For those who don't know these are a few highlights
Norris finished
high school and soon married his girlfriend, Kim Durnthaler. He then joined the
United States Air Force as an
Air Policeman in 1958 and was sent to
Osan Air Base,
South Korea. It was in South Korea that
Norris acquired the nickname
Chuck and began his training in
Tang Soo Do (tangsudo), an interest that would lead to
black belts in that art and the founding of the
Chun Kuk Do ("Universal Way") form. He also created the education associations
United Fighting Arts Federation and "
KickStart" (formerly "Kick Drugs Out of America"), a
middle school and high school–based program intended to give at-risk children a focus point in life through the martial arts. When he returned to the United States of America, he continued to act as an AP at
March Air Force Base California.
Norris was discharged in August of 1962. He worked for the
Northrop Corporation and opened a chain of karate schools, which
Chad McQueen,
Steve McQueen's son, attended.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-ADwCN_1>
[6]</SUP>
Rise to fame
Norris' career in tournament karate began on a losing note. He was defeated in his first two tournaments, dropping decisions to
Joe Lewis and
Allan Steen and three matches at the International Karate Championships to
Tony Tulleners. However, by 1967,
Norris began to demonstrate his skill and scored victories over the likes of Joe Lewis,
Skipper Mullins,
Arnold Urquidez,
Victor Moore,
Ron Marchini, and
Steve Sanders. In early 1968,
Norris suffered the fifth 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 years.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-4>
[7]</SUP> In 1969, he won Karate's triple crown for the most tournament wins of the year, and the
fighter of the year award by
Black Belt Magazine. It was also in 1969 that
Norris made his acting debut in the
Dean Martin movie
The Wrecking Crew.
In 1970, his younger brother
Weiland was killed in
Vietnam.
Norris later dedicated his
Missing in Action films to his brother's memory. At a martial arts demonstration in
Long Beach,
Norris met the soon-to-be famous
martial artist Bruce Lee whom he respects and considers as superior. In 1972, he acted as Bruce Lee's nemesis in the movie
Way of the Dragon (titled
Return of the Dragon in its US distribution), which is widely credited with launching his way into stardom. In
Asia, he is still known primarily for this role. In 1974, McQueen encouraged him to begin acting classes at
MGM.
Chuck Norris retired with a
karate record of 65–5, having avenged all of his defeats.
Norris' first starring role was 1977's
Breaker! Breaker!, and subsequent films such as
The Octagon (1980),
An Eye for an Eye (1981), and
Lone Wolf McQuade proved his increasing
box office bankability. In 1984,
Norris starred in
Missing in Action, the first of a series of
POW rescue fantasies produced by
Israeli cousins
Menahem Golan and
Yoram Globus and released under their
Cannon Films banner. Also in that year, he was offered the part of the
sensei of the Kobra Kai
dojo in the movie
The Karate Kid, but declined the part. He reportedly did not want to take part in depicting martial artists in an unfavorable light. However,
Norris disputes this story.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-5>
[8]</SUP> On a
February 9,
2006 episode of
Adam Carolla's radio show,
Norris said that he was never offered the role.
Norris noted that he was already playing leading roles by the time
The Karate Kid was in production.
Over the next four years,
Norris became Cannon's most prominent star, appearing in eight films, including
Code of Silence,
The Delta Force, and
Firewalker, in which he co-starred with
Academy Award winner
Louis Gossett, Jr.. Many of the aforementioned films were produced by
Chuck Norris' brother
Aaron, as were several episodes of
Walker, Texas Ranger. In 1986, he was involved in the production of the
Ruby Spears cartoon Karate Kommandos.
Norris made history in 1997 when he was the first Westerner in the documented history of Tae Kwon Do to be given the rank of 8th Degree Black Belt Grand Master.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-6>
[9]</SUP> On
July 1,
2000 he was presented the Golden Lifetime Achievement Award by the
World Karate Union Hall of Fame.
