Entertainment News

Chuck Norris, karate champion and 'Walker, Texas Ranger' star, dies at 86

Chuck Norris, the martial artist who became an action film and television star, has died at 86. Reuters, in a report republished by Interaksyon, says he died on Thursday, March 19, after being hospitalised in Hawaii that day, according to Variety. His family posted a statement on his Instagram account.

“…please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.” — Norris family, via Reuters

Born in Ryan, Oklahoma, in 1940, Norris was a six-time undefeated world professional middleweight karate champion. He made his film debut in 1973 opposite Bruce Lee in The Way of the Dragon, with their fight staged at Rome's Colosseum, then starred in 1980s action films such as Missing in Action and The Delta Force. From 1993 to 2001 he played Cordell Walker in Walker, Texas Ranger.

How each outlet framed it

• Reuters — the full arc, ending with “Chuck Norris Facts”, the viral jokes about his toughness that a student started in 2005.
• Fox News — a short gallery entry for the “Iconic martial artist and actor”.
• The Rickey Smiley Morning Show — the family's word that his death was “sudden”.
• Fox 13 — a list entry naming The Delta Force and Missing in Action.

What we don't know yet: the family said it wants to keep the circumstances private, and none of these reports gives a cause of death. Reuters does not say where he died.