Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Nyeboy9 (talk | contribs) at 15:21, 20 February 2007 (→Walker, Texas Ranger). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris receiving the Veteran of the Year award by the U.S. Air Force
Born	Carlos Ray Norris
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)

Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born on 10 March 1940) is an American martial artist, action star, Hollywood actor, and recently, an internet phenomenon, who is best known for playing Cordell Walker on Walker, Texas Ranger.

Biography

Chuck Norris is his own father.

Rise to fame

Norris' entrance into tournament karate began on a losing note. He was defeated in his first two tournaments, dropping decisions to Joe Lewis and Allan Steen. However, by 1967, Norris began to demonstrate his skill and scored victories over the likes of Joe Lewis, Skipper Mullins, Arnold Urquidez, Victor Moore, Ron Marchini, and Steve Sanders. In early 1968, Norris suffered the fifth and last loss of his career, losing an upset decision to Louis Delgado. However, on November 24, 1968, he avenged his defeat to Delgado and in the process won the Professional Middleweight Karate champion (non-contact) title, which he held for six consecutive years. In 1969, he won Karate's triple crown for the most tournament wins of the year, and the fighter of the year award by Black Belt Magazine. It was also in 1969 that Norris made his acting debut, in the Dean Martin movie The Wrecking Crew.

In 1970, his younger brother Weiland was killed in Vietnam. Norris later dedicated his Missing in Action films to his brother's memory.

At a martial arts demonstration in Long Beach, Norris met the soon-to-be famous martial artist Bruce Lee. In 1972, he acted as Bruce Lee's nemesis in the movie Way of the Dragon (also known as Return of the Dragon), which is widely credited with launching his way into stardom. In Asia, he is still known primarily for this role.

In 1974, McQueen encouraged him to begin acting classes at MGM. Chuck Norris retired with a karate record of 65–5, having avenged all of his defeats.

Norris' first starring role was 1977's Breaker! Breaker!, and subsequent films such as The Octagon (1980), An Eye for an Eye (1981), and Lone Wolf McQuade proved his increasing box office bankability. In 1984, Norris starred in Missing in Action, the first of a series of POW rescue fantasies produced by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and released under their Cannon Films banner. Also in that year, he was offered the part of the sensei of the Kobra Kai dojo in the movie The Karate Kid, but declined the part. He reportedly did not want to take part in depicting martial artists in an unfavorable light. However, Norris disputes this story. On a February 9, 2006 episode of Adam Corolla's radio show, Norris said that he was never offered the role. Norris noted that he was already playing leading roles by the time The Karate Kid was in production.

Over the next four years, Norris became Cannon's most prominent star, appearing in eight films, including Code of Silence, The Delta Force, and Firewalker, in which he co-starred with Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr..

In 1986, he was involved in the production of the Ruby Spears cartoon Karate Kommandos.

Chuck Norris once ate three 16 ounce steaks in one hour, he spent the first forty-five minutes having sex with his wiatress.

Family

In 1963, his first child with Holechek, a son named Mike, was born. A daughter, Dina, was born in 1964, and a second son, Eric, followed in 1965. After 30 years of marriage, Norris and Holechek divorced in 1988. He married again in 1998, this time to former model Gena O'Kelley, and she delivered twins in 2001: Dakota Alan Norris, a boy, and Danilee Kelly Norris, a girl. Norris has always been a very loving family man; it was noted in People that his adult sons still hug and kiss him goodbye. "It's great my boys aren't afraid to show love," Norris said. "Nothing can buy that." Norris's son, Mike, said of his father, "Dad never had a lot of love growing up, but he has given me and my brother all that he should have had in multiples." However, in the same interview Mike said that he still wouldn't want to mess with his dad.

Faith

Now an outspoken Christian, Chuck Norris is the author of several Christian books,such as The Justice Riders. He has also been in a few TV commercials promoting Bible study and prayer in public schools, in addition to efforts to reduce drug use.

Additionally, the conservative blog WorldNetDaily gave Norris a column in 2006, and he used part of his first piece to express his belief that evolution doesn't exist, as well as explaining "if your soul needs healing, the prescription you need is (...) Jesus' blood."

Politics

Chuck Norris is a political conservative, often championing values shared by the Republican Party. Equally, Norris was named one of President George W. Bush's favorite actors, and was invited to his inaugural ball in 2001.

Since 1988, Norris has donated over $32,000 to Republican candidates and organizations .

In 2006, he began penning a column for the conservative blog WorldNetDaily, and in his columns has expressed his beliefs that, among other things, evolution doesn't exist , those who are troubled should turn to Christ and is quoted as saying "true patriots" don't stay clear of discussing religion and politics In addition, Norris also speaks on behalf of organizations advocating prayer in public schools.

On January 26, 2007, Norris filled in for Sean Hannity as a co-host on the popular Fox News Channel debate program Hannity & Colmes alongside Alan Colmes.

Chun Kuk Do

Chuck Norris created the martial art Chun Kuk Do, which is based primarily on Tang Soo Do and includes elements from every combat style Chuck knows. Like many other martial arts Chun Kuk Do includes a code of honor and rules to live by. These rules are from Chuck Norris' personal code. They are:

1. I will develop myself to the maximum of my potential in all ways.
2. I will forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements.
3. I will always be in a positive frame of mind and convey this feeling to every person that I meet.
4. I will continually work at developing love, happiness and loyalty in my family and acknowledge that no other success can compensate for failure in the home.
5. I will look for the good in all people and make them feel worthwhile.
6. If I have nothing good to say about a person, I will say nothing.
7. I will give so much time to the improvement of myself that I will have no time to criticize others.
8. I will always be as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.
9. I will maintain an attitude of open-mindedness toward another person's viewpoint while still holding fast to that which I know to be true and honest.
10. I will maintain respect for those in authority and demonstrate this respect at all times.
11. I will always remain loyal to God, my country, family and my friends.
12. I will remain highly goal-oriented throughout my life because that positive attitude helps my family, my country, and myself.

