BIOGRAPHY

Born on March 10th, 1940 in Ryan, Oklahoma, USA, and was the eldest of three children. He helped his mother raise his two younger brothers in Torrance, California, where his family moved when we was twelve-years-old. Norris then joined the Air Force after graduating from high school where, during a stint in Korea, he began to study the Asian martial art of Tang Soo Do. After returning home, Norris worked for Northrop Aviation and moonlighted as a karate instructor. Two years later, he was teaching full-time and running a number of martial-arts schools. His students included Steve McQueen, Priscilla Presley, and the Osmonds.      In 1968, Norris became the Professional World Middleweight Karate Champion. He held the title undefeated until he retired in 1974. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwan Do, both Korean fighting arts, and knows all forms of the martial arts. In 1969, he earned the Triple Crown for the highest number of tournament wins, and was named Fighter of the Year by Black Belt magazine. By the time he was 34, Norris had established 32 karate schools and had been a champion for six years. In 1996, he became the first Westerner to be awarded an eighth-degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do. Norris, who was urged to get into acting by his friend Steve McQueen, skillfully incorporates his martial-arts knowledge into his series of feature film projects, stressing action and technique over violence.      He made his film debut in The Wrecking Crew (1968) and his TV bow on a 1970 episode of Room 222. Thanks to the celebrity clientele of his Los Angeles karate school, Norris was able to make the right contracts which enabled him to embark on a starring career in films.      Building a box-office following with such fast-paced (and rapidly filmed) actioners as A Force of One (1979) and Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), Norris reached his professional apex during the mid-1980s, portraying Colonel James Braddock in the three popular Missing in Action films appearing in popular box office hits like The Delta Force (1986). During the late 1980's, Norris' stardom went into eclipse, thanks in part to the heavy competition of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal; though he still occasionally appears in films, most of his later efforts don't back their cost until they hit the video shelves. Numerous attempts at a career revival via sequels (Delta Force 2) and family-oriented movies (Sidekicks, Forest Warrior) were not successful at all.      In 1986, Chuck Norris lent his name and his voice to a brief TV cartoon series, Chuck Norris' Karate Kommandos, in which, after his cartoon counterpart decimates every bad guy within 50 miles, the real Norris cautions his young audience that "violence is my last option." In 1993, he made his successful TV debut with a telefilm that launched the series "Walker, Texas Ranger" (1993 -- 2001). (Portions of this biography was taken from Yahoo! Movies and IMDb. Click here and here to view them).

FILMOGRAPHY

BIRDIE & BOGEY (2004) DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY (2004) BELLS OF INNOCENCE (2003) THE PRESIDENT'S MAN: A LINE IN THE SAND (2002) THE PRESIDENT'S MAN (2000) LOGAN'S WAR: BOUND BY HONOR (1998) FOREST WARRIOR (1996) TOP DOG (1995) SIDEKICKS (1993) HELLBOUND (1993) THE HITMAN (1991) DELTA FORCE 2 (1990) HERO AND THE TERROR (1988) BRADDOCK: MISSING IN ACTION III (1988) FIREWALKER (1986) THE DELTA FORCE (1986) INVASION U.S.A. (1985) CODE OF SILENCE (1985) MISSING IN ACTION 2 - THE BEGINNING (1985) MISSING IN ACTION (1984) LONE WOLF MC QUADE (1983) FORCED VENGEANCE (1982) SILENT RAGE (1982) AN EYE FOR AN EYE (1981) THE OCTAGON (1980) A FORCE OF ONE (1979) GOOD GUYS WEAR BLACK (1978) BREAKER! BREAKER! (1977) SLAUGHTER IN SAN FRANCISCO (1973) ENTER THE DRAGON (1973) REVENGE OF THE DRAGON (1972) THE WRECKING CREW (1969)

TRIVIA

BIRTH NAME: Carlos Ray Norris. HEIGHT: 5' 10" SPOUSE: Gene O Kelley (November 1998 -- Present). Diane Holecheck (1958 -- 1988) (divorced); 2 sons Eric (b. 1965) and Mike (b. 1963). TRADEMARK: Usually plays heroes who are good guys to the bone, and despite having harmful martial arts skills, would always rather find a better solution than fighting. - Campaigned for George Bush in the 1988 US elections. - Brother of Aaron Norris. Son of Ray and Wilma Norris. - Was a student of Bruce Lee. - He was the karate teacher of Steve McQueen. McQueen encouraged him to pursue a career in acting. McQueen is quoted as telling Norris, "If you can't do anything else, there's always acting." - Welcomed twins Dakota Alan and Danilee Kelley with wife Gena. [August 30, 2001] - Brother Wieland was killed in Vietnam in 1970. - His son, Eric, is a professional stock car driver. - Founder of the American Tang Soo Do and of Chun Kuk Do ("Universal Way"). - President and founder of United Fighting Arts Federation (UFAF). - 10th degree black belt in Korean Tang Soo Do. - 8th degree black belt in Korean Tae Kwan Do. - Has a daughter from his first marriaged named Dina. ADDITIONAL FILM / TV CREDITS: Appeared briefly as a Karate Instructor in the 1973 film The Student Teachers.  He was also an executive producer on the TV series 'Son of Thunder" (1999).