Action star Chuck Norris is dead – the actor was 86 years old.Image: www.imago-images.de
Mar 20, 2026, 3:02 p.mMar 20, 2026, 4:08 p.m
Actor Chuck Norris is dead. The world-famous martial artist and actor died on Thursday morning at the age of 86, his family announced. It goes on to say that he fell asleep “with his family and in peace”. There was initially no information about the exact circumstances.
“To the world he was a martial artist, an actor and a symbol of strength,” the family wrote. “To us, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother and the heart of our family.” The Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, also expressed his condolences on Facebook and called Norris a “friend and American icon.”
Already on Thursday It was reported that Norris was not feeling well. As the US news portal TMZ wrote, citing those close to him, the actor was taken to the hospital in Hawaii after a medical emergency. Accordingly, the incident occurred on the island of Kauai within the past 24 hours.
The breakthrough as a Texas Ranger
Norris continued to act into old age, although recently he acted less and less. He usually let his fists fly on screen. In 2012, he appeared in “The Expendables 2” as a senior member of the veteran cast alongside Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. He became famous in Europe in particular for his long-term role as law enforcement officer Cordell Walker in the TV series “Walker, Texas Ranger”.
Norris grew up in a religious family in rural Oklahoma, and as a young soldier he discovered the Tang Soo Do variety of karate in Korea. As a martial arts instructor, he became known in the martial arts scene in the 1960s. He was the middleweight karate world champion for several years, and finally made the leap to Hollywood through martial arts friends like Bruce Lee and Steve McQueen.
The American has largely withdrawn from the acting business since 2004, but has enjoyed great popularity to this day – especially as memes and through jokes about his role as an invincible hero in his films. (dab/hkl, with material from sda/dpa)