Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

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huck Norris frequently donates blood to the Red Cross. Just not his own.

Carlos Ray Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist, action star, and Hollywood actor who is best known for playing Cordell "Cord" Walker on Walker, Texas Ranger, his training with Bruce Lee and for his iconically tough image.

Early life

Norris was born in Ryan, Oklahoma, the son of Wilma Scarberry and Carlos Ray Norris (a mechanic, bus driver, and truck driver). Norris's paternal grandfather (an immigrant) and maternal grandmother were Irish, while his paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather were Cherokee Native Americans. When Norris was sixteen, his parents divorced, and he later relocated to Prairie Village, Kansas and then Torrance, California, with his mother and brothers. Norris describes his childhood as downbeat. He was nonathletic, shy, and scholastically mediocre. Other children taunted him about his mixed ethnicity, and Norris daydreamed about beating up his tormentors. Norris mentioned in his autobiography that his father had a very serious problem with drinking and "wasn't there" a lot for him growing up.

Rise to fame

Norris' career in tournament karate began on a losing note. He was defeated in his first two tournaments. However, by 1967, Norris began to demonstrate his skill and scored victories. In early 1968, Norris suffered the sixth and last loss of his career, losing an upset decision to Louis Delgado. However, on November 24, 1968, he avenged his defeat to Delgado and in the process won the Professional Middleweight Karate champion (non-contact) title, which he held for six consecutive yearsIt was also in 1969 that Norris made his acting debut in the Dean Martin movie The Wrecking Crew.

Walker, Texas Ranger

By the close of the 1980s, Cannon Films had faded from prominence, and Norris' star appeal seemed to go with it. He reprised his Delta Force role for MGM, which had acquired the Cannon library after the latter's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Norris went on to make several more largely ignored films before making a transition to television. In 1993, he began shooting the series Walker, Texas Ranger, which lasted eight years on CBS and continued in heavy syndication on other channels.

On October 17, 2005, CBS premiered the Sunday night "Movie of the Week" Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire. The production was a continuation of the series, and not scripted to be a reunion movie. Norris reprised his role as Cordell "Cord" Walker for the movie. He has stated that future Walker, Texas Ranger "Movie of the Week" projects are expected, however, this was severely impaired by CBS' 2006–2007 season decision to no longer regularly schedule MOWs on Sunday night.