NPR | Friday, March 20, 2026 
Martial arts star Chuck Norris dies at 86

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 arts competitions and teaching celebrity clients in Hollywood, including Priscilla Presley, Bob Barker, and Donny and Marie Osmond, when his pal Bruce Lee gave him his break in films by inviting him to play one of many villains in 1972’s The Way of the Dragon. The film fetishized Norris’ hairy chest opposite Lee’s smooth one, and he gave a little smirk when he flattened Lee with a roundhouse kick early on. But it was Lee’s film, and by scene’s end, Norris was toast. That could’ve been it, if one of Norris’ celebrity students, Steve McQueen, hadn’t suggested he take acting lessons. Norris did, and scored the leading role of a put-upon trucker in Breaker! Breaker!, an action flick shot in just 11 days…Read more