Chuck Norris – The Legendary Actor

 

Chuck Norris 

 The Legendary Actor

 

Chuck Norris was born on March 10, 1940 in Ryan, Oklahoma to Wilma and Ray Dee Norris and he was a World War II veteran, mechanic, bus driver, and truck driver. Norris claimed Irish and Cherokee roots. Norris was named after his father's minister, Carlos Berry. He is the eldest of three brothers, the youngest being Wyland and Aaron. When Norris was sixteen, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother and brothers to Prairie Village, Kansas, and then to Torrance, California.

Norris described his childhood as a period of inferiority complex. He is non-athletic, shy and average in academics. His father, Ray, worked intermittently as an automobile mechanic and had been drinking for months. Embarrassed by his father's behavior and the family's financial situation, Norris developed a vulnerable introversion that lasted throughout his childhood.

He is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won several martial arts championships and later founded his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do. Soon, in Hollywood, Norris trained celebrities in martial arts. Norris appeared in a small role in the 1969 spy film The Wrecking Crew. His best friend martial artist Bruce Lee invited him to play one of the main villains in 1972's Way of the Dragon. Student Steve McQueen suggested taking it seriously. Norris starred in the action film Breaker! Breaker! In 1977, it became profitable. His second lead as hero, Good Guys Wear Black, was a hit in 1978 and he quickly became a popular action movie star.

Norris starred in independent action and martial arts films, including A Force of One in 1979, The Octagon in 1980, and An Eye for an Eye in 1981. This made Norris an international celebrity. He produced studio films such as 1982's Silent Rage with Columbia, 1982's Forced Vengeance with MGM, and 1983's Lone Wolf McQuade with Orion. This led to Canon Films signing Norris to a multi-film deal, starting with 1984's Missing in Action, which was very successful and launched a trilogy. Norris began working exclusively in high-action films in the 1980s with their leading man. Films with Canon include Invasion USA in 1985, The Delta Force in 1986, and Firewalker in 1986. In addition to the Canon films, Norris also produced Code of Silence in 1985, which is considered one of his best films. In the 1990s, he starred in the CBS television series Walker, Texas Ranger, which ran from 1993 to 2001. As of 2006, Norris continued to appear in leading roles in action films, including 1990's Delta Force 2 and 1991's The Hitman. Sidekicks in 1992, Forest Warrior in 1996, The President's Man in 2000 and its sequel in 2002. Norris was last seen in 2012's Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables 2.

Throughout his film and television career, Norris deviated from his usual endeavors. He is a prolific author, having written books on martial arts, exercise, philosophy, politics, Christianity, Western fiction, and autobiography. He was a New York Times best-selling author, first using his personal philosophy of positive energy and the psychology of self-improvement, in 1988 based on personal anecdotes titled The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story. His second New York Times bestseller, Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America, 2008, is about his critique of current issues in the USA. Norris has appeared in numerous commercials and endorsed several products. In 2005, Norris found new fame on the Internet when Chuck Norris Facts became an Internet meme that documented humorous, imaginative, and absurd feats of strength and endurance. Although Norris did not create "facts" himself, he was hired to endorse several products that featured Chuck Norris facts in advertising. The program spawned six books, two video games, and numerous appearances on talk shows such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where he read facts or participated in sketches.

Norris married his classmate Diane Kay Holechek in December 1958, when he was 18 and Diana was 17. He had two sons, Mike and Eric from her. He also had a daughter Dina born out of wedlock in 1963. After 30 years of marriage, separating in 1988, Norris and Holechek divorced in 1989.

On November 28, 1998, he married former model Gena O'Kelly, who was 23 years Norris' junior. O'Kelly had two children from a previous marriage. On August 30, 2001, she gave birth to twins.

On September 22, 2004, Norris told Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart that he did not meet his illegitimate daughter until she was 26, although she learned that he was her father when she was 16. He met her after she sent a letter informing him of their relationship in 1990, one year after Norris's divorce with his first wife Dianne Holechek. As of 2017, Norris has thirteen grandchildren.

Norris was an outspoken Christian and he is the author of several Christian-themed books.

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