Chuck Norris, action star and martial artist, dies at 86

His family announced his passing on Friday.

Actor Chuck Norris , the martial artist known for a string of hit action movies and the series "Walker, Texas Ranger," has died, according to his family.

He was 86.

The family said Norris was "a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother, and the heart of our family."
Norris, born Carlos Ray Norris, was born in Oklahoma but spent much of his childhood in California.

He learned karate while serving in the U.S.

Air Force in South Korea, with the hopes of becoming a police officer after his service, he told The New York Times in a 1985 interview.

When he returned to Southern California after his military service, he instead opened a chain of karate schools.

It was through teaching karate that Norris was introduced to acting, when he instructed the late Steve McQueen and McQueen's son, he told the Times.

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"He told me that I should think about projecting a presence, and never do a part that had a lot of dialogue," Norris said of McQueen's advice.

"He told me, 'Movies are visual, and when you try to verbalize something, you're going to lose the audience.' He said to let the character actors lay out the plot, and that when there were important things to say, you say it, and people will remember."
From that fateful meeting with McQueen, Norris went onto have an acting career that spanned several decades and featured starring roles in blockbuster action movies including "The Way of the Dragon," "Lone Wolf McQuade," "Missing in Action," "The Delta Force" and "Invasion U.S.A."
In the 1990s, Norris became a television star with the series "Walker, Texas Ranger," in which he both starred in and executive produced.

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The series, inspired by "Lone Wolf McQuade," featured Norris as Sgt.

Cordell Walker, a Vietnam War veteran and Texas Ranger, who used his martial arts skills and moral code to catch bad guys.

The series ran for eight seasons and spawned a TV movie and a reboot in 2021.

Norris later made memorable cameos in films, including the sports comedy "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" and the second entry in "The Expendables" franchise.

In addition to acting, Norris was also an author, including of his 2004 autobiography, "Against All Odds: My Story."
Offscreen, Norris also entered the political arena, endorsing and campaigning for several conservative candidates over the years.

In his later years, Norris reached unexpected online fame when "Chuck Norris Facts" went viral online, touting Norris's seeming invincibility with lines like, "Chuck Norris doesn't sleep.

He waits."
In 2008, Norris revealed his personal favorite, telling "Extra" , "My favorite is that they wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn’t tough enough for his beard."
Norris capitalized on his online fame, growing a social media following of nearly 3 million followers on Instagram, where he continued to post everything from his workouts to life advice until the time of his death.

Norris is also survived by three other adult children, two sons, Eric and Mike, and a daughter, Dina.

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