Chuck Norris, the U.S. Air Force veteran, actor, martial arts master, and living legend, celebrated his 80th birthday on March 10, 2020. The name Chuck Norris has garnered much clout over the years because of his legendary fighting skills, and has become synonymous with “toughness,” which has inspired entire books dedicated to “Chuck Norrisims” explaining how tough he is and thousands of internet memes over the years.
Carlos Ray Norris was born in 1940 in Ryan, Oklahoma. While not particularly athletic as a kid, he joined the Air Force at age 18. It was there where he got his nickname, Chuck, and began studying martial arts while stationed in South Korea. In 1967, five years after leaving the force, he went on to win his first international karate championship.
His first big acting breakout came when he appeared in 1976’s “Return of the Dragon,” where he starred alongside Bruce Lee. By the 80s, Norris was a well-known action star, with starring roles in TV shows and films such as “An Eye for an Eye,” “Delta Force,” and long-running “Walker, Texas Ranger,” which transformed Norris into a household name.
A man of many talents, Norris is also a talented author who wrote several books such as “The Justice Riders” (2006) and “A Threat to Justice” (2007).
In 2017, Norris received the “Honorary Texan” award from the state in recognition of his work.
His last screen appearance was in the 2012 action film “The Expendables,” alongside other action stars such as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Chuck Norris currently lives on his ranch in Texas with his second wife, former model Gena O'Kelley. He has five children, including two sons with his ex-wife, Dianne Kay.
In the 2000s, Norris’s persona had transformed into a cultural phenomenon with humorous “Chuck Norris facts,” also known as “Chuck Norrisisms,” which have been compiled into numerous books and thousands of internet memes, each explaining the extent of his “toughness,” masculinity, and overall superiority.
- Chuck Norris makes onions cry.
- Giraffes were created when Chuck Norris uppercutted a horse.
- When Chuck Norris was in middle school, his English teacher assigned an essay: “What is courage?” He received an A+ for turning in a blank page with only his name at the top.
- Chuck Norris’s computer has no “backspace” button; Chuck Norris doesn’t make mistakes.
- When Chuck Norris enters a room, he doesn’t turn the lights on. He turns the dark off.
- If it looks like chicken, tastes like chicken, and feels like chicken, but Chuck Norris says its beef, then it’s beef.
- Chuck Norris doesn’t dial the wrong number. You picked up the wrong phone.
- Chuck Norris has a diary. It’s called the Guinness Book of World Records.
- Chuck Norris has inside jokes with complete strangers.
- The only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistake.
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