CHUCK NORRIS ... MARTIAL ARTIST / ACTOR
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris was born in Ryan, Oklahoma, in 1940, to Wilma Scarberry and Ray Dee Norris, a World War II Army soldier. Chuck was the oldest of three brothers.
When Norris was sixteen, his parents divorced, and he later relocated to Prairie Village, Kansas and then to Torrance, California, with his mother and brothers.
Chuck has described his childhood as downbeat. He was nonathletic, shy, and scholastically mediocre. His father, "Red", went on alcohol drinking binges that lasted for months at a time.
Embarrassed by his father's behavior and the family's financial plight, Norris developed a debilitating introversion that lasted for his entire childhood.
Chuck joined the United States Air Force as an Air Policeman (AP) in 1958, and was sent to Osan Air Base, South Korea. It was there that he acquired the nickname "Chuck" and began his training in Tang Soo Do (tangsudo), an interest that led to black belts in that art and the founding of the Chun Kuk Do ("Universal Way") form.
When Norris returned to the United States, he continued to serve as an AP at March Air Force Base in California. He was discharged from the U.S. Air Force in 1962.
Following his military service, Norris applied to become a police officer in Torrance, California. While on the waiting list, he established his first martial arts studio.
In 1962, Chuck began to participate in martial arts competitions. He was defeated in his first two tournaments, dropping decisions to Joe Lewis and Allen Steen. He lost three matches at the International Karate Championships to Tony Tulleners. By 1967, he scored victories over the likes of Vic Moore.
Chuck won the 1967 Tournament of Karate, by defeating seven opponents, until his final fight with Skipper Mullins.
That year, 1967, Norris was declared champion at the S. Henry Cho's All-American Karate Championship at the Madison Square Garden, taking the title from Julio LaSalle and defeating Joe Lewis.
During this time, Chuck also worked for the Northrop Corporation and opened a chain of karate schools, including a storefront school in his hometown of Torrance, California.
Chuck's official website lists celebrity clients at the schools; among them Steve McQueen, Chad McQueen, Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond.
In early 1968, Norris suffered the tenth and final loss of his career, losing an upset decision to Louis Delgado. Later, that year, he avenged his defeat to Delgado and by doing so won the Professional Middleweight Karate champion title, which he then held for six consecutive years.
Norris successfully defended his All-American Karate Championship title, in a round robin tournament, at the Karate Tournament of Champions of North America. Again that year, he won for the second time, The All-American Karate Championship. It was the last time Norris participated and retired undefeated.
Norris met Bruce Lee, who was known for the TV series, The Green Hornet. They developed a lasting training and working relationship.
In 1969, Norris defended his world champion title at the International Karate Championship. He not only retained his title, but won Karate's triple crown for the most tournament wins of the year, including the Fighter of the Year award, by Black Belt magazine.
The same year, Norris made his acting debut in the Dean Martin film, The Wrecking Crew.
In 1972, Chuck dubbed as Bruce Lee's nemesis in Way of the Dragon. The film grossed $5,307,350.50, beating previous records set by Lee's own films, The Big Boss and Fist of Fury.
Way of the Dragon went on to gross an estimated U S $130 million worldwide. The film is credited with launching Norris toward stardom.
In 1974, Steve McQueen observed Chuck's potential and encouraged him to begin acting classes at MGM.
Norris wrote Winning Tournament Karate in 1975. The book covers all phases of executing speedy attacks, conditioning, fighting form drills, and one-step sparring techniques.
Norris's first film-starring role was 1977's Breaker! Breaker!. The low budget film turned out to be very successful.
In 1978, Norris starred in Good Guys Wear Black. No studio wanted to touch it, therefore, his producers four-walled it, rented theaters and pocketed whatever money came in.
Good Guys Wear Black, produced on a $1 million budget, eventually
grossed over $18 million.
In 1987, Chuck published the New York Times Best Seller,The Secret of Inner Strength.
Norris married Dianne Holechek, in 1958. He was 18 years of age and she,
17 years old. In 1962, their first child, Mike, was born.
