Chuck Norris has been hospitalized in Hawaii following a medical emergency on the island of Kauai, TMZ reported Thursday morning.
Sources with direct knowledge told TMZ that the emergency occurred within the last 24 hours.
The nature of the emergency is not known. Norris is reported to be in good spirits. A friend who spoke with him by phone said he was cracking jokes. The story is developing and no further details have been released by his representatives.
What makes the news jarring is what happened nine days ago. On March 10, Norris turned 86.
To mark his birthday he posted a video on social media of himself sparring with a trainer on what appeared to be a sunny outdoor location.
He was throwing punches, moving, working. He captioned it,
“I don’t age. I level up. I’m 86 today! Nothing like some playful action on a sunny day to make you feel young. I’m 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’ll ever know.”
Nine days later he is in a hospital in Kauai.
TMZ also reported that on Wednesday, just one day before the hospitalization news broke, Norris had been training on the island. Whatever the medical emergency was, it came on fast.
Who Is Chuck Norris?
Carlos Ray Norris was born in Ryan, Oklahoma on March 10, 1940. He grew up the oldest of three boys raised mostly by their mother after his father, who struggled with alcoholism, largely disappeared from the family.
When he was twelve the family moved to Torrance, California.
He was, by his own description, a shy kid who never excelled at anything in school.
He joined the United States Air Force after graduation and was stationed in Korea, where he began studying Tang Soo Do.
When he came home he worked at Northrop Aviation by day and taught karate at night.
Within two years he had gone full-time and was running multiple martial arts schools. His students included Steve McQueen and Priscilla Presley. He began competing in 1964.
He lost his first three tournaments. By 1966 he was nearly unbeatable. He won the National Karate Championships, the World Middleweight Karate Championship, the World Professional Middleweight Karate Championship, and several other major titles before retiring undefeated in 1974 with a professional fight record of 65-5.
He is a black belt in karate, taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and judo. In 1997 he became the first man in the Western Hemisphere to be awarded an 8th degree Black Belt Grand Master in Tae Kwon Do.
He founded his own martial arts discipline, Chun Kuk Do. He founded the United Fighting Arts Federation, a worldwide organization of over 2,300 black belts.
How Norris Got To Hollywood
Steve McQueen, one of his martial arts students, told Norris he should take acting seriously. He took the advice. His first significant role was in The Wrecking Crew in 1968.
His friend Bruce Lee then invited him to play the main villain in The Way of the Dragon in 1972.
That fight scene between Lee and Norris remains one of the most famous sequences in the history of martial arts cinema. Norris was the reigning world champion when they filmed it.
He became a legitimate action star in the 1980s. Missing in Action in 1984. The Delta Force with Lee Marvin in 1986. Code of Silence, which drew warmer reviews than most of his films.
Lone Wolf McQuade. Firewalker. Sidekicks. By 1990 his films had collectively grossed over $500 million worldwide.
He was sometimes called the blonde Bruce Lee. He was also compared to Clint Eastwood for the lone-wolf quality he brought to his characters.
His box office pull had started to fade by the early 1990s when he made the move to television.
In 1993 he began shooting Walker, Texas Ranger for CBS. He played Sergeant Cordell Walker, a Texas Ranger and martial arts expert, in every single episode of the series for eight seasons.
The show ran through 2001 and ranked in the Top 30 nationally for most of its run, climbing into the Top 20 in both the 1995-96 and 1998-99 seasons. He was in his early fifties when production began.
He has said he loved proving that action could belong to any age.
The show developed a significant cult following, partly due to the Walker Texas Ranger Lever segment on Conan O’Brien’s late night show, which randomly pulled clips from the series out of context to comedic effect.
Norris eventually appeared on the show himself to parody it.
Chuck Norris’ Charitable Work
He founded the Kickstart Kids program in 1992 — a charitable organization that brings martial arts training into Texas public schools as a tool to keep young people away from drugs.
He has been involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the United Way for decades.
In 2005 he founded the World Combat League, a full-contact team-based martial arts competition that directs proceeds to Kickstart Kids.
In 2007 he was made an honorary United States Marine by the Commandant of the Marine Corps. In 2010 he was given the title honorary Texas Ranger by the governor of Texas.
In 2010 he also won the Lifetime Achievement Award at ActionFest. In 2017 he was named an honorary Texan. He has lived for years on a ranch near Navasota, Texas.
He is married to Gena O’Kelley, whom he wed in 1998. They have twins born in 2001. He has three children from his first marriage to Dianne Holechek, which ended in 1988.
What We Know Right Now
The medical emergency occurred on Kauai within the last 24 hours. The nature of the emergency has not been disclosed.
Norris is reportedly in good spirits and was joking on the phone with a friend. He had been training on the island the day before.
Nine days ago he posted a birthday sparring video and wrote that he was grateful for his health and another year.
His representatives have not released a statement. This is a developing story.
