Died at 86
male
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (March 10, 1940 – March 19, 2026) was an American martial artist and actor. He was a black belt in Karate, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu, and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championships and later founded his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do. Shortly after, in Hollywood, Norris trained celebrities in martial arts. Norris went on to appear in a minor role in The Wrecking Crew (1968). Friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee invited him to play one of the main villains in The Way of the Dragon (1972). While Norris continued acting, friend and student Steve McQueen suggested he take it seriously. Norris took the starring role in the action film Breaker! Breaker! (1977), which turned a profit. His second lead, Good Guys Wear Black (1978), became a hit, and he soon became a popular action film star. Norris went on to star in a streak of bankable independently made action and martial arts films, with A Force of One (1979), The Octagon (1980), and An Eye for an Eye (1981). This made Norris an international celebrity. He went on to make studio films like Silent Rage (1982) with Columbia, Forced Vengeance (1982) with MGM, and Lone Wolf McQuade (1983) with Orion. This led Cannon Films to sign Norris into a multiple film deal, starting with Missing in Action (1984), which proved to be very successful and launched a trilogy. Norris started to work almost exclusively on high-profile action films with Cannon, becoming its leading star during the 1980s. Films with Cannon include Invasion U.S.A (1985), The Delta Force (1986), and Firewalker (1986), among others. Apart from the Cannon films, Norris made Code of Silence (1985), which was received as one of his best films. In the 1990s, he played the title role in the long-running CBS television series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 to 2001. Until 2006, Norris continued taking lead roles in action movies. His last appearance in a major film release was in The Expendables 2 (2012). Throughout his film and TV career, Norris diversified from his regular endeavors. As a writer, he is a New York Times bestselling author of books on martial arts, exercise, philosophy, his conservative politics, Christian western fiction, self-help, and biographies, and he also serves as a columnist for WorldNetDaily. Norris also appeared in several commercials endorsing several products, most notably being one of the main spokespersons for the Total Gym infomercials. In 2005, Norris found new fame on the Internet when Chuck Norris facts became an Internet meme documenting humorous, fictional, and often absurd feats of strength and endurance. Although Norris himself did not produce the "facts", he was hired to endorse many products that incorporated Chuck Norris facts in advertising. The phenomenon resulted in six books, some of them New York Times bestsellers, as well as two video games, and several appearances on talk shows, such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien, in which he read the "facts" or participated in sketches. Description above from the Wikipedia article Chuck Norris, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Chuck Norris
Luke Skywalker
for Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Suggested by boutros
Thirty years after the Galactic Civil War, the First Order has risen from the fallen Galactic Empire and seeks to eliminate the New Republic. The Resistance, backed by the Republic and led by General Leia Organa, opposes them while Leia searches for her brother, Luke Skywalker. On the planet Jakku, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron receives a map to Luke's location from Lor San Tekka. Stormtroopers commanded by Kylo Ren destroy the village and capture Poe, while Kylo kills San Tekka. Poe's droid BB-8 escapes with the map and encounters a scavenger, Rey, near a junkyard settlement. Kylo tortures Poe using the Force and learns of BB-8. Stormtrooper FN-2187, unwilling to kill for the First Order, frees Poe, and they escape in a stolen TIE fighter; Poe names FN-2187 "Finn". As they turn back to Jakku to retrieve BB-8, they are shot down by a First Order Star Destroyer and crash-land. Finn survives and assumes that Poe died in the crash. He encounters Rey and BB-8, but the First Order tracks them and launches an airstrike. Finn, Rey, and BB-8 flee the planet in the Millennium Falcon, which they steal from a junkyard. The Falcon is captured by a larger ship piloted by Han Solo and Chewbacca, looking to reclaim their former vessel. The group is attacked by gangs seeking to settle debts with Han, and flee in the Falcon. At the First Order's Starkiller Base, a planet converted into a superweapon that harnesses star energy, Supreme Leader Snoke allows General Hux to use the weapon for the first time. Snoke questions Kylo's ability to deal with emotions relating to his father, Han Solo, who Kylo says means nothing to him. The Falcon crew determines BB-8's map is incomplete. Han explains that Luke attempted to rebuild the Jedi Order but exiled himself when an apprentice turned to the dark side, destroyed the temple, and slaughtered the other apprentices. The crew travels to the planet Takodana and meets with cantina owner Maz Kanata, who offers assistance getting BB-8 to the Resistance. Rey is drawn to a secluded vault and finds the lightsaber that once belonged to Luke and his father, Anakin Skywalker. She experiences disturbing visions and flees into the woods. Maz gives Finn the lightsaber for safekeeping. Starkiller Base destroys a few planets including the Republic capital and a portion of its fleet. The First Order attacks Takodana in search of BB-8. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn are saved by Resistance X-wing fighters led by Poe, who is revealed to have survived the crash on Jakku. Leia arrives at Takodana with C-3PO and reunites with Han and Chewbacca. Meanwhile, Kylo captures Rey and takes her to Starkiller Base, but she resists his mind-reading attempts. Discovering she can use the Force, Rey escapes by using a Jedi mind trick on a nearby guard. At the Resistance base on D'Qar, BB-8 finds R2-D2, who has been inactive since Luke's disappearance. As Starkiller Base prepares to fire on D'Qar, the Resistance devises a plan to destroy it by attacking a critical facility. Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the facility, find Rey, and plant explosives. Han confronts Kylo, calling him by his birth name, Ben, and implores him to abandon the dark side. Kylo refuses and kills Han, enraging Chewbacca, who shoots Kylo and sets off the explosives, allowing the Resistance to attack and destroy the base. The injured Kylo pursues Finn and Rey to the surface. Kylo defeats Finn in a lightsaber duel, leaving him wounded. Rey takes the lightsaber and uses the Force to defeat Kylo before they are separated by a fissure as the planet begins to disintegrate. Snoke orders Hux to evacuate and bring Kylo to him to complete his training. Rey and Chewbacca escape with the unconscious Finn in the Falcon. On D'Qar, Leia, Chewbacca, and Rey mourn Han's death. R2-D2 awakens and reveals the rest of the map, which Rey follows to the oceanic planet Ahch-To. She finds Luke and presents him with the lightsaber.
