22 Amazing Chuck Norris Facts

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published October 24, 2022Updated December 31, 2024

Chuck Norris' real name is Carlos Ray Norris. He was named after Carlos Berry, his father, who was a minister. He acquired the nickname "Chuck" while he was serving as an air policeman in 1958 in South Korea._[3]
Chuck Norris established two significant martial art systems: American Tang Soo Doo, and Chuck Norris System (Chun Kuk Do)._[3]
Norris taught several famous people martial arts, including the Osmonds, Priscilla Presley, Bob Barker, and Steve McQueen._[3]
Chuck Norris had his own line of jeans called "Action Jeans."_[1]

Norris said he was actually bullied in school

Chuck Norris was not athletic in high school._[3]
Actor Steve McQueen urged Chuck Norris to get into acting._[1]
Chuck Norris is a 6-time World Karate Champion._[1]
Chuck Norris' father was killed in a car accident. He had recently had cancer surgery and a tube inserted in this throat. When Ray was thrown out of the car, the tube came out, and because no one knew about the tube, he suffocated._[1]
During the 1980s, Chuck Norris starred in an animation series called Karate Kommandos. It was ultimately cancelled for being too violent._[3]
Because filming around the Colosseum in Rome was strictly banned, the few scenes that Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee shot for The Way of the Dragon were done without the knowledge of Roman authorities._[1]

One of my life's principles is to develop myself to the maximum of my potential in all ways and to help others do the same.

- Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris jokes are an internet sensation, with jokes such as "Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding." Norris says he doesn't mind that he is an Internet meme phenomenon._[2]
When Norris was young, his parents divorced due to his father's alcoholism, and they lived in poverty. Norris tried his best to support his mother, Wilma, and his younger brothers, Weiland and Aaron._[2]
Norris described himself in school as "the shy kid who never excelled at anything in school." He said he could never give a book report in front of his class, and he would be intensely embarrassed if a teacher ever called on him._[2]
As a U.S. Air Force veteran, and to honor his brother Weiland, who was killed in action in Vietnam, Chuck Norris strongly supports the U.S. military._[2]
Chuck Norris didn't become a household name until he appeared opposite his friend and costar Bruce Lee in The Way of the Dragon (1972)._[1]

Bruce Lee cast Chuck Norris in The Way of the Dragon because Norris was one of the few fighters fast enough to take him on

In the 1990s, Norris became the first man in the Western Hemisphere to become an 8th degree Black Belt Grand Master in Tae Kwon Do._[2]
Chuck Norris starred in The Way of the Dragon with Bruce Lee. The entire movie was shot without sound. The actors later added their lines._[4]

Chuck Norris had a tough childhood and considered John Wayne his "substitute father"

As a child, Chuck Norris' favorite actor was John Wayne._[1]
Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris spent 45 hours filming their famous fight scene in The Way of the Dragon._[1]
Chuck Norris said that he could never beat Bruce Lee in a fair fight._[4]
Chuck Norris played a villain in only two movies: 1) Slaughter in San Francisco (1974) and 2) The Way of the Dragon. The latter is the only film in which his character is killed._[1]
Chuck Norris dedicated all of his Missing in Action movies to his brother Weiland, who was killed in action in Vietnam._[2]