A difficult childhood sent Chuck Norris in search of discipline in his adulthood, which he found in martial arts. His success as a competitive fighter and trainer subsequently led to an equally successful acting career that saw him starred in a string of popular low-budget, action-oriented features in the 1970s and 1980s. He found his greatest success on the small screen, however, as the star of “Walker, Texas Ranger” (CBS, 1993-2001), which drew sizable ratings throughout its long network run. His tough guy image and stoic performances – once the object of derision by mainstream critics – eventually earned a string of tributes and spoofs on television and the Internet, which he weathered with good humor.
Born on March 10, 1940, Norris was one of three sons born to mechanic and truck driver, Ray Norris, and mother Wilma Scarberry. In interviews, Norris described his childhood as an unhappy one – his father was an alcoholic and his parents split when he was a teenager, forcing him to relocate with his mother and siblings to Kansas, then later to Torrance, CA. His experiences at North Torrance High School proved to be equally unpleasant for Norris. Mocked for his mixed heritage – his father was Cherokee – and painful shyness, he pined for a semblance of strength and focus in his life. He found it just a few years later after joining the military.
After graduating high school in 1958, Norris took bold strides to gain control of his future. He married Diane Holecheck that same year, then joined the United States Air Force, which shipped him to an air base in South Korea to serve as an Air Policemen. While there, he developed a fascination for martial arts and began training extensively in Tang Soo Do, a Korean style of self defense, and eventually worked his way up to black belt. In 1962, he was sent back to the United States and honorably discharged from the military in August that same year. Norris then went to work for the Northrop Corporation while training for and competing in numerous martial arts tournaments.
His tournament record began with a two year string of defeats starting in 1964. But by 1967, he had claimed the National Winter Karate Championship and the All-Star Championship, then was declared Middleweight Karate Champion in 1968. The following year, he swept the tournaments and was declared “Fighter of the Year” by the popular Black Belt magazine. Norris soon parlayed his wins into a string of martial arts schools throughout Southern California, where he taught his own martial arts style, Chun Kuk Do, or “Universal Way.” Steve McQueen’s son Chad was among his students and the actor was instrumental in encouraging Norris to pursue a career in movies. He made his first on-screen appearances in cameos for “The Green Berets” (1968) and the Dean Martin spy spoof “The Wrecking Crew” (1969).
The 1970s marked a period of exceptional change in Norris’ life. He suffered a tremendous tragedy in the first year of the decade when his brother, Weiland, was killed while serving in Vietnam. Norris rebounded from the loss and finished his professional tournament career on a high note with a win in 1970 and a draw in 1972 before announcing his official retirement in 1974. Norris also made the acquaintance of fellow martial arts champ, Bruce Lee, who was enjoying massive popularity in Asia and America with his action films. Lee tapped Norris to play the villain in his martial arts feature “Way of the Dragon” (1972) Their elaborate fight – which took place in the Coliseum in Rome – was the highlight of the picture and an immediate fan favorite. At the behest of McQueen, Norris began taking acting classes at MGM Studios to expand his range, which resulted in substantial roles in low-budget features. But the movies were dreadful – “The Student Teachers” (1973) was a sexploitation thriller from Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, while “Slaughter in San Francisco” (1974) cast Norris as a karate killer in an American-Hong Kong co-production. Despite the dreadful aesthetics, both proved to be moneymakers on the drive-in and grindhouse circuits.
Norris eventually worked his way up to his first starring role in “Breaker! Breaker!” (1977), which combined his martial arts skills with then then-popular CB radio craze for a simple and action-driven story about a trucker (Norris) who saves his brother from a corrupt sheriff. Critics lambasted the film and Norris for his wooden performance, but the picture performed well at the box office, launching his career as an action hero in earnest. His next film, “Good Guys Wear Black” (1978), was a more impressive showcase for his martial arts skills, featuring both his trademark roundhouse kick and a flying kick through the windshield of a moving car. He slowly worked his way through the independent feature world, expanding his profile with each subsequent feature in an attempt to make himself more palatable for mainstream audiences. Critics were brutal to Norris throughout this period, citing his stoic screen presence. But action aficionados ate up his movies.
Norris made his first feature for a major Hollywood studio with “Silent Rage” (1982). A tawdry mix of his martial arts action and slasher films, “Silent Rage” pitted his small town sheriff against a psychopathic killer genetically engineered by a mad scientist (Ron Silver). Its modest box office returns sent Norris packing to MGM for the more straight-ahead action film “Forced Vengeance” (1982). His choice of director was the workman-like James C. Fargo, who had helmed the Clint Eastwood hits “The Enforcer” (1976) and “Every Which Way But Loose” (1978). Norris was hoping that the association would assist in his transition to Eastwood’s level of action star, but the picture proved to be unsuccessful. His career resumed its winning streak with “Lone Wolf McQuade” (1983), a cartoonish action-adventure co-starring former “Kung Fu” (ABC, 1972-1975) hero David Carradine and featuring a script with uncredited contributions by John Milius. The film’s success led to a long relationship with independent studio Cannon Films, which resulted in the biggest hits of Norris’ career and his transition from B-movie star to Hollywood leading man.
