Here’s a confession that might get me in trouble. I never really got into Chuck Norris movies. It’s more timing than anything else. I knew who Chuck Norris was, and not just because of his lackluster and forgotten cartoon. (I kind of liked it as a kid but I knew it wasn’t as good as it could have been.) He tried to do the same thing as Mr. T, entertain kids and give good moral lessons but the writing just wasn’t there even though the concept was sound. It was really the only thing I could catch as a kid because most of his films were made for adults and I was a kid. It was catered to adult tastes, and I’m not complaining. I just came about at the wrong time. The only Chuck Norris vehicle I really got into was Walker: Texas Ranger, and even that I’ve never watched regularly.
Sadly we lost Norris yesterday. Despite all the internet memes about how superhuman he was, Carlos Ray Norris passed away in a hospital while on vacation in Hawaii, after being hospitalized for a “medical emergency”. As of this writing no cause of death has been reported. So I wanted to post something for Saturday Night Showcase as tribute to someone who did so much for entertainment.
I chose Lone Wolf McQuade, a 1983 action movie that inspired Cordell Walker in the original series. It’s also one of his first roles as the heroic lead and debut of the facial hair that solidified his signature look. Jim “JJ” McQuade is a Marine turned Texas Ranger who gets along with his ex-wife and her new boyfriend. When the boyfriend is killed and ex hospitalized by Rawley Wilkes (David Carradine), McQuade has to bring the villain to justice as only a Chuck Norris character can. Enjoy.
Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris
March 10, 1940-March 19, 2026
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