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Actor Chuck Norris, best known for his starring role on the television series Walker, Texas Ranger, has been hospitalized in Hawaii after experiencing a medical emergency within the last 24 hours, sources with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to TMZ on Thursday (March 19).
Norris, 86, a black belt in several disciplines of martial arts, was reportedly training on the island of Kauai at some point prior to the incident, according to TMZ, which said it was unaware of the nature of the emergency. A friend who said they spoke to Norris claimed he was in good spirits and was cracking jokes.
The Oklahoma native celebrated his birthday earlier this month, sharing a video of himself sparring.
"I don’t age. I level up," Norris wrote in the caption of the Facebook post. "I’m 86 today! Nothing like some playful action on a sunny day to make you feel young. I’m grateful for another year, good health and the chance to keep doing what I love. Thank you all for being the best fans in the world. Your support through the years has meant more to me than you’ll ever know."
Norris is a veteran of the United States Air Force who won many martial arts championships before having founded his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do, and later trained numerous celebrities. The 86-year-old made his film debut with a minor role in The Wrecking Crew (1968) before playing one of the main villains in friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee's movie The Way of the Dragon (1972).
Norris was advised to continue acting by his friend and student, late legendary actor Steve McQueen, before taking on his first starring role in the action film Breaker! Breaker! (1977) followed by Good Guys Wear Black (1978) before a string of bankable independent and martial arts films including A Force of One (1979), The Octagon (1980) and An Eye for an Eye (1981). Norris' most iconic role came in the 1990s playing the titular character on the long-running CBS television series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 to 2001 and continued to appear in action movie roles until 2006, with his last major film appearance coming in The Expendables 2 (2012).
Norris found new fame when 'Chuck Norris facts,' which documented his fictional and absurd feats of strength and endurance, became a popular internet meme, as well as out of context clips of Walker, Texas Ranger being played on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in the mid-2000s after USA Network, which aired Walker, Texas Ranger in syndication at the time, merged with NBC.