First was “Missing in Action” (1984), a jingoistic but action-packed military adventure with Norris as a former POW who returns to Vietnam to rescue former comrades still held hostage by communist forces. A massive hit for the studio and the actor, the film was immediately followed by a prequel, “Missing in Action 2: The Beginning” (1985) which took place during Norris’ character’s internment in Vietnam. The film was actually set for release prior to “Missing in Action,” but Cannon relented on the period piece in favor of the modern-day adventure. It was followed by a less successful third film, “Braddock: Missing in Action III” (1988), which marked the directorial debut of brother Aaron Norris, who had served as a stuntman on many of his brother’s pictures, and would subsequently direct most of his features and television efforts.
“Code of Silence” (1985) was the first film that earned Norris near-universal positive reviews. A more low-key effort than his other Cannon efforts, the film gave Norris the chance to play a real character – a hard-working Chicago cop – instead of an indestructible fighting machine and benefited from Andrew Davis’ deft direction and some impressive Windy City locations. Unfortunately, the picture performed only moderately well at the box office, forcing Norris back to comic book adventures like “Invasion U.S.A.” (1985), in which he single-handedly fended off the communist armies of Russia and Cuba in their attempt to overthrow the American government. The movie was a substantial hit, as was its follow-up, “The Delta Force” (1986), which teamed Norris with Lee Marvin (in his final film role) as American commandos who are dispatched to rescue a planeload of American and Israeli passengers from Palestinian terrorists.
By the mid-1980s, Norris was firmly entrenched as one of Hollywood’s leading action her s, enjoying the exposure and access that status granted him. In 1988, he published his autobiography, The Secret of Inner Strength, which managed to make the best seller lists. He also launched his own youth programs, including Kick Start, which gave middle school children the inner strength and discipline he so craved at that age through martial arts training. Norris further expanded his connection to younger fans with his own cartoon series, “Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos” (Syndicated, 1986-87), which featured the actor delivering a moral-heavy message at the end of each episode.
But while his public profile increased, his movie career began to falter. “Firewalker” (1986), a “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981)-style adventure with Louis Gossett Jr., stumbled in its attempt to show Norris’ comic side. The third “Missing in Action” movie and “Hero and the Terror” (1988) also failed to connect with his fan base, while “Delta Force 2: The Columbian Connection” (1990) barely earned a theatrical release from MGM, which picked up the flick after acquiring Cannon Films’ library. The studio filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the late 1980s before undergoing protracted death thr s which resulted in its complete dissolution in the early 1990s, leaving Norris without a studio contract. He slogged through subpar efforts for the next few years before striking on the idea of creating his own television series.
Initially envisioned as a continuation of his “Lone Wolf McQuade” character, “Walker, Texas Ranger” was streamlined by the network into a straight-ahead action-adventure series with Norris as a Native American Texas Ranger who dispenses justice with his feet and fists instead of a gun. Despite the prevalence of fight scenes and other intrigue, the show was largely family-friendly and featured numerous uplifting storylines and moral-driven scripts. Critics pounced upon the show over Norris’ B-movie background, his crooning of the title song and the show’s fanciful elements – Walker’s martial arts always trumped any villain, no matter how heavily armed, and spiritual elements, including numerous appearances by helpful ghosts, were prevalent – but audiences seeking traditional television fare clung to it faithfully for eight seasons.
After “Walker, Texas Ranger” left the airwaves in 2001, Norris tried to resume his film career, but with little success. He made a few made-for-television movies, including “The President’s Man” (CBS, 2000), which saw Norris play a university professor by day, secret agent by night, followed by the sequel, “The President’s Man: A Line in the Sand” (CBS, 2002). A cameo as himself on episodes of the sitcom “Yes, Dear” (CBS, 2000-06) was followed by a revival of martial arts ranger Cordell Walker for the television movie, “Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire” (CBS, 2005). In 2006, Norris became the subject of an Internet phenomenon, Chuck Norris Facts, a satirical look at the action star’s tough, alpha-male persona, which included such gems as “Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door,” and “Chuck Norris does not get frostbite. Chuck Norris bites frost.” A life-long republican, Norris entered the 2008 presidential race as an avid campaigner for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who made a surprising, but ultimately failed run for the nomination. —tcm
