Carlos Ray Norris, better known as Chuck Norris, was born in Ryan, Oklahoma, on March 10, 1940. Living in a trailer with his mother and two younger brothers, he did not participate in sports and frequently faced bullying at school. The future actor worked as a trucker and dreamed of becoming a police officer. After high school, Norris married his classmate Diana Holecek, enlisted in the Army, and served for three years at an Air Force base in South Korea. At this base, his fate took a significant turn: his colleagues started referring to him as Chuck, a moniker that remained with him throughout his life. That’s also when Norris began to practice judo and tansudo—mostly out of boredom.
