![]() ![]() The show had a strong following, and was still faring well in the ratings when it went off the air in 2001. Norris played Cordell Walker, an honorable crime fighter, for eight years. No longer making hit movies, he made the switch to the small screen with Walker, Texas Ranger. ![]() Norris' box-office appeal, however, was beginning to fade by the early 1990s. Norris received warmer reviews for his cop movie, Code of Silence (1985), and teamed up with the legendary tough guy Lee Marvin for the military action film The Delta Force (1986). He did this film and its sequels as a tribute to his younger brother, Wieland, who died in combat in Vietnam. In Missing in Action (1984), Norris played a former prisoner of war who returns to Vietnam to free other soldiers still being held. Movie audiences loved to watch him mete out swift justice to bad guys in such films as Good Guys Wear Black and Forced Vengeance. In 1977, Norris had his first starring role in the action film Breaker! Breaker!. One of the highlights of the film was a fight scene between Norris and martial arts action star Bruce Lee, staged in the famed Roman Colosseum. While he had made one brief film appearance previously, Norris made more of an impact on movie-goers in 1972's Way of the Dragon (also known as Return of the Dragon in the United States ). He decided to retire after his 1974 victory. Proving to be one of the greatest fighters in martial arts, he defended this title five more times. Norris earned his first World Middleweight Karate Championship title in 1968. He participated in numerous martial arts tournaments, and he won many of the events he competed in. In addition to being an instructor, Norris also was a fierce competitor. McQueen encouraged his teacher to try acting. He taught several celebrities, including Priscilla Presley and actor Steve McQueen. In the 1960s, Norris opened more than 30 karate studios. He left the service in 1962, and started working as a karate instructor. While stationed at the Osan Air Base in South Korea, he began studying martial arts. Norris married his high school sweetheart, Dianne Holechek, in 1958 - the same year he joined the U.S. There, he attended North Torrance High School. At the age of 10, Norris moved with his mother and brothers to California. The oldest of three boys, Chuck Norris once described himself as "the shy kid who never excelled at anything in school." His father was an alcoholic who all but disappeared from Norris' life after his parents divorced. Norris became a popular action-film star in the 1980s and starred in his own television series in the 1990s. He switched to movies in the 1970s, appearing with Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon. When he returned home, Norris soon opened his karate studio. Chuck Norris started studying martial arts in Korea in the 1950s. ![]()
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