Chuck Norris, the martial arts superstar who went on to become one of the most recognizable stars in Hollywood and later enjoyed a second career as a surprise online sensation, has died at the age of 86.
He died on Thursday morning in Hawaii after being admitted to the hospital with a “sudden medical event.”
His family announced the news of his death on social media on Friday with a statement that requested privacy in the circumstances of his death but confirmed that he had been with his family and was at peace.
Chuck Norris’s death was a shock to those around him. A source who had talked to Norris on Wednesday reported that he had been working out and was in good spirits.
Only ten days ago, Norris had starred in a social media video in which he was sparring with a boxing trainer on his 86th birthday.
Norris was born in 1940 in Ryan, Oklahoma and had a modest upbringing before joining the US Air Force at the age of 18.
He adopted the moniker “Chuck” and started practicing Tang Soo Do, a Korean martial art, while stationed at Osan Air Base in South Korea. His entire life would be shaped by that introduction to combat sports.
Norris developed his own martial art, Chun Kuk Do and became a six time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate champion. He also held black belts in several other disciplines.
His Hollywood career really took off after his friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee cast him as a key villain in the 1972 film The Way of the Dragon.
Throughout the 1980s, films such as Missing in Action, The Delta Force and Lone Wolf McQuade made him a staple of action films. When his film career began to slow, Walker, Texas Ranger kept him in front of the camera from 1993 until 2001.
In 2005, Norris became the star of a wildly popular internet meme called “Chuck Norris Facts” which were a series of ridiculous claims and stories about the star’s toughness.
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Norris even published a book called The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book, which included a combination of his favorite made up stories and true stories from his life.
Tributes came pouring in from throughout Hollywood, including from Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren and Jeremy Renner.
For a generation of people raised on VHS action films and another raised on internet memes, Chuck Norris occupied a strange and rare position.
He was the toughest man in action films and the punchline of a joke he was always in on.
