{"id":2338622,"date":"2026-03-20T14:33:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T14:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2338622"},"modified":"2026-03-20T14:33:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T14:33:44","slug":"chuck-norris-dead-famed-black-belt-and-action-star-was-86","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/chuck-norris-dead-famed-black-belt-and-action-star-was-86\/","title":{"rendered":"Chuck Norris dead: Famed black belt and action star was 86"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Chuck Norris<\/a>, a celebrated martial artist and action star known for \u201cThe Way of the Dragon\u201d and \u201cWalker, Texas Ranger\u201d has died. He was 86.<\/p>\n

Norris died Thursday morning in Kauai, Hawaii, his family confirmed Friday morning on social media. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,\u201d the statement said. \u201cWhile we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the world, he was a martial artist, actor, and a symbol of strength. To us, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother, and the heart of our family. He lived his life with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the people he loved. Through his work, discipline, and kindness, he inspired millions around the world and left a lasting impact on so many lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family said it was thankful to Norris\u2019s fans, who to him \u201cwere not just fans, you were his friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, the star posted a martial arts video on Instagram in which he hit a sparring partner with a combo before saying to the camera, \u201cI don\u2019t age, I level up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 86 today!\u201d Norris wrote in the caption. \u201cNothing like some playful action on a sunny day to make you feel young. I\u2019m grateful for another year, good health and the chance to keep doing what I love. Thank you all for being the best fans in the world. Your support through the years has meant more to me than you\u2019ll ever know.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of America\u2019s most famous martial artists, and certainly the most frequently memed, Norris leveraged his black belt skills to build a successful television and film career. Although his action star status ultimately made Norris a household name, he told Sharyl Attkisson on a 2017 episode of the news magazine show \u201cFull Measure<\/a>\u201d that he was a true martial artist \u201cwho dabbles in acting\u201d rather than the other way around.<\/p>\n

The world champion held black belts in karate, taekwondo, tang soo do, Brazilian jiu jitsu, judo and the martial arts discipline he founded himself, chun kuk do.<\/p>\n

He acted in more than 30 action films and numerous television projects, but it was the 1972 film \u201cThe Way of the Dragon,\u201d in which he starred alongside Bruce Lee<\/a>, that put Norris on the map. Norris went on to star in action films including \u201cMissing in Action\u201d in 1984 and its sequels, \u201cFirewalker\u201d in 1986 and \u201cSidekicks\u201d in 1992, as well as the 1986 film \u201cThe Delta Force,\u201d the 1990 sequel \u201cDelta Force 2: The Colombian Connection,\u201d and 1991\u2019s \u201cThe Hitman.\u201d <\/p>\n

Perhaps his best-known project, the television series \u201cWalker, Texas Ranger,\u201d which he starred in and executive produced, was inspired by the 1983 American neo-western \u201cLone Wolf McQuade,\u201d also starring Norris. The series ran from 1983 to 2001 and followed Cordell Walker, a Texas lawman who battles crime with a black belt and strong moral compass. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile our hearts are broken, we are deeply grateful for the life he lived and for the unforgettable moments we were blessed to share with him,\u201d the family said in its statement. \u201cThe love and support he received from fans around the world meant so much to him, and our family is truly thankful for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chuck Norris, a celebrated martial artist and action star known for \u201cThe Way of the Dragon\u201d and \u201cWalker, Texas Ranger\u201d has died. He was 86. Norris died Thursday morning in Kauai, Hawaii, his family confirmed Friday morning on social media. \u201cIt is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2338623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2338622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Chuck-Norris-dead-Famed-black-belt-and-action-star-was.com2F5f2F762Fdb86f61f415f83c3327cec4a.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2338622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2338624,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338622\/revisions\/2338624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2338623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2338622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2338622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2338622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}