The legendary Chuck Norris …..
One of the few action stars who really could walk the walk having genuine martial arts champion was Chuck Norris but perhaps never really attained the A-list fame of Hollywood action stars like Schwarzenegger.
Born Carlos Ray Norris on 10th March 1940 in Oklahoma and was the eldest of three children. The family moved to California and he graduated in 1958. That same year he married Dianne Holechek in a marriage that lasted until 1989 when they divorced.
Chuck Norris the early years…..
He joined the US Air Force and served in Korea before leaving in 1962 having discovered martial arts during his service and began training. Returning to the US he opened his own studio and developed his own style that won championships. Norris became a black belt in multiple martial arts disciplines. Over the length of career his many honours included induction into the Martial Arts History Museum’s Hall of Fame, “Black Belt” magazine’s Fighter of the Year award in 1969, and three consecutive BMI TV Music Awards. Norris retired as undefeated Professional Full-Contact Middleweight Champion in 1974.
So successful was he as a martial artist that he began private classes for Steve McQueen and Priscilla Presley and even the Osmonds. It was McQueen who encouraged him to get into acting.
The Bruce Lee years
By the late 1960’s there was another martial arts star emerging and making a name for himself. His name was Bruce Lee and the pair met at a demonstration by Lee in 1964 which started a long friendship that led to Norris gaining a breakout role opposite Lee in 1972’s ‘Way of the Dragon’. Lee would tragically die the following year aged only 32. It wasn’t Norris’ first film having had minor roles previously starting with the 1968 Dean Martin film, ‘The Wrecking Crew.’ But ‘Way of the Dragon’ bought him to audiences attention and he began starring in lead roles in a series of moderately budgeted martial arts and action films that, whilst not blockbusters, were still profitable.
The 1980’s saw Chuck Norris as a fully fledged action star albeit in films that were smaller than his own talents and included A Force of One, Missing in Action and The Delta Force opposite Lee Marvin all of which spawned sequels. But they were no match for the emergence of Schwarzenegger along with Stallone’s films especially whose Rambo sequel was a peak 80’s military actioner. Never really able to attain their level of A-list fame Norris returned to TV and starred in the successful ‘Walker : Texas Ranger’ series appearing in over 200 episodes from 1993 to 2001. Bit his action chops were never in doubt and Stallone graciously granted him a role in The Expendables 2.
1998 saw him marry Gena O’Kelly that saw them have two more children in addition to those that he had with his first wife
The latter years…
In his later years Norris became increasing forthright in his opinions. Proudly conservative he spoke out against same sex marriage and veering into conspiracy theory territory about the providence of Barack Obama ethnicity and going on to claim that the US faced 1000 years of darkness if Obama was elected as president. By 2016 he was backing Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton
Yet at the other end of the spectrum he was philanthropic forming a United Fight Arts Federation supporting the Make a Wish foundation and acting as a spokesman for US Veterans. With almost 50 screen credits his last appearance would be in the 2024 film ‘Agent Recon’.
Chuck Norris died on 19th March 2026 aged 86.
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