Chuck Norris, black belt and action star known for 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' dies at 86

With his roundhouse kicks, tough-guy one-liners and a formidable motivation compass, Chuck Norris delivered kick-ass heroes for years connected screens ample and small, cementing himself successful popular civilization backmost successful the 1980s. Decades later, successful the aughts, helium earned caller legions of millennial and Gen Z fans with the emergence of “Chuck Norris Facts,” similar “When Chuck Norris arrived astatine the gates of Heaven, St. Peter showed his ID to Chuck Norris.”

The martial creator and histrion known for “The Way of the Dragon” and the long-running bid “Walker, Texas Ranger” died Thursday greeting successful Hawaii, his household confirmed Friday. He was 86.

“It is with dense hearts that our household shares the abrupt passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,” the household said successful a statement. “While we would similar to support the circumstances private, delight cognize that helium was surrounded by his household and was astatine peace.

“To the world, helium was a martial artist, actor, and a awesome of strength. To us, helium was a devoted husband, a loving begetter and grandfather, an unthinkable brother, and the bosom of our family. He lived his beingness with faith, purpose, and an unwavering committedness to the radical helium loved. Through his work, discipline, and kindness, helium inspired millions astir the satellite and near a lasting interaction connected truthful galore lives.”

The household said it was thankful to Norris’ fans, who to him “were not conscionable fans, you were his friends.”

Last week, the prima posted a martial arts video connected Instagram successful which helium deed a sparring spouse with a combo earlier saying to the camera, “I don’t age, I level up.”

“I’m 86 today!” Norris wrote successful the caption. “Nothing similar immoderate playful enactment connected a sunny time to marque you consciousness young. I’m grateful for different year, bully wellness and the accidental to support doing what I love. Thank you each for being the champion fans successful the world. Your enactment done the years has meant much to maine than you’ll ever know.”

American martial creator Chuck Norris with Chinese American martial artist, actor, manager and screenwriter Bruce Lee connected the acceptable of his movie “Meng Long Guo Jiang (The Way of the Dragon).”

(Sunset Boulevard / Corbis via Getty Images)

One of America’s astir celebrated martial artists, and surely the astir often memed, Norris leveraged his achromatic loop skills to physique a palmy tv and movie career. Although his action-star presumption yet made Norris a household name, helium told Sharyl Attkisson connected a 2017 occurrence of the newsmagazine amusement “Full Measure” that helium was a existent martial creator “who dabbles successful acting” alternatively than the different mode around.

The satellite champion held achromatic belts successful karate, taekwondo, tang soo do, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and the martial arts subject helium founded himself, chun kuk do.

He acted successful much than 30 enactment films and galore tv projects, but it was the 1972 movie “The Way of the Dragon,” successful which helium starred alongside Bruce Lee, that enactment Norris connected the map. Norris went connected to prima successful enactment films including “Missing successful Action” successful 1984 and its sequels, “Firewalker” successful 1986 and “Sidekicks” successful 1992, arsenic good arsenic the 1986 movie “The Delta Force,” the 1990 sequel “Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection” and 1991’s “The Hitman.”

Perhaps his best-known project, the tv bid “Walker, Texas Ranger,” which helium starred successful and enforcement produced, was inspired by the 1983 American neo-western “Lone Wolf McQuade,” besides starring Norris. The bid ran from 1993 to 2001 and followed Ranger Cordell Walker, a Texas lawman who battles transgression with a achromatic loop and beardown idiosyncratic code. Walker, similar Norris himself, was half-Cherokee and half-Irish, a cornerstone of some the quality and the actor’s backstory.

“While our hearts are broken, we are profoundly grateful for the beingness helium lived and for the unforgettable moments we were blessed to stock with him,” the household said. “The emotion and enactment helium received from fans astir the satellite meant truthful overmuch to him, and our household is genuinely thankful for it.”

Norris, calved Carlos Ray Norris connected March 10, 1940, successful Ryan, Okla., was the lad of Wilma Scarberry and Ray Dee Norris, a motortruck operator and World War II Army seasoned who struggled with alcoholism. The household moved to Torrance erstwhile Norris was 12 and his parents divorced erstwhile helium was a teenager. He helped his parent rise his 2 younger brothers, Wieland Clyde Norris and Aaron Norris; the erstwhile was killed successful enactment successful Vietnam successful 1970, portion the second would spell connected to nonstop his older member successful episodes of “Walker, Texas Ranger” and more.

“Nothing ever came casual for me, not adjacent being born,” Norris wrote successful his 1988 autobiography, “The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story.”

He told The Times that twelvemonth that 1 of the reasons helium wrote the publication was to wide up immoderate misconceptions that helium had travel by his karate champ and movie prima presumption naturally, erstwhile truly helium was a shy kid who felt debilitating insecurity done his youth.

“[It] was highly difficult,” helium said. “Remember I was a non-athlete. I jumped into the karate world, but I didn’t person the earthy attributes that truthful galore of the fighters had. And due to the fact that I didn’t person those earthy attributes, I had to bid a batch harder than anybody else. But I knew I had to successful bid to win.”

