Chuck Norris

Martial artist, actor, and author who became a global action star.

Carlos Ray Norris was born on March 10, 1940, in Ryan, Oklahoma, to Wilma Lee and Ray Dee Norris.^[1][2] He learned martial arts while stationed in South Korea and became a world-famous karate champion in the 1960s and 1970s.^[2] Norris is best known for the TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger" and action films including "The Way of the Dragon" and "Missing in Action".^[2]

Quick Facts

Birth name

Carlos Ray Norris

Born

10 March 1940

Birthplace

Ryan, Oklahoma, US

Died

19 March 2026

Place of death

Kauaʻi, Hawaii, US

Children

5, including Mike and Eric

Relatives

Aaron Norris (brother)

Occupation

Martial artist
actor
screenwriter
author

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Norris joined the United States Air Force in 1958 as an Air Policeman and was stationed at Osan Air Base in South Korea.^[3][2] After his discharge in 1962, he opened a martial arts studio and began competing in tournaments.^[3][2] Norris lost his first two competitive bouts but later defeated seven opponents to win the 1967 karate tournament.^[4] Chuck Norris facts originally started appearing on the Internet in early 2005, created by Ian Spector.^[5]

In the 1972 martial arts film Way of the Dragon (released in the U.S. as Return of the Dragon), Norris played the antagonist opposite Bruce Lee.^[6][2] With a Hong Kong box office gross exceeding 5.3 million, the film surpassed the previous records set by Lee's The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, becoming Hong Kong's top-grossing release of 1972.^[6] The 1977 film Breaker! marked Norris's initial appearance as a lead actor.^[7] A full-contact, team-based martial arts competition called the World Combat League was established by Norris in 2005.^[8]

What the cited sources add

The Military.com account states that Norris almost ran off and joined the Navy at age 17, but his mother wanted him to finish high school first.^[2] A fellow airman gave young Carlos the new name "Chuck Norris" during basic training at Lackland Air Force Base.^[2] Norris received the Veteran of the Year 2001 award from the U.S. Air Force.^[2] Celebrity student Steve McQueen encouraged Norris to go into acting.^[2]

The South China Morning Post notes that Sammo Hung's character made a guest appearance in Walker, Texas Ranger, co-starring with Norris.^[9] Norris's net worth is estimated at $70 million, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.^[2] In 2022, Norris became the spokesman for Roundhouse Provisions, a new emergency preparedness food brand.^[2]

References

Wikipedia, "Chuck Norris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Norris, "The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story", Little, Brown and Co., 1988, p. 6; Norris, "Against All Odds: My Story", Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Stilwell, "Famous Veterans: Chuck Norris", Military.com, May 19, 2023. facts only, no text reused. military.com
Wikipedia, "Chuck Norris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wedlan, "Body Watch; Kicking Old Habits; Chuck Norris found he couldn't eat just anything after he hit his mid-30s. These days, TV's top ranger feasts on veggies, fowl and fish. And he tries to keep his distance from pea; Stilwell, "Famous Veterans: Chuck Norris", Military.com, May 19, 2023; "#VeteranOfTheDay Air Force Veteran Chuck Norris – VA News", March 10, 2020; "#VeteranOfTheDay Air Force Veteran Chuck Norris – VA News", March 10, 2020; Boatner, "If I can do it, you can do it", Arizona Republic, May 2, 1975, p. D-1 (we also read that en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chuck Norris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Torrance karate expert wins Crown", Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1967; "Karate bouts at Garden", Daily News, June 23, 1967; "Redondo's Norris wins karate title", Los Angeles Times, June 25, 1967; "Sport Briefs", Spokane Chronicle, June 26, 1967, p. 14; "Chuck Norris Blog" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chuck Norris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Web Archive: Chuck Norris"; "Chuck Norris facts read by Chuck Norris", YouTube, March 11, 2006; "Chuck Norris Fever – 2006", MrNorrisVideos, October 2, 2011; "Chuck Norris Fever – 2006", MrNorrisVideos, October 2, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chuck Norris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Krizanovich, "Infographic Guide To The Movies", Hachette UK, 2015, p. 18–9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chuck Norris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Norris, "Winning Tournament Karate", Black Belt Communications, May 1, 1975 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chuck Norris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jessica Lahm (2023) Chuck Norris Faces of Philanthropy (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"How CBS show Martial Law made martial arts star Sammo Hung a US hit", South China Morning Post, April 18, 2021. facts only, no text reused. scmp.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Chuck Norris (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.