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Legendary Martial Artist, Actor, and American Myth Chuck Norris Dead at 86

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  March 20, 2026 10:45 AM

If there was anyone we thought would live forever, it was legendary martial artist and actor Chuck Norris. Unfortunately, he, too, is a mortal, and Norris has passed away at the age of 86.

Here's more:

He died Thursday morning in Hawaii, according to the family, who said, "It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday [Thursday] morning. While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace."

The post reads ... "He lived life with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the people he loved."

Norris was hospitalized yesterday in Hawaii following a "medical emergency."

Carlos Ray Norris was born in Oklahoma in 1940 to Wilma Lee and Ray Norris and was the oldest of three brothers. He was named after Carlos Berry, his father's minister. Norris' parents divorced when he was 16 and he relocated to Prairie Village, Kansas and later to Torrance, California with his mother and siblings. His younger brother, Wieland, died in 1970 in the Vietnam War. 

In 1958, Norris joined the United States Air Force as an Air Policeman (AP) and was assigned to the Osan Air Base in South Korea. It was there that he was given the nickname "Chuck" and began training in the martial art of Tang Soo Do.

He was assigned as an AP at March Air Force Base in California and was discharged in 1962 with the rank of Airman First Class. He applied to be a police officer in Torrance, California and opened up a martial arts studio while on the waiting list to be hired.

Through the 1960s, Norris competed in martial arts competitions and was defeated in his first two tournaments. He won a karate competition in 1967 and in June was declared the champion at S. Henry Cho's All-American Karate Championship at Madison Square Garden. It was during this time he worked for the Northrop Corporation and opened up a chain of karate schools.

Those schools boasted a list of celebrity clients, including Steve and Chad McQueen, Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, and Donny and Marie Osmond.

In 1972, Norris broke into acting as Bruce Lee's nemesis in "Way of the Dragon" (titled "Return of the Dragon" in U.S. distribution). The following year he acted in Jonathan Kaplan's "The Student Teachers."

Steve McQueen encouraged Norris to take acting classes at MGM in 1974, and Norris starred in Lo Wei's "Yellow Faced Tiger."

From 1979 to 1983, Norris became a major action film star, including "A Force of One" (1979), "The Octagon" (1980), "An Eye for an Eye" (1981), "Silent Rage" (1982) and "Lone Wolf McQuade" (1983) and others.

It was that last movie that inspired his hit television show "Walker, Texas Ranger."

From the late 80s through the 2000s, Norris appeared in several films and television shows including "DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story" (2004).

In 2005, Norris founded the World Combat League, a full-contact, team-based martial arts competition.

Norris married Dianne Holecheck in 1958; they were classmates at North High School in Torrance and had two children together, Mike and Eric. They divorced in 1989. In 1998, Norris married Gena O'Kelley and had two children, fraternal twins Dakota and Danilee. Norris also has a daughter, Dina, who was born while he was stationed in California in the 1960s.

Norris was an outspoken Christian, as well as a Republican and conservative. He was also a philanthropist who founded the Kickstart Kids organization and the United Fighting Arts Federation.

At some point, Chuck Norris stopped being just a martial artist and actor and became a full-blown American myth—complete with a catalog of jokes that treated him as indestructible. So when word spread yesterday that he was hospitalized in Hawaii, people didn’t panic—they joked that “the hospital is expected to recover.”

Norris is survived by his wife, his children, and many grandchildren, as well as legions of fans around the world.