Chuck Norris, the martial arts champion who became an iconic action star and led the hit Walker, Texas Ranger franchise, has died. He was 86.
Norris was hospitalized in Hawaii on Thursday and his family released a statement on Friday saying he had died that morning. “While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and at peace,” his family said.
Chuck Norris started out as a martial arts champion before Hollywood came calling. He made his name in action movies throughout the 1970s and 1980s, playing tough, no-nonsense characters that always got the job done.
His big break came when he starred alongside Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon in 1972. From there he never looked back. Movies like Good Guys Wear Black, An Eye for an Eye and Forced Vengeance made him a serious action star.
He then took on some of his most memorable roles in Missing in Action, Delta Force, and Invasion USA, playing one-man armies that take on enemies unaided.
He also appeared in The Expendables 2 alongside Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, proving that he still has plenty of pulling power even later in his career.
But it was his role as Cordell Walker in Walker, Texas Ranger that really cemented his place in pop culture. The show ran for almost a decade starting in 1993 and was watched by millions of people around the world every week.
Off screen, Norris has become something of a legend in his own right—so much so that the Internet has spawned an entire genre of jokes in his honor, known as “Chuck Norris Facts.” Lines like “Chuck Norris doesn’t do push-ups, he pushes the earth down” gave him a second wave of fame with a whole new generation.
He was also known for his Christian faith and his support for various charitable causes throughout his life.
