Some very sad breaking news, as it has been announced that action icon Chuck Norris has passed away, aged 86. The martial arts champion-turned-action star had been hospitalised in Hawaii on Thursday, with his family subsequently issuing the following statement via social media:
“It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning. While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.”
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Born in Ryan, Oklahoma in 1940, Chuck Norris entered the world of martial arts following service in the United States Air Force, becoming a multiple-time world champion in Karate, as well as opening a chain of martial arts schools and instructing numerous celebrity clients in various disciplines. This would ultimately pave the way to Norris’ transition into screen acting, with his debut in 1968’s The Wrecking Crew following by a villain role opposite his friend Bruce Lee in 1972’s Way of the Dragon.
Following his screen breakthrough, Norris began acting classes at the urging of another of his friends Steve McQueen, and after lead roles in 1977’s Breaker! Breaker! and 1978’s Good Guys Wear Black, he would go on to become one of the most prolific and successful action stars of the 1970s and 1980s with films such as A Force of Once, An Eye for an Eye, The Octagon, Silent Rage, Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing in Action, Code of Silence, Invasion U.S.A., The Delta Force and Firewalker.
In the early 1990s, Norris found renewed success with the hit TV series Walker, Texas Ranger, which was inspired by Lone Wolf McQuade and ran for eight seasons between 1993 and 2001, culminating with a TV movie in 2005. He would continue to make sporadic appearances, often as versions of himself, capitalising on his iconic status and his newfound viral fame thanks to “Chuck Norris facts” – hyperbolic claims about Norris’ superhuman abilities.
SEE ALSO: 10 Essential Chuck Norris Movies
Norris would return to the big screen in 2012 for a role in The Expendables 2, while more recently he starred in the 2024 sci-fi action film Agent Recon and the upcoming action comedy Zombie Plane, which will mark his final project.
