Carlos Ray Norris was born on March 10, 1940, in Ryan, Oklahoma to father Ray, a truck driver, and mother Wilma. Two younger brothers, Weiland and Aaron completed the family. (Weiland was later killed in the Vietnam War.) Norris’ maternal grandparents were Irish. His paternal grandparents were Cherokee Native Americans. Because of his ethnic combination, Norris was often picked on as a child. It didn’t help that he was backwards and got so-so grades in school. Norris longed for revenge for the childhood taunting. As a boy, he fantasized about being able to stand up to the bullies. Actor John Wayne was his hero. Read this interesting article and find out some more little known facts about actor Chuck Norris!
His Early Years
Norris’ parents got divorced in 1950. He ended up moving with his mother and brothers to Torrance, California when he was twelve. Norris’ father had a severe drinking problem and was rarely around to see his sons. That left Norris to help care for his siblings.
Note: Years later, Chuck Norris’ father died as the result of a car accident.
Air Force Duty
After high school graduation, Norris entered the Air Force and was shipped to Korea. It was there that he started learning martial arts, specifically “Tang Soo Do. A little known fact about actor Chuck Norris is, he got the nickname “Chuck” while in the service.
Back Home
Once his hitch in the Air Force was up, Chuck Norris returned home. At first, he followed his love of martial arts by working part-time as a karate instructor. Soon, Norris opened his own schools, teaching martial arts to celebrities like Priscilla Presley and Steve McQueen. He also began entering martial arts competitions in 1964. Norris had a tough start. He lost the first three
tournaments. But he persevered and went on to become the Professional World Middleweight Karate Champion.A little known fact about actor Chuck Norris is, when he retired in 1974, he still held that title. (Norris’ record ended up being 65 wins and 5 losses.) He also had won several championships including the All-American Championship, the National Tournament of Champions, and the American Tang Soo Championship.
Norris went on to create Chun Kuk Do (“the Universal Way”) and American Tang Soo Do. He founded the National Tang-Soo-Do Congress (NTC) and the United Fighting Arts Federation (UFAF). He holds a tenth degree black belt in Tang Soo Do. Chuck Norris also holds an eighth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He is a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Acting Career
A little known fact about actor Chuck Norris is that his friend Steve McQueen encouraged him to get into acting. He took his advice. But, there were two things that separated Norris from the rest of Hollywood: 1) He used his martial arts talent in every movie he acted in. 2) The characters Norris would play would be peaceful, using violence only as a last resort. He acted in such movies as The Delta Force (1986) and Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990) and Sidekicks (1992).
The five-foot-ten-inch actor and martial arts expert began starring in “Walker, Texas Ranger” in 1993. Norris is also the Executive Producer of the action show as well. A little known fact about actor Chuck Norris is that, at the end of 1998, he started singing the show’s theme song, “Eyes of a Ranger”.
Family Life
Norris married his high school sweetheart, Diane Holechek in 1958. The couple have two sons, Mike and Eric, and a daughter, Dina. Norris and his wife ended up divorcing in 1989. He then married Gena O’ Kelley in 1998. They had twins Dakota Alan and Danilee Kelly born on August 30, 2001. Chuck Norris also has six grandchildren. He and his family live on a Texas ranch.
Personal
Chuck Norris is a loyal Republican and a member of the National Rifle Association. He loves to play golf. A little known fact about actor Chuck Norris is, he is also a “born again Christian”. He and Gena both sit on the board of the National Council of Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.
Norris can be seen on TV infomercials for Total Gym Fitness with his wife and actress Christie Brinkley.
