Chuck Norris, Action Movie Legend And Star Of Walker, Texas Ranger, Dead At 86

Martial artist and actor Chuck Norris, one of the biggest action movie stars of the 1970s and 1980s, has died at the age of 86 (as confirmed by TMZ).

A full statement from Chuck Norris' family said:

"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."

They also added:

"While our hearts are broken, we are deeply grateful for the life he lived and for the unforgettable moments we were blessed to share with him. The love and support he received from fans around the world meant so much to him, and our family is truly thankful for it. To him, you were not just fans, you were his friends.

Norris launched his movie career with a fight scene opposite Bruce Lee in 1972's "The Way of the Dragon." Norris and Lee first met at the 1967 All-American Karate Championships and thereafter began training together in Los Angeles, exchanging techniques and helping each other push their skills to greater heights. 

Before "The Way of the Dragon," Lee had hooked Norris up with his first-ever on-screen role in 1968's "The Wrecking Crew." According to Matthew Polly's biography "Bruce Lee: A Life," Norris fought in a karate tournament the day before the job began and made a special request of his opponent, Skipper Mullins: 

"I have my first part in a movie tomorrow, so beat on my body but try not to hit me in the face. I don't want to go on the set looking like I've been in a brawl."

Mullins agreed to this favor but nonetheless ended up giving Norris a black eye during the fight, which required two hours of makeup to cover when he went to set the next day. Fortunately for Norris, the shiner didn't derail his budding acting career.

Chuck Norris officially retired from karate competitions in 1974 at the age of 34, after holding a world karate champion title for six years. "Whether my decision was greatly influenced by Bruce Lee's death or simply the desire to go out on top, I can't say for sure," Norris wrote in his 2006 memoir "Against All Odds." As he faced the question of what direction his life should take next, another movie star friend, Steve McQueen, suggested that Norris should seriously pursue an acting career. "The camera either likes you, or it doesn't, but you won't know if you don't try," McQueen told him. "I strongly suggest you give it a try."

Norris did indeed give it a try, and that same year, he starred in Lo Wei's "Yellow Faced Tiger" as the main villain, Chuck Slaughter. A few years later, he landed his first job as number one on the call sheet, playing the hero of the trucker action movie "Breaker! Breaker!", and followed it up with another leading role in "Good Guys Wear Black." Those two back-to-back box office successes launched his career in earnest, and in the 1980s Norris racked up a steady string of starring roles in independent action movies. While they were generally shredded by critics, that didn't stop them from turning a profit at the box office, and Norris soon became one of the world's most bankable martial arts movie stars.

In 1992, Chuck Norris — now in his 50s but still steadily starring in action roles — was contacted by his manager about an offer to star in a TV show called "Walker, Texas Ranger." Norris was initially reluctant, worrying that a move to television could hurt his movie career, but the opportunity to play a Texas Ranger proved too tempting to resist for the actor, who was a huge fan of Westerns. And despite his misgivings, he continued to make appearances in movies throughout the show's run and after it came to an end.

The move to television was by no means a slowdown for Norris compared to movies, either. "I never worked harder in my life than I did those first few years of 'Walker,'" he wrote in "Against All Odds." As both the star of the show and an executive producer, he was "putting in sixteen-hour days, at least six days a week, and often seven." His steady presence on TV screens over the following eight years only further cemented Norris as a household name.

This prominence in the public mind led Norris to the honor of becoming one of the early internet's biggest memes. Sprouting from the Something Awful forums, the joke formula of "Chuck Norris Facts" included claims like "Chuck Norris doesn't sleep; he waits" and "There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard; there is only another fist."

From his karate king days, through his movie and TV careers, to playing a formative role in early internet culture, Chuck Norris truly left his mark on the world.