chuck norris

Biography

Beginnings

A native of Ryan, Oklahoma, Norris has two younger brothers, Wieland and Aaron Norris, the latter of whom is a Hollywood producer. Norris was born to an alcoholic father, half Irish and half Cherokee. Norris's mother is also half Irish and half Cherokee.^[1] Norris is very proud of his Native American heritage, and frequently referred to his origins on his hit show Walker, Texas Ranger. When Norris was ten, his parents divorced^[2] and he later relocated to Prairie Village, Kansas and then Torrance, California with his mother and brothers.^[3] Norris describes his childhood as downbeat. He was nonathletic, shy, and scholastically mediocre. Other children taunted him about his mixed ethnicity, and Norris daydreamed about beating up his tormentors. Norris mentioned in his autobiography that his father had a very serious problem with drinking and "wasn't there" a lot for him growing up. Norris admitted that he loved his father but did not like him. However, he professed that he only felt pity for the man because "that was just how he was, and he missed so much."

Chuck Norris finished high school and soon married his girlfriend, Diane Holechek. In 1958 Norris joined the United States Air Force as a Military Policeman and was sent to Osan Air Base, South Korea. It was in South Korea that Norris acquired the nickname Chuck and began his training in Tang Soo Do (tangsudo), an interest that would lead to black belts in Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, and Shinto-Ryu Karate, and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; and the founding of the Chun Kuk Do ("Universal Way") form and the education associations United Fighting Arts Federation and "Kick Start," formerly "Kick Drugs Out of America," a middle school and high school based program intended to give at-risk children a focus point in life through the martial arts. When he returned to the United States he continued to act as an MP at March Air Force Base California. Norris was discharged in August of 1962. He worked for the Northrop corporation and opened a chain of karate schools, which Chad McQueen, Steve McQueen's son, attended.^[3] On July 1, 2000 he was presented the Golden Lifetime Achievement Award by the World Karate Union Hall of Fame.

Currently, Norris lives in Dallas and owns a ranch between Navasota, Texas and Anderson, Texas. He works for KickStart, which is located in Dallas and Houston.

Rise to fame

Chuck's entrance into tournament karate began on a losing note. He was defeated in his first two tournaments, dropping decisions to Joe Lewis and Allan Steen. However, by 1967, Norris began to demonstrate his skill and scored victories over the likes of Joe Lewis, Skipper Mullins, Arnold Urquidez, Victor Moore, Ron Marchini and Steve Sanders. In early 1968, Chuck suffered the 5th and last loss of his career, losing an upset decision to Louis Delgado. However, on November 24, 1968, Chuck avenged his defeat to Delgado and in the process won the Professional Middleweight Karate champion (non-contact) title, which he held for six consecutive years.^[4] In 1969, he won Karate's triple crown for the most tournament wins of the year, and the fighter of the year award by Black Belt magazine. It was also in 1969 that Norris made his acting debut, in the Dean Martin movie The Wrecking Crew.

In 1970, his younger brother Weiland was killed in Vietnam. Norris later dedicated his Missing in Action films to his brother's memory.

At a martial arts demonstration in Long Beach, Norris met the soon-to-be famous martial artist Bruce Lee. In 1972, he acted as Bruce Lee's nemesis in the movie Way of the Dragon (also known as 'Return of the Dragon'), which is widely credited with launching his way into stardom. In Asia, he is still known primarily for this role.

In 1974, McQueen encouraged him to begin acting classes at the MGM Studio. Chuck Norris retired with a karate record of 65-5 and he reversed all of his defeats.

Norris' first starring role was 1977's Breaker! Breaker!, and subsequent films such as The Octagon (1980), An Eye for an Eye (1981), and Lone Wolf McQuade proved his increasing box office bankability. In 1984, Norris starred in Missing in Action, the first of a series of POW rescue fantasies produced by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and released under their Cannon Films banner. Also in that year, he was offered the part of the sensei of the Kobra Kai dojo in the movie The Karate Kid, but declined the part. He reportedly did not want to take part in depicting martial artists in an unfavorable light. ^[5]. However, Norris disputes this story. On a February 9, 2006 episode of The Adam Carolla Show, Norris said that he was never offered the role. Norris noted that he was already playing leading roles by the time The Karate Kid was in production.

