen due to his participation in The Expendables 2 which featured Sylvester Stallone and a host of other veteran action stars that can still be considered a memorable moment in the history of action films.
Chuck Norris: An Iconic American Action Hero
Chuck Norris might have been the one to give his action heroes the most credibility, but he was not the one to add humor to his characters as much as stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, or Jackie Chan did. However, by delivering tough, all-American heroes, he won the audience and became their favorite action star.
Norris took the lead in Missing in Action in 1984, which was the start of a film series about saving American prisoners of war thought to be still kept by the enemy after the Vietnam War. The story was very close to Norris’ heart because his little brother, Wieland, was killed in Vietnam. He made a dedication of the films to his brother’s memory.
Yet, some reviewers pointed out that the Missing in Action series from Cannon Films was heavily based on the idea of Sylvester Stallone’s popular Rambo series.
Chuck Norris: TV Star and Pop Culture Icon
When Norris’ film career began to decline, he made the transition to TV quite successfully and became the lead actor of the CBS series Walker, Texas Ranger, which was a spinoff of his movie Lone Wolf McQuade. The show was so popular that it lasted for eight seasons from 1993 to 2001. Also during this period, Cordell Walker appeared in the TV movies Walker, Texas Ranger 3: Deadly Reunion (1994) and Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005).
That year, he even managed to star in what would be his last movie, a direct-to-DVD film called The Cutter.
In his old age, Chuck Norris became a pop culture icon due to viral meme which made fun of his superhuman toughness, like “Chuck Norris kills 100% of germs” or “Chuck Norris beats rock, paper, scissors all at once.”
On top of that, he was a regular in the advertisements for fitness equipment, and his political conservatism was more openly displayed over time.
Chuck Norris: Oklahoma Native Turned Martial Arts Icon
Carlos Ray Norris was born in Ryan, Oklahoma. His father was a soldier during the Second World War.
In 1958, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and got trained as an Air Policeman (AP) who is similar to the Army MPs. During his assignment at Osan Air Base in South Korea, he came in contact with martial arts for the first time through Tang Soo Do and that was also the place where he was first named ‘Chuck’. These two happenings would contribute to his masteries of various arts of the body and the mind going forward as well as the invention of his own mixed martial style called Chun Kuk Do (‘The Universal Way’). Later, he found himself back in America and working as an AP at March Air Force Base in California.
After upholding the military regulations until 1962, Norris grabbed a job as a craftsman working for the aerospace company, Northrop, while at the same time operating a chain of karate schools. Pictures of him with his students, such as Steve McQueen, Chad McQueen, Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, Donny Osmond, and Marie Osmond, were widely circulated. It was around that time when he was not only making progress in martial arts but also becoming an established and famous action film actor.
Chuck Norris: From Martial Arts to Hollywood Stardom
In fact Chuck Norris’ first acting gig was that 1969 Matt Helm movie The Wrecking Crew where he acted, though silently and uncredited, a scene together with Chuck Berry and Dean Martin. Then during a martial arts event in Long Beach, California, he and Bruce Lee crossed paths and he was later chosen as Bruce Lee’s rival in the 1972 film The Way of the Dragon aka Return of the Dragon when it was released in the U.S.
In 1974, it was Steve McQueen (friend, client and a celebrity) who convinced Norris to take acting classes at MGM and that was the beginning of his show-business career. His first movie was the 1977 action thriller Breaker! Breaker! which featured him as a truck driver who is on a quest to find his brother in a town ruled by a corrupt judge.
Then became Norris a household name after he starred in a number of successful movies such as Good Guys Wear Black (1978), The Octagon (1980), An Eye for an Eye (1981) and Lone Wolf McQuade which practically shot him to the top of the biggest action movie stars in the world.
Chuck Norris’ Career Peak and Personal Life
After signing a contract with Cannon Films in 1984, Chuck Norris became one of the studio’s leading stars. He was in the limelight as one of the top stars for the studio after only a few years. Apart from the Missing in Action trilogy, many consider Code of Silence a masterpiece, and The Delta Force along with Firewalker made the list of his eight movies running during the next four years. Several of these projects were produced by his brother, Aaron Norris, who later went on to become a producer of Walker, Texas Ranger.
Along with his support for conservative politics for many years, Norris also wrote several books promoting Christian morals and patriotism.
Norris’ first wife was Dianne Holechek, whom he married in 1958 and divorced in 1988. He remarried in 1998 to his second wife, Gena O’Kelley. Norris also leaves behind five children, namely Eric, Mike, Dakota, Danilee, and Dina, as well as several grandchildren.
