When was chuck norris born

Norris, an American icon known for starring roles in popular action films and television, first studied martial arts in Korea in the s while serving in the U. Air Force, according to Biography. When he returned home, he opened a karate studio and later tried his hand at acting — appearing with Bruce Lee in the film "Way of the Dragon. His Hollywood career continued through the s, and he even played the title character in the "Walker" TV series from until In , he co-starred in "The Expendables 2.

Outside of Hollywood, Norris has become an occasional internet meme — finding himself at the center of popular jokes attributing superhuman strength and impossible feats to him. He was serving in the U. Air Force at the time. When he returned home, Norris soon opened his karate studio. He switched to movies in the s, appearing with Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon. Norris became a popular action-film star in the s and starred in his own television series in the s.

The oldest of three boys, Chuck Norris once described himself as "the shy kid who never excelled at anything in school. At the age of 10, Norris moved with his mother and brothers to California. There, he attended North Torrance High School. Norris married his high school sweetheart, Dianne Holechek, in -- the same year he joined the U. Air Force. He left the service in , and started working as a karate instructor. In the s, Norris opened more than 30 karate studios.

McQueen encouraged his teacher to try acting. In addition to being an instructor, Norris also was a fierce competitor. He participated in numerous martial arts tournaments, and he won many of the events he competed in. Norris earned his first World Middleweight Karate Championship title in Proving to be one of the greatest fighters in martial arts, he defended this title five more times.

Embarrassed by his father's behavior and the family's financial plight, Norris developed a debilitating introversion that lasted for his entire childhood. It was there that Norris 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. Norris was discharged in August He worked for the Northrop Corporation and opened a chain of Karate schools including a storefront school in his then-hometown of Torrance on Hawthorne Boulevard.

Norris on the set of the film The Delta Force Norris was defeated in his first two tournaments, dropping decisions to Joe Lewis and Allen Steen and three matches at the International Karate Championships to Tony Tulleners. Norris would be a two time winner at S. Henry Cho 's All American Championship. On November 24, , he avenged his defeat to Delgado and by doing so won the Professional Middleweight Karate champion title, which he held for six consecutive years.

In June , his younger brother Wieland, a private in the st Airborne Division , was killed in Vietnam while on patrol in the defense of Firebase Ripcord. In Asia, Norris is still known primarily for this role. Norris' first starring role was 's Breaker! The film, however, was criticized heavily as being a preemptive cash-in on the Rambo film series. Many of the aforementioned films were produced by Norris' brother Aaron Norris, as were several episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger. In , he was involved in the production of the Ruby-Spears cartoon Karate Kommandos.

In October he revealed that he would be shooting a new film, The Finisher , in March By the end of the s, Cannon Films had faded from prominence, and Norris' star appeal seemed to go with it. Norris went on to make several more films before making a transition to television.

Norris receiving the Veteran of the Year award by the U. Air Force in The production was a continuation of the series, and not scripted to be a reunion movie. Norris reprised his role as Cordell Walker for the movie.

He has stated that future Walker, Texas Ranger Movie of the Week projects are expected; however, this was severely impaired by CBS's — season decision to no longer regularly schedule Movies of the Week on Sunday night.

Norris has appeared with Christie Brinkley in a long-running series of cable TV infomercials promoting Total Gym home fitness equipment. In , Norris appeared in advertisements for communications company T-Mobile in the Czech Republic.

Norris has also appeared in a commercial for Mountain Dew. Norris created the martial art Chun Kuk Do, which is based primarily on Tang Soo Do and includes elements from every combat style he knows. Like many other martial arts, Chun Kuk Do includes a code of honor and rules to live by.

These rules are from Norris' personal code. They are: [25]. Norris married Dianne Holechek in In their first child, Mike , was born. His daughter Dina was born in out of an extramarital affair. After 30 years of marriage, Norris and Holechek divorced in O'Kelley had two children from a previous marriage. He did not meet her until she was 26, although she learned that he was her father when she was She sent a letter informing him of their relationship.

After meeting her, Norris said he knew she was his daughter upon seeing her. As a result of his "tough guy" image, an Internet phenomenon began in known as Chuck Norris facts, ascribing various implausible or even impossible feats to Norris. Norris appeared in a number of action films, such as Way of the Dragon in which he starred alongside Bruce Lee and was The Cannon Group's leading star in the s.

He next played the starring role in the television series Walker, Texas Ranger from to Norris is a devout Christian and politically conservative.

He has written several books on Christianity and donated to a number of Republican candidates and causes. In and , he campaigned for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who was running for the Republican nomination for President in