It was only a few days ago that Chuck Norris passed away in Kauaʻi, Hawaii. The legendary martial artist, action movie star, television actor, and author was 86 years ago. He was born March 10, 1940 in the tiny town of Ryan, Oklahoma. His eventual love for martial arts opened the door to an acting career which kicked off in the 1970s before flourishing in the 1980s.

Norris’ success in martial arts led to him meeting and befriending Bruce Lee. It was Lee who gave Norris his first significant role as a main antagonist in 1972’s “The Way of the Dragon”. Norris would work in several other movies during the decade as an actor and fight choreographer. But it was during the 1980s that his career as an action star took off with films like “The Octagon”, “Lone Wolf McQuade”, the “Missing in Action” trilogy, “Code of Silence”, “Invasion U.S.A.”, and (my personal favorite) “The Delta Force”.

Norris would continue making movies into the 1990s. But his biggest success of the decade came with the hit television show “Walker, Texas Ranger”. The show ran for nine seasons and a total of 196 episodes. Since then, Norris has appeared in several television and movie projects while participating is numerous charities aimed at children, military veterans, AIDS/HIV care, and more. RIP Mr. Norris.