Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris's life reads somewhat like a storybook, from his humble beginnings as the child of divorced Irish/Native American parents, to his time in the Air Force, to his years as a martial arts instructor, to his emergence as a top action star in movies and television. Norris seemingly has done it all, and much of it can be traced back to his life with an alcoholic father and time spent studying martial arts.

Born as Carlos Ray Norris on March 10, 1940, in Ryan, Oklahoma, he was the product of two parents, each with an Irish/Native American heritage. His alcoholic father left the family, which included two brothers, and the boys and their mother moved to Kansas, and later to California. Norris has said he didn't like his alcoholic father, yet he always loved him, and pities him because of things he missed out on. Because of his ethnic mix, Norris was teased often at school, and dreamed of someday getting back at those kids.

After finishing high school, Norris married his high school sweetheart, Diane Holechek, and joined the United States Air Force as an Air Policeman. He picked up the name Chuck when he was based in South Korea, and began learning the martial art of Tang Soo Do. This turned into a lifetime interest in martial arts, and he earned black belts not only in Tang Soo Do, but also Tae Kwon Do, Shito ryu Karate, and Jiu-Jitsu. Returning to the United States, he continued his work as an Air Policeman in California, and after his discharge from the Air Force, he worked for Northrop Corporation.

Norris opened up his own chain of martial arts schools, and created a unique martial art formulated from the many martial arts he had studied, and named this Chun Kuk Do, which means “universal way.” He taught Steve McQueen and his son Chad McQueen, Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, Donny Osmond, and Marie Osmond. Norris also formed the United Fighting Arts Federation and KickStart, and organization aimed at keeping kids away from drugs and other peer pressures with the use of martial arts training. In 2000, Norris became the first Westerner to achieve the rank of 8th degree Black Belt Grand Master in Tae Kwon Do.

After several tournament karate titles, in 1969 Norris made his foray into acting with the movie The Wrecking Crew, starring Dean Martin and Sharon Tate, yet Norris was in an uncredited role. It was just a few years later that he was starring opposite Bruce Lee in Return of the Dragon. Many of his earlier movies were martial arts related, with Breaker! Breaker! being his first outside of that genre. He then starred in the film series Missing in Action as a POW camp escapee whose aim was to help others escape. Staying in the action hero roles, Norris starred in Delta Force alongside Lee Marvin. He next starred in Sidekicks, as himself, the hero of a young boy who struggles in life.

It was in 1993 that Norris began starring in television in the title role of Walker, Texas Ranger. This show was extremely popular, and went on to last eight years. In 2005, it reappeared in the form of a TV movie of the week, with more planned for the future. He continued to make films, with Hellbound in 1994, and The Cutter in 2005. Norris is also behind the creation of the animated series Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos.

Norris has three children from his marriage to Holechek, yet they divorced in 1988. A year later, he married Gena O'Kelley, and together they had fraternal twins. He is quite proud of the fact that his adult sons are still affectionate with him, after missing out on that with his own father. Norris has authored two books, an autobiography titled The Secret of Inner Strength and The Secret Power Within: Zen Solutions to Real Problems. When asked how he would liked to be remembered, he responded that he would like to be remembered as a humanitarian.

YUDDY