Chuck Norris, star of “Walker, Texas Ranger” and notable martial artist has passed away at the age of 86. Hospitalized this Thursday on the island of Kauai, Hawaii for a medical emergency, the announcement arrived after his family posted a statement early Friday, per Variety. Sharing the statement to Instagram, Norris’ family stated “It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday [Thursday] morning. While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.”
Details are currently scant as to the cause of death. Prior to his passing, Norris recently celebrated his 86 birthday by posting a video of himself training on Instagram. Famous for being a martial artist and action star, Norris also received plenty of notoriety online for “Chuck Norris facts” that exaggerating his feats of strength and skills, which quickly morphed into a meme of sorts. In addition to appearing in action movies, he was also a true-to-life martial arts champion.
Receiving fame for his role as Cordell Walker on the series “Walker, Texas Ranger,” Norris held nine award wins, including winning the 1997 Texas Legend award at the Lone Star Film & Television Awards. Along with the hit television series, Norris also starred in the “Delta Force” series, as well an epic $855 million action movie with Sylvester Stallone.
Norris is survived by his wife and five children
Born in Ryan, Oklahoma, Norris was the oldest of three children, and he helped raise his two siblings with his mother in Torrance, CA. Joining the Air Force upon graduating high school, it was during this time that Norris began learning martial arts, specifically Tang Soo Do. After his stint in the military, Norris operated a number of martial arts schools, where one notable student was actor Steve McQueen.
It was McQueen who got a young Norris into acting, and he got his start with an uncredited role in 1968’s “The Wrecking Crew.” Making a few appearances in some action films, Norris notably got to star alongside martial arts legend Bruce Lee in the 1972 movie “The Way of the Dragon,” where Norris played the antagonist Colt. It would be in 1993 when he would star in the series “Walker, Texas Ranger,” which lasted eight seasons. Norris also appeared in 1991’s “The Hitman,” “Missing in Action” (1984) and “Sidekicks” (1992), among others.
In the early 2000s, jokes about Chuck Norris, known as “Chuck Norris Facts” began circulating around the internet (even we made a headline out of one in 2018). Originally an offshoot of “Vin Diesel facts,” the joke format would greatly exaggerate Norris’ capabilities, with one joke being that Norris is capable of dividing by zero, an impossibility in standard mathematics. Having a sense of humor, Norris joined in on the meme starting in 2011. For those interested, “Walker Texas Ranger” is currently streaming on The Roku Channel, Philo, and Pluto TV.
