Chuck Norris Turns 70 -- And He Could Still Break You
by Claudine Zap ยท March 10, 2010
Chuck Norris' birthday is afraid of Chuck Norris.
The action star, black belt and all-around tough guy is turning 70. Really. Not that age could put a stop to the actor -- or to searches on him. And yes, he probably was born with that mustache.
The action hero's career started back in the '60s, but not as an actor -- as a fighter. According to IMDB, after helping his mom raise his two siblings and graduating from high school in Torrance, CA, Norris left for a stint in Korea. The Air Force vet returned to open a karate studio, winning championships and teaching the likes of Steve McQueen, Priscilla Presley, and the Osmonds.
Despite his movie track record in sporting weaponry of all kinds, as a tae kwon do black belt he emphasized "action and technique over violence." But what you should probably take away from this is that Norris became an unbeatable fighting force. Put it this way: This guy is so scary, the gossip site TMZ made a birthday video for him last year.
It's not surprising that the man has become a myth in his own time. The icon-turned-Internet-meme has gone up against Bruce Lee, kept order in the series "Walker: Texas Ranger," and starred in movies like "The Delta Force," "Missing in Action," and "Firewalker." And he lent his on-screen persona to shill for Republican Mike Huckabee during the most recent presidential race.
The secret to his long career may be new generations finding "serious" old TV shows to be seriously hilarious. Just look at the searches (yeah, yeah, we know -- you don't search for Chuck Norris, he finds you). Lookups on "how old is chuck norris" have risen an awe-inspiring 2,700% in seven-day searches. Searches also include "chuck norris action jeans" (apparently a real thing sold in the 80s), "chuck norris birthday greeting," "find chuck Norris," "how tall is chuck Norris," and "chuck norris biography." Find more funny Chuck Norris facts.
But our favorite has to be the "chuck norris random fact generator" for nuggets like "Chuck Norris is so fast he can start a fire by rubbing two ice cubes together. "
He is also so old, the star will be receiving a lifetime achievement award at the first annual Actionfest film festival.
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