Little Known Facts About Actor Chuck Norris

Carlos Ray Norris was born on March 10, 1940, in Ryan, Oklahoma to father Ray, a truck driver, and mother Wilma. Two younger brothers, Weiland and Aaron completed the family. (Weiland was later killed in the Vietnam War.) Norris' maternal grandparents were Irish. His paternal grandparents were Cherokee Native Americans. Because of his ethnic combination, Norris was often picked on as a child. It didn't help that he was backwards and got so-so grades in school. Norris longed for revenge for the childhood taunting. As a boy, he fantasized about being able to stand up to the bullies. Actor John Wayne was his hero. Read this interesting article and find out some more little known facts about actor Chuck Norris!

His Early Years
Norris' parents got divorced in 1950. He ended up moving with his mother and brothers to Torrance, California when he was twelve. Norris' father had a severe drinking problem and was rarely around to see his sons. That left Norris to help care for his siblings.

Note: Years later, Chuck Norris' father died as the result of a car accident.

Air Force Duty
After high school graduation, Norris entered the Air Force and was shipped to Korea. It was there that he started learning martial arts, specifically "Tang Soo Do". A little known fact about actor Chuck Norris is, he got the nickname "Chuck" while in the service.