Following 30 years of marriage, Norris and Holechek divorced in 1989, during the filming of The Delta Force 2.
In 1998, Chuck married former model Gena O'Kelley, 23 years his junior. She had two children from a previous marriage. She delivered twins in 2001.
In 2004, Norris informed Mary Hart, of Entertainment Tonight, that he did not meet his illegitimate daughter, Dina,until she was 26 years old. In 1990, she sent a letter informing him of their relationship, one year after he had divorced with his first wife Dianne Holechek.
In 1990, Norris established the United Fighting Arts Federation and Kickstart Kids. As a significant part of his philanthropic contributions, the organization was formed to develop self-esteem and focus in at-risk children as a tactic to keep them away from drug-related pressure by training them in martial arts.
Norris is noted for his contributions towards organizations such as Funds for Kids, Veteran's Administration National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, the United Way, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the form of donations as well as fund-raising activities. His time with the U.S. Veterans Administration, as a guest-speaker, was inspired by his experience serving the United States Air Force in Korea. His objective has been to popularize the issues that concern hospitalized war veterans such as pensions and health care.
Due to his significant contributions, and continued support, Norris
received the Veteran of the Year award in 2001 at the American Veteran Awards.
In India, Norris supports the Vijay Amritraj Foundation, which aims at bringing hope, help and healing to the defenseless and innocent victims of disease, tragedy and circumstance. Through his donations, he has helped the foundation support ediatric HIV/AIDS homes in Delhi, a blind school in Karnataka, and a mission that cares for HIV/AIDS infected adults, as well as mentally ill patients in Cochin.
In 2000, Chuck starred in the film The Cutter, where he plays a detective on a rescue mission. That year, he also published the novel The Justice Riders, co-written with Ken Abraham, Aaron Norris, and Tim Grayem.
In 2007, Gotham Books, the adult division of Penguin USA, released a book penned by Ian Spector entitled The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 facts about the World's Greatest Human. Norris subsequently filed suit against Penguin USA claiming "trademark infringement, unjust enrichment and privacy rights".
Norris dropped the lawsuit in 2008. The book is a New York Times Best Seller. Since then, Spector has published four more books based on Chuck Norris facts.
Chuck published the political non-fiction book, Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America, which reached number 14 on The New York Times best seller list in 2008.
In 2008, Gameloft produced the video game Chuck Norris: Bring On the Pain for mobile devices, based on the popularity Norris had developed on the internet with the Chuck Norris facts.
The next year, Tyndale House Publishers issued The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book: 101 of Chuck's Favorite Facts and Stories, which was co-written and officially endorsed by Norris.
Since 2010, Norris has been a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate writing on both personal health issues and broader issues of health care in America.
Next, Norris played a mercenary in The Expendables 2. The 2012 film was a success and grossed over $310 million worldwide.
In 2015, Norris and his wife Gena founded CForce Bottling Co. after an aquifer was discovered on his ranch located in Navasota, Texas.
Chuck starred in the 2016 commercial for the beer Hoegaarden. He also appeared in the advertisement for United Healthcare.
In 2017, Flaregames produced Non Stop Chuck Norris, an isometric action-RPG game for mobile device and is the second game to be based on his popularity developed by the Chuck Norris facts.
Norris became Fiat's ambassador, a "tough face" for its 2018 commercial vehicles. Fiat says Norris embodies four pillars of its business: determination, reliability, dynamism, and competence.
In 2018, Norris also appeared in an ad for Hesburger, a Finnish hamburger chain. That year, he also did a commercial for Cerveza Poker
third commercial that year was for Toyota.
In early 2020, Norris starred in a QuikTrip commercial for their Snackle line of food. In it Norris descends in parachute where he shoots hot-dogs out of a cannon at a crowd of people. That year, he appeared in the series finale of Hawaii Five-0.
In 2021, Norris was obtainable as a tank-commander in World of Tanks during the Holiday Ops event. He gave players extra missions and featured a unique voice-over.
