Chuck Norris dies at age 86

Martial arts and acting legend Chuck Norris has died.

His family announced his death on his official Instagram account on Friday morning, saying he died on March 19.

“It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning. While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace,” they wrote.

Norris was 86 years old, TMZ reported.

He was hospitalized on Thursday in Hawaii, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Norris had an undisclosed medical emergency while in Kauai, TMZ reported before news of his death broke.

He had been training on the island on Wednesday and had recently celebrated his 86th birthday earlier this month, the gossip website said. For his birthday, he posted a video to Instagram showing him sparring with a trainer.

He captioned the clip, “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. God Bless, Chuck Norris,” he posted a week ago.

While known for his iconic roles in the “Missing in Action” series, “The Delta Force” or on television as “Walker, Texas Ranger,” he had small parts in “The Wrecking Crew” in 1968 and as Chuck Norris in “Room 222″ before facing off against Bruce Lee in “The Way of the Dragon” in 1972, according to IMDB.

He also appeared in “The Expendables 2″ opposite other action stars as Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.

“I wanted to project a certain image on the screen of a hero. I had seen a lot of anti-hero movies in which the lead was neither good nor bad. There was no one to root for,” Norris said in 1982, according to The Associated Press.

His martial arts prowess wasn’t just for the screen as Norris held several black belts, including judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (3rd degree), Karate (5th degree), Taekwondo (8th degree), Tang Soo Do (9th degree), Chun Kuk Do (10th degree), Variety reported. The publication said that Norris “had a degree of credibility that most others could not match” due to his skills.

Norris also found a new fame online through memes that, as Variety said, featured him in “absurd feats” such as “Chuck Norris kills 100% of germs” and “Paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beats paper, but Chuck Norris beats all 3 at the same time.”

Others included, “Chuck Norris had a staring contest with the sun — and won,” and, “They wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mt. Rushmore, but the granite wasn’t tough enough for his beard,” the AP said.

He embraced his online fame and published the book “The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book,” which took his favorite memes and added his personal life code. He also wrote books on marital arts, politics, Civil-War-era fiction and a memoir.

Chuck Norris was born Carlos Ray Norris in Ryan, Oklahoma, to a father who served in the military in World War II.

His family moved to Torrance, California, when he was 12. He said his athleticism didn’t come until he was an adult, the AP reported.

“I went out for gymnastics and football at North Torrance high,” he told the AP in 1982. “I played some football, but I also spent a lot of time on the bench. I was never really athletic until I was in the service in Korea.”

Norris followed his father into the military, joining the Air Force in 1958, where he became an Air Policeman. He served at Osan Air Base in South Korea, where he was nicknamed “Chuck” and began training in Tang Soo Do, Variety reported.

He was eventually transferred to March Air Force Base in California before being honorably discharged in 1962. He went to work for Northrop as a file clerk and opened karate schools that had several celebrity clients such as Steve McQueen, Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, and Donny and Marie Osmond.

Norris met Bruce Lee during a martial arts demonstration in Long Beach, California, and struck up a friendship that eventually led to Norris earning the role in “The Way of the Dragon,” also known in the U.S. as “Return of the Dragon.”

It was McQueen who convinced Norris to start taking acting classes at MGM two years after the Lee flick, in 1974, according to Variety.

Norris leaves behind his wife, Gena O’Kelley, two sons, three daughters and several grandchildren.

Check back for more on this developing story.

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