Chuck Norris — March 19, 2026

Few names became as synonymous with American toughness as Chuck Norris. Born in Oklahoma in 1940, he first earned his reputation in the world of competitive karate, claiming multiple world titles before Hollywood came calling. He famously squared off against Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon, then carried his own franchise with films like Missing in Action and The Delta Force. To an entire generation of action fans, he was the quiet, bearded answer to whatever the bad guys had planned.

His longest-running role came on television, where Walker, Texas Ranger made him a Saturday-night fixture in millions of American households throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. Later in life, he became an internet sensation in a way no one could have predicted, when the “Chuck Norris Facts” memes turned him into a cultural shorthand for invincibility. Chuck Norris passed away at the age of 86, the kind of figure whose face on a television screen could still stop a flipping remote in mid-air.