Friday, March 20, brought the sad news that Chuck Norris, a great American patriot, had died. He was 86 years old. NRA members remember him not only for his incomparable movie and television career but for his dedication to protecting and advancing American freedom, including through collaborations with NRA that included the Trigger the Vote campaign.
Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris was born in Ryan, OK, on March 10, 1940. In 1958, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, for which he served as an Air Policeman at Osan Air Base in South Korea. It was there he embarked on the fateful decision to study the Korean martial art Tang Soo Do. Shy and reserved as a young man, Norris found his calling through the combat sports.
Upon his discharge from the Air Force in 1962, Norris settled in the South Bay area of Southern CA, opened a martial studio, and began competing in tournaments. His competitive career featured bouts with other karate legends, including Joe Lewis, Skipper Mullins, and Ron Marchini. In 1967, he had a breakthrough win at the All-American Karate Championships at Madison Square Garden. He would go on to hold many prestigious titles in his competitive career.
Along the way, he formed a friendship with Bruce Lee, and the two helped each other develop their martial arts and careers. In the meantime, Norris, like Lee, was a teacher of martial arts to numerous Hollywood and entertainment luminaries, including Steve McQueen, Priscella Presley, and even Donny and Marie Osmond.
In 1972, Norris was featured in Lee’s movie Way of the Dragon (distributed in the U.S. under the title Return of the Dragon). His dramatic battle with Lee in the Roman Colosseum remains one of the defining moments in martial arts moviedom and helped propel Norris to stardom in his own acting career. To this day, students and fans of the martial arts debate what would have happened had the two legendary fighters really squared off in earnest.
After a string of martial movies in the 1970s and early 80s, Norris expanded his cinematic presence with the Missing in Action series about the exploits of Col. James Braddock and his attempts to rescue American POWs left behind in Vietnam. The issue was personal for Norris, as his younger brother Wieland was killed in action while serving in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division. The explicitly patriotic tone of the series would become a recurring theme in Norris’ work, including in films such as Delta Force and Invasion U.S.A. Norris proved to be one of America’s most recognizable and bankable movie action stars throughout the Reagan years. He also became a successful author, writing books about martial arts, self-improvement, and, later, his philosophy on politics.
Yet many know Chuck Norris best for his role as the stalwart Texas Ranger Cordell Walker in the CBS television series Walker: Texas Ranger which ran for nine successful seasons between 1993 and 2001.
The show unapologetically and unironically featured Norris as upright, incorruptible, patriotic, and decent. He was as apt to help a young gang member turn his life around as to deliver two-fisted justice to all manner of desperados and evildoers. He was also shown using martial arts to empower the youth of his community, and he was a fast friend and mentor to his younger partner James “Jimmy” Trivette, who in the show joined the Rangers after his career with the Dallas Cowboys was cut short by injury. Like Norris himself, Walker was portrayed as having American Indian ancestry, and this featured prominently in his character arc.
While Norris continued to appear in films after the Walker Series, he also continued his involvement in his Kickstart Kids Foundation. This nonprofit organization seeks to promote healthy lifestyles and traditional virtues – such as discipline, responsibility, courage, honesty, and loyalty – through instruction in the martial arts for those navigating the challenges of adolescence.
Beginning in 2005, Chuck Norris was introduced to a new generation through a popular Internet meme called Chuck Norris facts. These lighthearted claims about Chuck Norris highlight his legendary toughness, masculinity, and strength. Norris himself took it all in stride, acknowledging the humor and occasionally even adopting the trope for his own messaging efforts. He made it known, however, that he credited his success and achievements to reliance on traditional values, particularly his Christian faith.
Chuck Norris’ persona and values made him a natural fit with the NRA. In 2010, he addressed the members of the NRA at the Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC, highlighting how the Constitution was under attack and how every gun owner should also be a voter. He would continue to serve as a fearless champion of the Second Amendment and other American values through his frequent public appearances and nationally syndicated columns. Most of all, he was a strong proponent of peaceful reform through political action, often highlighting the importance of voting and headlining the NRA Freedom Action Foundation’s Trigger the Vote campaign beginning in 2014.
Chuck Norris not only portrayed, but embodied, the man most can only aspire to be. His legacy lives on and will continue to inspire the best of the American spirit. NRA-ILA extends our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Gena, and to the rest of his family and loved ones.
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