The family of Chuck Norris announced the “sudden” death of the actor and former martial arts champion on Thursday, March 19 in Hawaii, after a brief hospitalization.
“He lived his life with faith, determination, and unwavering commitment to those he loved,” according to his loved ones. “Through his work, discipline, and kindness, he inspired millions of people around the world and left a lasting impact on many.”
With his mixture of “sharp dialogues, spectacular kicks, bulging muscles, powerful arms, and tight jeans,” Chuck Norris was “the quintessential archetype of the muscle-bound action movie star in American cinema,” notes Variety.
“While “many of his contemporaries – Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, and Seagal – seemed larger than life, with their pronounced accents and colossal physiques, Norris seemed to have been commissioned by the military to embody what a good and strong man should be,” adds the Hollywood publication.
“True martial arts expert”
A key figure in 1980s action cinema, notably in the low-budget films of the legendary Cannon Films production company, Chuck Norris was, unlike other big names of his time, “a true expert” in martial arts, emphasizes The Hollywood Reporter.
“Holder of black belts in disciplines such as karate, Tang Soo Do, and taekwondo, he trained alongside Bruce Lee – and faced him in Way of the Dragon (1972),” notes the Hollywood title. “On screen, he often portrayed loners, and, like one of his idols, John Wayne, he only resorted to violence after exhausting all other options.”
“Chuck Norris won through fair means in the ’80s,” applauds Rolling Stone, for whom “the martial arts legend and action movie icon embodied a disciplined alpha masculinity, unmatched among the stars of the time.”
The archetype of the “strong silent type who didn’t look for trouble”
More than a “mere movie star,” Norris was for decades “an integral and enduring figure in popular culture,” according to Collider.
But while his public success and popularity were undeniable, critics were never kind to the actor’s work, who was “perfectly aware that no one would mistake him for a modern-day Laurence Olivier,” quips The New York Times.
“In most of his films, as well as in ‘Walker, Texas Ranger,’ he played a warrior who came to the aid of others, not with words or firearms, but rather with roundhouse kicks and other techniques that made him a major figure in martial arts,” analyzes the American daily.
“But essentially, he was a solid type who didn’t look for trouble – until the bad guys left him no choice,” it adds.
Controversial personality
Chuck Norris was also a controversial figure who did not hide his often conservative political views. And for about fifteen years, his public life was “increasingly marked by his political activism, particularly his opposition to LGBTQ+ rights,” recalls The Advocate.
In fact, “politics could overshadow the actor’s legacy and his ‘solid action movies,'” comments Variety. Because “it is clear that his roles were part of an overall work aiming to exalt American strength and power, as well as the insidious allure of taking justice into one’s own hands – a stance that seems much less appealing in a year when our country is spending billions to bomb Iran and ICE agents are acting like one-man militias,” the publication points out.
In this context, the journalist from the Hollywood title – an “admirer” of the actor – laments that it is difficult to see his roles as “the expression of a moral stance.” And he wonders: “When patriotism and the law deviate from the principles of the Constitution, which side should an armed vigilante stand on?”