After earning his diploma astatine North High School successful Torrance, Norris wanted to go a lawman but helium was excessively young to articulation the constabulary force. He opted to articulation the Air Force instead. While serving successful South Korea, helium tried his manus astatine martial arts arsenic a mode to debar the boozing that happened astir the barracks, and aft a year, helium earned his archetypal achromatic belt.

“For the archetypal clip successful my life, I had accomplished thing hard connected my own,” helium wrote successful his autobiography. “I had content successful myself and the spot to execute more. I besides recovered that moving toward a extremity was much rewarding than achieving it.”

Norris spent the precocious 1960s and aboriginal 1970s teaching karate, competing and opening schools that grew with the popularity of the martial arts, archetypal successful Torrance, and past different locations successful the South Bay and San Fernando Valley. Steve McQueen, TV big Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley and Donny and Marie Osmond were among his much notable students.

His dojos would yet shutter due to the fact that of fiscal issues. After winning astir each large rubric possible, including that of satellite nonrecreational middleweight champion, Norris officially near the ringing successful 1974 and — with a nudge from his pupil McQueen — made a pivot into acting. He would beryllium a fixture onscreen done 2005, with lone a fewer roles successful the years that followed.

“I jumped into films erstwhile I was successful my mid-30s,” helium told The Times successful 1988. “I had nary experience, I’d ne'er adjacent done a precocious schoolhouse play. And present I’m trying to leap into the acting field. If I looked astatine it successful a antagonistic way, I would person ... fixed up. But from grooming myself implicit the years to deliberation positively and to recognize that if determination was a volition determination was a way, I was capable to execute success.”

(Frank Masi / Lionsgate)

Norris started to pull wide attraction for his 10th movie, “Lone Wolf McQuade,” but it was his quality Danny O’Brien, a Los Angeles cop, successful the 1988 movie “Hero and the Terror” whom Norris related to most.

“‘Hero’ is the closest to my quality than immoderate I’ve ever done,” helium told The Times. “In astir of my films, you spot Chuck Norris, the antheral successful the arena, ever dealing with the struggle and having to woody with it physically. In ‘Hero’ you spot the antheral extracurricular the arena arsenic well. When I utilized to combat I would locomotion down the aisle smiling and shingle hands with the assemblage connected the mode to the ring. But erstwhile successful the ringing my full demeanor changed. I’d go precise intense, focused and aggressive. But erstwhile the combat was implicit I’d spell backmost to my lighter side.”

Norris’ tough-guy demeanor propelled him successful the aboriginal aughts from martial arts savant and action-film prima to an net sensation. Norris was a favourite connected the late-night speech circuit, and past melodramatic “Walker, Texas Ranger” clips of him warring gun-wielding gangsters with a menacing stare, corny quips and, of course, karate became a regular spot connected “Late Night With Conan O’Brien.”

O’Brien would propulsion the “Walker Lever” to play a clip, and Norris adjacent joined successful the amusive with a cameo connected the amusement successful which helium pulled his ain lever and roundhouse-kicked a switchblade retired of the host’s hand.

In 2005, “Chuck Norris Facts,” penned by Ian Spector, past a precocious schoolhouse student, showed up connected the net forum Something Awful. The “facts” were really jokes that touched connected the actor’s superhuman spot and stoicism.

Even Norris got a footwear retired of them and posted videos connected Instagram of himself doing readings: “Chuck Norris was erstwhile bitten by a king cobra; aft 5 days of agonizing pain, the cobra died.”

But those “Chuck Norris Facts” weren’t conscionable your run-of-the-mill net fad — they became a cult phenomenon. College dorm rooms had posters of the facts tacked to walls. “Chuck Norris was successful a weapon combat and the weapon lost” was plastered crossed hoodies, tees and java mugs and slung to the far-reaching fandom. Spector went connected to people aggregate books filled with hundreds of facts. Memes abounded.

Norris told Attkisson of “Full Measure” that during a travel to Iraq — helium said helium went successful 2006 and 2007 to sojourn with much than 20,000 troops — a young worker pulled up the sleeve of his jumpsuit to amusement disconnected a tattoo.

“He’s got a representation of maine connected his arm!” Norris said. “I go, guy, that’s connected determination for the remainder of your life!” According to Norris, adjacent tanks and carriers displayed his name, thing helium recovered “mind-boggling.”

Norris didn’t shy distant from the attention, and done his beingness helium connected with fans, often sharing updates to his Instagram, which included videos of him reciting “facts” astir himself with a chuckle, practicing martial arts successful his 80s, riding horseback astatine his Lone Wolf Ranch successful Texas oregon relaxing connected the beaches of Hawaii with his family.

“Philosophy is the astir important tool,” Norris told TV big Dick Cavett during a 1993 quality connected his show. “The kicking and punching is lone the conveyance to fortify the idiosyncratic arsenic a person. To rise their self-esteem, rise their self-worth, thatch them however to absorption their lives successful the due way, successful the astir affirmative way.

“It teaches them the doctrine of goal-seeking and realizing that there’s obstacles successful immoderate extremity you privation to pursue, and to person the determination to flooded those obstacles, to scope those goals.

“This is each portion of the grooming of the martial arts. It’s been my doctrine successful beingness and that’s truly been the concealed of maine succeeding to the grade that I’ve succeeded.”

Norris is survived by his 5 children and his wife, Gena O’Kelley.