Over the next four years, Norris became Cannon's most prominent star, appearing in eight films, including Code of Silence, The Delta Force, and Firewalker, in which he co-starred with Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr.

In 1986, he was involved in the production of the Ruby Spears Cartoon Karate Kommandos

Walker, Texas Ranger

By the close of the 1980s, Cannon Films had faded from prominence, and Norris' star appeal seemed to go with it. He reprised his Delta Force role for MGM, who had acquired the Cannon library after the latter's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Norris went on to make several more largely ignored films before making a transition to television. In 1993, he began shooting the series Walker, Texas Ranger, which lasted eight years on CBS and continued in heavy syndication on other channels.

On October 16th, 2005, CBS Premiered the Sunday night "Movie of the Week" Walker Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire. The production was a continuation of the series, and not scripted to be a reunion movie. Norris reprised his role as Cordell Walker for the movie. He has stated that future Walker Texas Ranger "Movie of the Week" projects are expected.

Family

In 1963, his first child with Holechek, a son named Mike, was born; a daughter, Dina, was born in 1964; and a second son, Eric, followed in 1965. After 30 years of marriage, Norris and Holechek divorced in 1988. He married again in 1998, this time to former model Gena O'Kelley, and she delivered twins in 2001: Dakota Alan Norris, a boy, and Danilee Kelly Norris, a girl. Norris has always been a very loving family man; it was noted in People that his adult sons still hug and kiss him goodbye. "It's great my boys aren't afraid to show love," Norris said. "Nothing can buy that." Norris's son, Mike, said of his father, "Dad never had a lot of love growing up, but he has given me and my brother all that he should have had in multiples." However, in the same interview Mike said that he still wouldn't want to mess with his dad.

Faith

Now an outspoken Christian, Chuck Norris is the author of a couple of Christian books, such as The Justice Riders. He has also been in a few T.V. commercials promoting Bible study and prayer in public schools, in addition to efforts to reduce drug use.

Popular culture

Norris regained popularity as a cult icon during the mid-2000s, especially on the Internet. Among the more high-profile parodies and references are these instances:

• Late Night with Conan O'Brien's parent company, NBC, acquired Universal, which in turn owned USA Network, in early 2004. O'Brien and his writers subsequently created a new segment in which O'Brien shows short, out of context clips for comedic purposes: it was said that the clips can be shown without royalties because Universal owns Walker. (In reality, USA only has rights to air episodes, while the show is owned by CBS.) The "Walker, Texas Ranger Lever" quickly became one of the most popular segments on Late Night. This segment has been credited as jump-starting the Norris craze and leading to enough interest to produce a Walker, Texas Ranger TV movie. One of the most memorable, albeit odd, clips featured a young Haley Joel Osment uttering the line, "Walker told me I have AIDS."
• Norris is the object of an Internet phenomenon known as Chuck Norris Facts documenting and proclaiming fictional, often heroic feats and characteristics, which began to circulate in late 2005. Norris has written his own response to the parody on his website, stating that he does not feel offended by them, and finds some of them funny. [1]. He recently read 10 of them on a The Best Damn Sports Show, Period, and said that his favorite one is "They once tried to carve Chuck Norris's face into Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn't hard enough for his beard"[2]. These facts and more are the mere basis of the huge obsession the player community in the immensely popular MMOG World of Warcraft has with Norris, one of the most notable recurring examples being that there exist "Chuck Norris guilds" and their corresponding "missionaries", who even on role-playing servers spend time travelling around, spreading Chuck Norris Facts and "converting" players to their "religion".
• Adult Swim, a late night programming block on Cartoon Network, began airing Chuck Norris' Karate Kommandos in mid-2006, in response to Norris's new internet popularity. The time slot was gradually (and discreetly) replaced with other Cartoon Network programs later in the year, and currently, no television network is known to carry the program.
• Norris was parodied in a Saturday Night Live music video spoof entitled "Young Chuck Norris", aired January 21, 2006.
• Chuck Norris sponsors the infomercial, Total Gym Fitness, which usually airs in the late night or early morning hours.
• During the March 10, 2006 show of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, numerous references were made to Norris on his birthday, including all of the cut-out heads on the set, which are usually of current sports stars, being replaced with Chuck Norris heads. Also, several humorous comments in reference to Chuck Norris were made by co-host, Tony Kornheiser, in a similar tone to that featured on the Chuck Norris Facts website.
• Norris served as a guest referee at the World Wrestling Federation's Survivor Series 1994 for the casket match between The Undertaker and the late Yokozuna. A similar match had taken place at Royal Rumble 1994 where ten other wrestlers beat down The Undertaker. Norris was called upon to ensure a similar situation didn't take place. As guest referee, he kicked Jeff Jarrett in the stomach.
• Norris appeared as himself on an episode of Yes, Dear, where he shadows one of the main characters (Jimmy) to understand the life of a security guard.
• He had a cameo role in the movie Dodgeball as a judge at a dodgeball tournament.
• Norris appeared in the internet meme The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.
• Chuck Norris also starred in his own Atari 2600 videogame, Chuck Norris Superkicks
• Chuck Norris also appears in Maddox (real name George Ouzounian)'s book: Alphabet of Manliness under the letter N.
• In the video game magazine Nintendo Power, Volume 203's Pulse section featured many references to Chuck Norris. He has since become a regular reference, along with Mr. T.
• In the 2006 Will Ferrell film Talladega Nights, Ferrell's character, Ricky Bobby, named his sons "Walker" and "Texas Ranger".
• Chuck Norris was briefly the top contender in a poll for naming a new bridge, Northern M0 Danube bridge, in Budapest, Hungary.

