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Only one of three people from the United States to achieve eighth-degree black belt status in taekwondo.
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His personal favorite is Before the Boogie Man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
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He had a 10th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do and an 8th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, the Korean or traditional styles of each.
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Often trained with Bruce Lee.
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The website Chuck Norris Facts has been created as a parody of his career, containing hundreds of absurdly creative statements about his intellect, strength, virility and image, such as Chuck Norris once shot down a German fighter plane by pointing at it and yelling Bang! Chuck is not offended by the website and has said he feels honored and laughs when he reads the facts. He even used one fact in The Expendables 2 2012: Chuck Norris was once bitten by a cobra. After five days of agonizing pain, the cobra finally died.
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Reader’s Digest once noted a story of how Norris, true to his characters, prefers to find a non-violent way to solve a situation. Norris was in a bar once when a customer walked in and said to him, You’re in my seat. Move. Norris complied, and as the customer sat down, he recognized Norris. He then said, Chuck, you could’ve kicked my butt if you wanted to. Instead of moving, why didn’t you just attack me? Norris’ response: What would that have accomplished? Norris later said the experience resulted in him getting a new admirer and a new friend.
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He was a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under the Machado Brothers.
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Chuck and his brother Aaron Norris were made honorary Texas Rangers by Gov. Rick Perry on December 2, 2010 in Dallas, Texas.
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He was the karate teacher of father-son actors Steve McQueen and Chad McQueen. The elder McQueen encouraged Norris to pursue a career in movies and television; allegedly, he told Chuck: If you can’t do anything else, there’s always acting.
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His voice and drama coach was Jonathan Harris, of Lost in Space 1965 fame. Harris taught him how to speak by putting his fingers in Norris’s mouth and stretching the mouth wide open. Chuck names Jonathan as the only man in the world who could get away with doing that to him, which Harris was always proud of.
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He was made an honorary Marine in March 2007.
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Visited US forces fighting in Iraq.
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Had a daughter, Dianna DeCioli Dina, out of wedlock in 1964. He saw her for the first time in 1991, when she was 26. Her daughter is married and has three children. Chuck wrote about her in his book Against All Odds: My Story.
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He founded two of his own martial arts: Chun Kuk Do the Universal Way and American Tang Soo Do.
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On an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger 1993, his co-star Clarence Gilyard Jr.’s character read the book The Secret Power Within, which Norris wrote himself.
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Both Michael Landon and Dan Blocker studied karate under him, as well as Blocker’s children.
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His father Ray was killed in a car accident shortly after cancer surgery. Part of Ray’s throat and chin were removed; a tube was inserted in his trachea to help him breathe. Ray was thrown out of his car in the wreck, and the tube came out. Ray suffocated on the ground because no one at the accident site was aware of the tube.
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A newly-built bridge spanning from Slovakia into neighboring Austria is to be named after Chuck Norris.
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Was a guest star on The Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular 2003 honoring Bob Barker’s 80th birthday. Other celebrity guests included Cรฉline Dion, Ray Romano, Charlie Sheen and Larry King.
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As a child, his idol and favorite actor was John Wayne. Their on-screen personas bear much in common. Both achieved their highest level of fame playing no-nonsense good guys who were incorruptible and did whatever it took to make sure that justice was served and that the bad guys got what they deserved.
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Was to appear in Delta Force 3: The Killing Game 1991, but he withdrew following the helicopter crash during the making of Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection 1990.
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It is commonly believed that he was offered the role of Sensei Jon Kreese in the original The Karate Kid 1984. He reportedly turned it down, claiming he did not want his name connected with such a brutal and vicious character. This is an urban legend; Norris himself has disputed it. While appearing on the February 9, 2006 episode of the radio show hosted by Adam Carolla, Norris stated that he was never offered the role at all.
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6-time World Karate Champion; among those he faced for this title are fellow actors Joe Lewis and Steve Sanders.
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He and his wife both serve on the board of the National Council of Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.
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Although a vocal conservative Republican and born-again Christian, Norris has ruled out running for elected office himself.