Popular culture

Norris regained popularity as a cult icon during the early 2000s, especially on the Internet. Among the more high-profile parodies and references are these instances:

• In 2004, Late Night with Conan O'Brien began a recurring sketch in which O'Brien would pull a "Walker:Texas Ranger Lever" next to his desk, which would cause a brief, out-of-context clip from Walker: Texas Ranger to play. This became one of the more popular segments on O'Brien's show, and even led to a guest appearance by Norris himself, who pulled his own "Conan O'Brien Lever" to play a clip of Norris beating up O'Brien. This segment has been credited as jump-starting the Norris craze and leading to enough interest to produce a Walker, Texas Ranger TV movie.
• In late 2005, Norris became the object of an internet phenomenon known as Chuck Norris Facts, which document fictional, often absurdly heroic feats and characteristics about Norris himself. The phenomenon originally started in the "Vin Diesel Fact Generator", and Chuck Norris Facts were created as a byproduct, often using the same facts featured in the Vin Diesel Fact Generator. With time, Chuck Norris Facts became wildly popular, more so than the original Vin Diesel Fact Generator. Norris has written his own response to the parody on his website, stating that he does not feel offended by them, and finds some of them funny. Recently, on a show The Best Damn Sports Show, Period, he commented on 10 of them, with his favorite being: "They once tried to carve Chuck Norris's face into Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn't hard enough for his beard".
• Rode out in a convertible on The Price is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular in 2003 to wish Bob Barker a happy 80th birthday. He also helped a contestant win the convertible playing the Lucky $even game. Norris had instructed Bob Barker in karate for years.
• Adult Swim, a late night programming block on Cartoon Network, began airing Chuck Norris' Karate Kommandos in mid-2006, in response to Norris's new internet popularity. The time slot was gradually (and discreetly) replaced with other Cartoon Network programs later in the year, and currently, no television network is known to carry the program.
• Norris was parodied in a Saturday Night Live music video spoof entitled "Young Chuck Norris", aired January 21, 2006.
• Chuck Norris sponsors the infomercial, Total Gym Fitness, which usually airs in the late night or early morning hours.
• During the March 10, 2006 show of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, numerous references were made to Norris on his birthday, including all of the cut-out heads on the set, which are usually of current sports stars, being replaced with Chuck Norris heads. Also, several humorous comments in reference to Chuck Norris were made by co-host, Tony Kornheiser, in a similar tone to that featured on the Chuck Norris Facts website.
• Norris served as a guest referee at the World Wrestling Federation's Survivor Series 1994 for the casket match between The Undertaker and the late Yokozuna. A similar match had taken place at Royal Rumble 1994 where ten other wrestlers beat down The Undertaker. Norris was called upon to ensure a similar situation didn't take place. As guest referee, he kicked Jeff Jarrett in the stomach.
• Norris appeared as himself on an episode of Yes, Dear, where he shadows one of the main characters (Jimmy) to understand the life of a security guard.
• He had a cameo role in the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story as a judge at a dodgeball tournament.
• Norris appeared in the internet meme The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.
• Chuck Norris also starred in his own Atari 2600 videogame, Chuck Norris Superkicks
• Chuck Norris also appears in Maddox (real name George Ouzounian)'s book: Alphabet of Manliness under the letter N.
• In the video game magazine Nintendo Power, Volume 203's Pulse section featured many references to Chuck Norris. He has since become a regular reference, along with Mr. T.
• Chuck Norris was briefly the top contender in a poll for naming a new bridge, Northern M0 Danube bridge, in Budapest, Hungary.
• Norris now has a regular column on WorldNetDaily, sharing his 'musings about faith, family, freedom, country, loyalty – maybe even kickboxing.'
• Near the end of the film Epic Movie, one of the characters says "Chuck Norris Rules!"

Filmography

References

• The Secret Power Within: Zen Solutions to Real Problems, Zen Buddhism and martial arts. Little, Brown and Company (1996). ISBN 0-316-58350-2.
• Against All Odds: My Story, an autobiography. Broadman & Holman Publishers (2004). ISBN 0-8054-3161-6.
• The Justice Riders, Wild West novels. Broadman & Holman Publishers (2006). ISBN 0-8054-4032-1.

Notes

1. "Chuck Norris — Strong, Silent, Popular", The New York Times, September 1, 1985
2. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087538/trivia
3. "WorldNetDaily: On Chuck Norris 'mania' sweeping the net". 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
4. "Newsmeat: Chuck Norris' Federal Campaign Contribution Report". 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
5. "WorldNetDaily: On Chuck Norris 'mania' sweeping the net". 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
6. "WorldNetDaily: America's Code of Silence". 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
8. http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=16294]

External links

• Official web site
• Chuck Norris at IMDb
• Template:Nndb name

• Official Chun Kuk Do Website
• Chuck Norris at WorldNetDaily

• American film actors
• American television actors
• American taekwondo practitioners
• American karateka
• Hollywood Walk of Fame
• Yes, Dear cast
• United States Air Force airmen
• Cherokee people
• Irish-American actors
• Native American actors
• People from Oklahoma
• People from Tarzana, California
• American Christians
• Living people
• 1940 births
• Oklahoma actors
• Walker Texas Ranger cast members