Chuck Norris and John Wayne are two of the most iconic action stars not just of their
respective generations, but also of cinematic history as a whole.
Despite the fact that the two occupied drastically different echelons of action films, there
is a touching connection between the two that started when Chuck was a lonely child struggling
with being raised by an alcoholic father.
Join Facts Verse as Chuck Norris reveals intimate relationship with John Wayne.
One quick look at Chuck Norris’ filmography will reveal that the action star is a man
of many varied talents.
In addition to being a renowned martial artist, Chuck is also an actor, a screenwriter, and
a producer.
The Hollywood legend got his start in the entertainment industry by working as a personal
trainer for celebrities and was later inspired to become a celebrity himself at the behest
of icon Steve McQueen.
Chuck had been training Hollywood celebrities for a period of several years before eventually
branching out into film acting himself.
Chuck’s feature film debut came in the 1968 Dean Martin spy comedy The Wrecking Crew.
Although Chuck was essentially a glorified extra in the film, it led him down the path
to getting bigger roles down the line.
Several years after Chuck’s brief appearance in The Wrecking Crew, he was given a much
meatier role in the form of Bruce Lee’s The Way of the Dragon.
Released in 1972, the film proved to be Bruce Lee’s only complete directorial effort before
his untimely death.
The climax of the film featured a battle between Chuck and Bruce that occurred in the midst
of a Roman coliseum and remains an incredibly iconic scene for fans of both stars.
In 1979, Chuck took on the starring role in the action film The Power of One, which became
the star’s biggest success as an actor at that time.
It led to an illustrious career as an action icon throughout the 1980s, a period that defined
the Chuck Norris that we know and love today.
Some of Chuck’s most classic action performances in the 80s can be seen in the films Lone Wolf
McQuade, Silent Rage, and An Eye for an Eye.
In the 1990s, Chuck would go on to take the iconic titular role on the CBS Western Walker,
Texas Ranger.
Chuck had been an action star for over a decade before being cast in 1993’s Walker, Texas
Ranger.
Given that the show was a Western, it gave Chuck an opportunity to draw on the inspiration
of one of his childhood heroes: John Wayne.
Although Chuck and John didn’t have a personal relationship, Chuck still felt an intimate
connection to the Western icon when he was growing up.
Given that Chuck never had a solid father figure in his life, he came to think of John
Wayne’s performances on the screen as the biggest positive masculine influence in his
young life.
Nowadays, Chuck seems to have essentially hung up his hat when it comes to acting.
However, he continues to make sporadic cameo appearances on the small screen.
In addition to appearing in several advertising campaigns, Chuck also made an appearance on
The Goldbergs, and later made an appearance on the reboot of Hawaii Five-0.
Chuck’s last role in a feature film was all the way back in 2012, with many of his
fellow actions icons managing to talk him into appearing in the film The Expendables
2.
In addition to Chuck, The Expendables 2 also included Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren,
Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Chuck’s character’s name in The Expendables 2 was Booker, which paid homage to a character
that Chuck had played in the 1978 action film Good Guys Wear Black.
The Expendables 2’s Booker can also be heard going by the nickname “The Lone Wolf”,
harkening back to Chuck’s even more famous role in the titular action film Lone Wolf
McQuade.
Despite the fact that Chuck has seen incredible success in his entertainment career, leading
to him having a net worth of approximately $70 million, the star has shared that he had
a very difficult time growing up.
Besides having to deal with being the eldest of several siblings, Chuck also had to deal
with abandonment issues and bullying from his alcoholic father, who eventually left
him, his siblings, and his mother.
Chuck’s estranged relationship with his father is what led him to consider John Wayne
as a father figure while watching him on the screen.
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Chuck Norris was born in 1940 in the state of Oklahoma.
He was the eldest sibling of two brothers, and grew up to be a relatively shy child,
due in part to the age gap.
During his school years, Chuck has shared that he had a hard time excelling at any one
subject.
Thankfully, Chuck would go on to find something he was good at later on in life.
Chuck’s parents divorced when he was still young, leading to Chuck’s father abandoning
the family.
Chuck was only 10 years old at the time, but his alcoholic father had inflicted plenty
of damage on the young boy’s psyche before leaving.
After the divorce, Chuck’s mother moved him and his siblings out to California.
These years were initially incredibly difficult on Chuck, and one of the things that allowed
the young boy to see the light at the end of the tunnel was watching old John Wayne
features on the television.
Since John had never known a positive male role model in his real life, John Wayne’s
appearance on his television set soon came to be Chuck’s most prominent fatherly influence
growing up.
Despite the fact that the two couldn’t be farther apart in reality, John served as an
unlikely father figure to Chuck via his roles in classic Western and war films.
As a young child, John’s features instilled a moral compass in Chuck that overrode the
damage and trauma that had been done by his alcoholic father.
Because of this, Chuck was allowed to overcome and grow up to be the star that he is.
It was John Wayne’s fatherly influence on the screen that encouraged Chuck to join the
United States Air Force in the year 1958.
It was during Chuck’s time in the Air Force that he began to study martial arts, and it
was at this point that Chuck realized that karate was his true passion.
Chuck studied karate in South Korea whilst serving time in the country with the United
States Air Force, and he began to get the idea that martial arts could provide him with
a career once he was done with his tenure there.
Although Chuck didn’t initially have dreams of being a famous celebrity, he had come to
believe that studying martial arts might help him get a position as a police officer once
he returned back to America from duty.
Later, Chuck got the idea that instead of becoming a police officer, he should open
up his own karate school.
Chuck went on to open up his own California martial arts studio in 1962, and his business
was soon taking off with the stars!
Soon after starting up his own martial arts studio in California, Chuck was developing
quite the reputation with his Hollywood clientele!
One of Chuck’s most prominent clients came in the form of Steve McQueen’s son.
This allowed Chuck to meet Steve McQueen, and it was Steve that encouraged Chuck that
he should try his hand at becoming a star in his own right.
Steve felt that Chuck had both the talent and the charisma to be an action star.
While advising Chuck Norris that he had what it took to become an action star, Steve McQueen
was also said to have given Chuck some poignant advice that went on to play a big part in
the roles Chuck chose during his career.
Steve suggested to Chuck that he was always going to better off playing the strong and
silent type, with his greatest attribute being his ability to communicate without words.
This advice is what led Chuck to take on roles such as that of the titular character in the
film Lone Wolf McQuade, leading to Chuck’s signature status as an altruistic and omnipotent
loner.
Chuck Norris has arguably never received the critical acclaim that he has deserved during
his career, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a full-blown hero in the eyes
of his ever-growing audience.
With his authentic action talent and his unmatched and bearded charisma, Chuck has a screen presence
unlike any other action star on the market.
Because of this, Chuck continues to turn heads with the few media appearances that he makes.
At the age of 81, Chuck has been married twice during his lifetime.
His first marriage was to Dianne Holechek.
The two married in 1958 and didn’t divorce until over three decades later, in 1989.
During their time together, the couple had three children.
After divorcing Dianne in 1989, Chuck went on to marry his second wife Gena O’Kelley.
Chuck is still married to Gena to this day, and the pair has a set of twins.
Although Chuck Norris considered John Wayne a father figure, the two never managed to
meet before John’s death in 1979.
However, John did have several children of his own that he was survived by.
John Wayne was married three times over the course of his life and had seven children.
Although Chuck Norris is 81 years old, he is still healthy and active enough that he
could come out of retirement!
Comment down below to share what your favorite role to revisit from Chuck’s illustrious
career is, or if you are one of many that is anxiously awaiting each new appearance
that the action icon deigns upon his fans.
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