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He was the Founder of the National Tang-Soo-Do Congress NTC and the United Fighting Arts Federation UFAF. Chuck is also President of the latter.
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There is a restaurant in Reykjavik, Iceland, named in honor of the actor, The Chuck Norris Grill.
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Won in 2006 the Jewish Humanitarian Man of the Year Award.
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Participated on the TV show The Contender 2005 with fellow action superstar Sylvester Stallone.
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Has a karate studio in Norfolk, Virginia.
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While serving in Japan with the US Air Force as an MP, Norris sought out a judo studio. He settled for karate classes because judo would have conflicted with his Air Force duty schedule. This was one of those career-determining factors according to Norris’s autobiography The Secret of Inner Strength.
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Portrayed by Ray Park in The Legend of Bruce Lee 2008 TV series.
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In 2005 he founded the World Combat League, a full-contact, team-based martial arts competition.
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He had 10th degree black belt in Chun Kuk Do, a 9th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, an 8th degree black belt in Taekwondo, a 5th degree black belt in Karate, a 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from the Machado family, and a black belt in Judo.
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He was not athletic as a child and describes himself as having been withdrawn and shy.
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Father of Mike Norris and Eric Norris, the latter of whom is a professional stock car driver. Their mother is Diane Holechek. Chuck also has a daughter named Dianna DeCioli Dina. Dina was born in 1964 due to an extramarital affair when he was stationed in California in the US Air Force. More recently, on August 30, 2001, Chuck and Gena O’Kelly his second wife welcomed twins Dakota Alan Norris boy and Danilee Kelly Norris girl.
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12/12/01: Received Veteran of the Year 2001 honor at the 6th Annual American Veteran Awards.
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He has studied Shotokan Karate, Goju-ryu Karate, Shito-ryu Karate, American Kenpo, Enshin kaikan Karate, Kyokushin Karate, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kali, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do and Hapkido and has integrated all of them into his own fighting style, called the Chuck Norris System or Chuk Kun Do.
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Despite their vast political differences, he is friends with actress and comedienne Whoopi Goldberg. He was so impressed with a performance of hers that he tried, unsuccessfully, to get her a role in his film Invasion U.S.A. 1985.
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He began training in martial arts while stationed in South Korea during his service in the US Air Force.
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Eldest of three sons born to Ray and Wilma Norris. Chuck’s brothers are Wieland Clyde Norris born July 12, 1943; KIA in Vietnam on June 3, 1970 and Aaron Norris. Aaron is the youngest of the three. Wieland was attached to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam when he was killed from small arms fire just outside of Fire Support Base Ripcord. He was awarded the Silver Star posthumously and is buried at the Los Angeles National Cemetery.
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In 1992, he presented an acting seminar in Texas; his students included a then-12-year-old Jessica Simpson. Norris urged Jessica to channel your inner Denzel Washington; he also put masking tape on her eyebrows, claiming they moved too much when she was performing. Despite a popular misconception, neither Jessica nor her music were ever featured on Norris’s hit TV series Walker, Texas Ranger 1993.
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Release of his book Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America.
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Norris had English, with smaller amounts of Scottish, Welsh, and German, ancestry. He also had Irish and Cherokee ancestry.
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He enjoyed playing golf and participates in many celebrity golfing events.
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Once went under Phil McGraw’s training, and is his greatest student.
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He was a close friend of President George W. Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush.
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Was the initial choice for the character of Red Forman on the Fox sitcom That ’70s Show 1998, but was still filming Walker, Texas Ranger 1993, so he had to turn it down.
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Attended Hamilton Junior High School in Houston, Texas in the early 1950s before moving to Torrance, California.
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One of only four people to appear in the Walker, Texas Ranger pilot One Riot, One Ranger and the finale The Final Show/Down. The four, in credits order, were: Chuck Norris Walker, Clarence Gilyard Jr. Trivette, Sheree J. Wilson Alex Cahill, later Alex Cahill-Walker, and Marshall R. Teague Orson Wade in the pilot, and Emile Lavocat/Mills Moon Lavocat in the two-hour, multiple-timeline finale.