Famous actor, Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris, died on March 19th after an unidentified medical emergency landed him in a hospital in Kauai Hawaii where he passed away surrounded by friends and family.

Norris’ family made the announcement on Instagram on Friday March 20th saying “It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,” (Akrin, Cookinham, Mar 20). He was best known for his nine season run as Sgt. Cordell Walker, a marine veteran, on Texas Ranger.

Norris was born in Ryan, Oklahoma. Following his parents divorce, he, his mother, and his two younger brothers moved to Prairie Village, Kansas and then to Torrance, California.

Norris became a popular internet meme in the early 2000’s with people saying hyperbolic things about him. This trend is called “Chuck Norris facts”. When Norris found these he told Time in 2008 I’m reading them and going, hey, these are pretty doggone funny. My favorite was, “They wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mt. Rushmore, but the granite wasn’t tough enough for his beard.” (Norris, Sept 8 2008).

Chuck first became associated with karate while stationed in Korea with the U.S. Air Force in the 1950’s. He eventually founded his own system named “the Chuck Norris System™” based on his Tang Soo Do training.