All posts tagged: Chuck

How Chuck Norris Created the Manosphere

How Chuck Norris Created the Manosphere

Published by Daniella Wilson

In 2010 I visited Asheville, North Carolina, to cover an inaugural film event called ActionFest, inspired by Chuck Norris and co-founded by his brother Aaron. For three days in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, audiences turned out to see movies Chuck Norris was in, movies Chuck Norris liked and movies that as far as I could tell had nothing to do with Chuck Norris but that made people spew Chuck Norris Facts anyway. Having just turned 70 and endured more above-the-neck roundhouses than a human head was built to endure, the real Norris was slowing down and not a major presence at the festival. The people lining up for all-day passes didn’t care. To them Norris wasn’t a personality — he was an idea. And this was an event designed to celebrate that idea. Norris died last week at 86. Mostly obituaries dutifully cited his long career. In fact it unspooled in three acts, each of which would have been impressive on its own. First came martial arts. Norris held black belts in karate, taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, …

Chuck Norris Played Too Good a Bad Guy to Stay One

Chuck Norris Played Too Good a Bad Guy to Stay One

Published by José Betancourt

Chuck Norris could have been a meme from the moment, in 1972, that he stepped into the Roman Colosseum to face down Bruce Lee. It would take more than 30 years before Norris would become the internet’s favorite avatar of manly hyperbole, the subject of silly aphorisms—such as “Chuck Norris sleeps with the lights on because the dark is afraid of him”—that spoke to his tough persona. He was larger than life from the start but had to turn bite-size to become truly famous. The future VHS king, who died on Thursday at 86, might have been remembered merely as one of popular culture’s great henchmen. After he spent his earliest years in rural Oklahoma, his family moved to Torrance, California. He immersed himself in martial arts while stationed as an airman in South Korea. He returned to Southern California in 1962, and fought in tournaments and opened a small chain of karate schools that attracted celebrity clients. A producer who saw him fight offered him a bit part in the 1968 Dean Martin vehicle …

Chuck Norris Was the Ultimate Meme of the 2000s

Chuck Norris Was the Ultimate Meme of the 2000s

Published by Daniella Wilson

To Baby Boomers, Chuck Norris was a legitimate martial arts master. To Gen X, he was Colonel Braddock from Missing In Action and Walker in Walker, Texas Ranger. But to a wider swath of millennials and older Gen Z, he was the man who created the grand canyon when he went skydiving, who the boogeyman looks for under his bed and who built the same hospital he was born in. Norris, who died Friday at 86 after being hospitalized a day prior, will of course be remembered in Hollywood as an uber-manly action star whose very brand was built on being tough, similar to the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that campy level of machismo gave way to an even more ubiquitous spot in a later era of the pop-culture zeitgeist — as a famous meme thanks to Chuck Norris Facts.  Based on the sheer longevity of the category, there’s a case to be made that Chuck Norris was the defining meme of the 2000s, up there with other famed web trends …

Action star, ‘tough cookie’ and cultural icon: The world pays tribute to Chuck Norris | Ents & Arts News

Action star, ‘tough cookie’ and cultural icon: The world pays tribute to Chuck Norris | Ents & Arts News

Published by Daniella Wilson

Tributes have been paid to martial arts icon and action movie star Chuck Norris, who has died aged 86. The Hollywood actor was remembered by US President Donald Trump, as well as a host of celebrities and his own family, who called him a “warrior” with a heart “full of love”. Norris saw a resurgence in popularity after an early internet meme – consisting of jokes presented as “facts” exaggerating his strength and abilities – propelled him to online fame in the mid-2000s. Born in Oklahoma in 1940, Norris joined the US Air Force in his late teens and began training in martial arts while stationed in South Korea, eventually earning a black belt and becoming a six-time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate champion. Image: Chuck Norris speaks during a promotional tour of “The Delta Force” movie in 1986. Pic: Steve Ringman/San Francisco Chronicle via AP After transitioning into acting, Norris landed his breakthrough role in The Way of the Dragon in 1972 opposite Bruce Lee, before going on to star in more than 20 …

Chuck Norris discusses his shift to comedy in ‘Firewalker’