Filmography

• The Wrecking Crew (1969)
• Way of the Dragon (1972)
• The Student Teachers (1973)
• Slaughter in San Francisco (1974)
• The Warrior Within (1976) (documentary)
• Bruce Lee, the Legend (1977) (documentary)
• Breaker! Breaker! (1977)
• Good Guys Wear Black (1978)
• A Force of One (1979)
• The Octagon (1980)
• An Eye for an Eye (1981)
• Silent Rage (1982)
• Forced Vengeance (1982)
• Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
• Missing in Action (1984)
• Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
• Code of Silence (1985)
• Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
• The Delta Force (1986)
• The Karate Kommandos (1986), animated children's show, with Chuck Norris himself appearing to reveal the episode and the moral contained in the episode.
• Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988)
• Hero and the Terror (1988)
• Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990)
• Delta Force 3: The Killing Game (1991)
• The Hitman (1991)
• Sidekicks (1992)
• Hellbound (1994)
• Top Dog (1995)
• Forest Warrior (1996)
• The President's Man (2000)
• The President's Man 2: A Line in the Sand (2002)
• Bells of Innocence (2003)
• Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
• The Contender (2005)
• The Cutter (2005)

References

• The Secret Power Within: Zen Solutions to Real Problems, Zen Buddhism and martial arts. Little, Brown and Company (1996). ISBN 0-316-58350-2.
• Against All Odds: My Story, an autobiography. Broadman & Holman Publishers (2004). ISBN 0-8054-3161-6.
• The Justice Riders, Wild West novels. Broadman & Holman Publishers (2006). ISBN 0-8054-4032-1.

Notes

1. ^ "At Dinner with: Chuck Norris", The New York Times, May 12, 1993
2. ^ "Chuck Norris — Strong, Silent, Popular," The New York Times, September 1, 1985
3. ^ ^a b "At Dinner with: Chuck Norris," The New York Times, May 12, 1993
4. ^ "Chuck Norris — Strong, Silent, Popular", The New York Times, September 1, 1985
5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087538/trivia

External links

• Official web site
• Chuck Norris wanting the Bible back in public schools.
• Chuck Norris at the Internet Movie Database
• Chuck Norris at the Notable Names Database
• Official Chun Kuk Do Website
• Chuck Norris Facts
• Chuck Norris on facts - by Chuck Norris himself as he appears on The Best Damn Sports Show Period (video)
• Another source of Chuck Norris Info
• Chuck Norris - Karate Kommandos Review