{"id":535168,"date":"2026-03-20T17:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/535168\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T17:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:49:07","slug":"walker-texas-ranger-action-icon-was-86","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/535168\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Walker Texas Ranger’ Action Icon Was 86"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tChuck Norris<\/a>,\u00a0the martial arts champion who became an iconic action star and led the hit series \u201cWalker, Texas Ranger,\u201d\u00a0has died. He was 86.<\/p>\n

\n\tNorris was hospitalized in Hawaii on Thursday, and his family posted a statement Friday saying that he died that morning. \u201cWhile we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace,\u201d his family wrote.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTo the world, he was a martial artist, actor, and a symbol of strength. To us, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother, and the heart of our family,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cHe lived his life with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the people he loved. Through his work, discipline, and kindness, he inspired millions around the world and left a lasting impact on so many lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs an action star, Norris had a degree of credibility that most others could not match.. Not only did he appear opposite the legendary Bruce Lee in 1972 film \u201cThe Way of the Dragon\u201d (aka \u201cReturn of the Dragon\u201d), but\u00a0he was a genuine martial arts champion\u00a0who\u00a0was a black belt in judo,\u00a03rd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 5th degree black belt in Karate, 8th degree black belt in Taekwondo, 9th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do and\u00a010th degree black belt in Chun Kuk Do.<\/p>\n

\n\tNorris was extremely prolific in the late 1970s and \u201980s, starring in \u201cThe Delta Force\u201d and \u201cMissing in Action\u201d films, \u201cGood Guys Wear Black\u201d (1978), \u201cThe Octagon\u201d (1980), \u201cLone Wolf McQuade\u201d (1983),\u00a0\u201cCode of Silence\u201d (1985) and \u201cFirewalker\u201d (1986).<\/p>\n

\n\tNorris joined a bevy of other action stars in the Sylvester Stallone-directed \u201cThe Expendables 2\u201d in 2012 after an absence from the screen of seven years.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile he scored high on credibility, Norris did not leaven his work with humor the way Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Jackie Chan did.\u00a0He was nevertheless the action star of choice for those seeking an all-American icon. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn 1984, Norris starred in \u201cMissing in Action,\u201d the first in a series of films centered around the rescue of American POWs purportedly still held after being captured during the Vietnam War. (Norris\u2019 younger brother Wieland had been\u00a0killed while serving in Vietnam, and the actor dedicated his \u201cMissing in Action\u201d films to his brother\u2019s memory, but critics of Norris and producer Cannon Films maintained that the films borrowed too heavily from the central conceit\u00a0of Stallone\u2019s highly successful \u201cRambo\u201d films.)<\/p>\n

\n\tAs Norris\u2019 movie career began to wane, he made a timely move to television, starring in\u00a0the CBS series \u201cWalker, Texas Ranger,\u201d inspired by his film \u201cLone Wolf McQuade.\u201d The program ran from 1993-2001, and the actor reprised the role of Cordell Walker in the TV movies \u201cWalker Texas Ranger 3: Deadly Reunion\u201d (1994) and \u201cWalker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire\u201d (2005). (Also in 2005\u00a0Norris\u00a0made\u00a0the last film in which he starred, the straight-to-DVD \u201cThe Cutter.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\tIn his later years, Norris was portrayed in memes\u00a0documenting fictional, frequently\u00a0absurd feats associated with him, such as \u201cChuck Norris kills 100% of germs\u201d and \u201cPaper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beats paper, but Chuck Norris beats all 3 at the same time.\u201d\u00a0In his later years Norris appeared in infomercials for workout equipment and became increasingly outspoken as a political conservative.<\/p>\n

\n\tCarlos Ray Norris was born\u00a0in Ryan, Okla.; his father served as a soldier in World War II. In 1958 he joined the Air Force as an Air Policeman (AP, analogous to the Army\u2019s MPs). While serving at\u00a0Osan Air Base in South Korea, Norris first acquired the nickname \u201cChuck\u201d and began his training in Tang Soo Do (aka tangsudo), leading to his achievements in other martial arts and to his development\u00a0of hybrid style Chun Kuk Do (\u201cThe Universal Way\u201d).\u00a0He returned to the U.S. and served as an AP at March Air Force Base in California.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter his 1962 discharge, Norris worked for aerospace company Northrop and opened a chain of karate schools;\u00a0celebrity clients at the schools included\u00a0Steve McQueen, Chad McQueen, Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond.<\/p>\n

\n\tNorris made his acting debut in an uncredited role in the 1969 cult Matt Helm film \u201cThe Wrecking Crew,\u201d starring Dean Martin.\u00a0Norris met Bruce Lee at\u00a0a martial arts demonstration in Long Beach, Calif., and played the nemesis of Lee\u2019s character in 1972 movie \u201cThe Way of the Dragon\u201d (retitled \u201cReturn of the Dragon\u201d for\u00a0U.S. distribution). In 1974 McQueen spurred Norris\u00a0to begin taking acting classes at MGM.<\/p>\n

\n\tNorris first starred in the 1977 action film \u201cBreaker! Breaker!,\u201d in which he played a trucker searching for his brother, who\u2019s disappeared in a town with a judge who\u2019s corrupt.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe actor proved his box office mettle with his subsequent films,\u00a0\u201cGood Guys Wear Black\u201d (1978), \u201cThe Octagon\u201d (1980), \u201cAn Eye for an Eye\u201d (1981) and \u201cLone Wolf McQuade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNorris began\u00a0starring in movies for Cannon Films in 1984.\u00a0Over the next four years, he\u00a0became Cannon\u2019s most prominent star, appearing in eight films, including the three \u201cMissing in Action\u201d films; \u201cCode of Silence\u201d \u2014 qualitatively, one of his best films \u2014\u00a0the two \u201cDelta Force\u201d films and \u201cFirewalker.\u201d Norris\u2019 brother Aaron Norris produced several of these films, and also became a producer on\u00a0\u201cWalker, Texas Ranger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tA longtime supporter of conservative politicians, he wrote several books with Christian and patriotic themes. <\/p>\n

\n\tNorris was twice married, the first time to \u00a0Dianne Holechek from\u00a01958\u00a0until their divorce in 1988.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe is survived by second wife Gena O\u2019Kelley, whom he married in 1998; two sons, Eric and Mike, daughters\u00a0Dakota, Danilee and Dina; and a number of grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chuck Norris,\u00a0the martial arts champion who became an iconic action star and led the hit series \u201cWalker, Texas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[149680,88],"class_list":{"0":"post-535168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-chuck-norris","9":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}