Chuck Norris discusses his shift to comedy in ‘Firewalker’

Published by Sam Flores

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Now Playing 1986: Chuck Norris discusses his shift to comedy in ‘Firewalker’ 05:11 UP NEXT ‘We did it America, freedom of speech’: Rapper Afroman wins police defamation case 03:08 Jesse Tyler Ferguson returns to the stage for one-man show about Truman Capote 04:57 Suspect arrested for opening fire on Rihanna’s home 01:09 Woman arrested after allegedly firing shots at Rihanna’s L.A. home, police say 00:47 Britney Spears released after arrest in Southern California 02:31 Nick Reiner pleads not guilty to murder charges in deaths of parents 02:56 Nick Reiner set to plea on murder charges in deaths of his parents 05:20 Eric Dane, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Euphoria’ star, dies at 53 00:35 Shia LaBeouf arrested in New Orleans after brawl during Mardi Gras 03:39 Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni meet in New York for last ditch settlement effort 02:47 Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani talks baseball, big spending, and his new children’s book 03:24 Shohei Ohtani’s new children’s book inspired by …

Chuck Norris dies at 86

Chuck Norris dies at 86

Published by Sam Flores

Chuck Norris, a martial artist who starred in several blockbuster action movies, has died at the age of 86, according to a Friday announcement from his family. “It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,” the family wrote in a statement posted on Instagram.… Source link

Chuck Norris Dies At Age 86

Chuck Norris Dies At Age 86

Published by Sam Flores

Actor and conservative political figure Chuck Norris has died at age 86. The tough, silent face of a very specific idea of heroism passed away Thursday after a brief hospitalization in Hawaii. His family announced the news on social media Friday, saying “While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.” “To the world, he was a martial artist, actor, and a symbol of strength,” the post continued. “To us, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother, and the heart of our family.” Chuck Norris demonstrated a longevity rare in the genre as a performer and martial arts champion. Born Carlos Ray Norris in Oklahoma, he collected black belts in a variety of disciplines, from judo to taekwondo, eventually founding his own style, Chun Kuk Do. By the 1970s and 1980s he had become one of the most recognizable faces in American action, with such titles as The Way of the Dragon, Good Guys Wear Black, …

Chuck Norris, martial arts star, dies at 86 : NPR

Chuck Norris, martial arts star, dies at 86 : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Norris karate chopped and kickboxed his way through more than a dozen action films in the 1980s, before leaping to TV in Walker, Texas Ranger. He’s pictured above in California in October 2003. Jeff Golden/Getty Image hide caption toggle caption Jeff Golden/Getty Image Martial arts star Chuck Norris, who fought his way to fame in such 1980s action movies as The Delta Force, Code of Silence, and a trilogy of Missing in Action films, has died. He was 86. In a fight, Norris tended to lead with his right…foot. He all but trademarked a roundhouse kick that villains never seemed to see coming. He’d plant a heel in someone’s gut, spin once to knock him off balance with a boot to the chest, spin again to catch the guy’s shoulder with his instep, maybe throw in a punch just to vary the rhythm, and finish him off with a high kick to the head. It was art, and widely imitated, but it did not kick off his career at first. He was knocking around martial …

Chuck Norris, US action movie star whose toughness inspired endless memes, dies at 86

Chuck Norris, US action movie star whose toughness inspired endless memes, dies at 86

Published by Sam Flores

Chuck Norris, the martial arts grandmaster and action star whose roles in “Walker, Texas Ranger” and other television shows and movies made him an iconic tough guy – sparking internet parodies and adoration from presidents – has died at 86. Norris died Thursday, in what his family described as a “sudden passing.”  “While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace,” the family said in a statement posted to social media. Before he would become a star in movies and on TV, Norris was wildly successful in competitive martial arts. He became a six-time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate champion. He also founded his own Korean-based American hard style of karate known sometimes as Chun Kuk Do and the United Fighting Arts Federation, which has awarded more than 3,300 Chuck Norris System black belts worldwide. Black Belt magazine ultimately credited Norris in its hall of fame with holding a 10th degree black belt, the highest possible honor. Chuck Norris memes have become internet lore. …