Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408090069
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG NYE KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The show, as Norris himself admits, is a throwback to another era and the closest thing to an old-time cowboy movie you can find these days.
"I grew up watching those old cowboy films," said Norris after a press conference earlier this month in Los Angeles. "Tim Holt. Wild Bill Elliott. Roy Rogers. I watched them all."
But there was one western star in particular who had a great effect on him: John Wayne.
"My father had died when I was very young so I needed someone to look up to," Norris said. "I found that someone in John Wayne. He stood for right. He stood for patriotism."
Norris is trying to provide that same kind of image with his Walker character. Not everyone has been pleased with his efforts. One group rated "Walker" as one of the most violent shows on television.
"I think because of some of my past movies, the name Chuck Norris conjures up an image of violence," Norris said. "But we're a show of excitement and action. I guess it depends on what you call violence. I think some people are watching and counting the number of times I do a kick and call that violence.
"You never see blood on our show. We don't have any brutal murders. I never kill anybody if possible and just try to wing them in the shoulder."
The series, heading into its second full season, features Norris as something of a maverick Texas Ranger. His partner, Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard), is a modern high-tech ranger who is usually stunned by Walker's methods.
Nobel Willingham is C.D. Parker, a former ranger who owns a saloon/restaurant where Walker and Trivette hang out. Sheree J. Wilson is Alex Cahill, the county assistant district attorney.
"I think we've got great characters on the show," Walker said. "We have a lot of humor."
The ratings have been good for "Walker" and this summer during the rerun season the show has soared into the Top 20.
And for those who call "Walker" a violent show, Norris points to the letters from fans who think otherwise.
"We're a family show," Norris said. "We've got thousands of letters from families. I got a letter from a teacher in Tucson who said she recommends to her class to watch `Walker' because it's not violent.
"I got a letter about a little girl who cried when our show was pre-empted. And another letter about a little boy who puts on his cowboy hat and boots when he watches the show."
Norris said he thinks he knows why the show is popular. It's because kids need heroes today and older people identify with "Walker" too.
"What we are doing is fighting injustice with justice," Walker said. "Walker is a character who will stand up for the victims. But he has no compassion for the criminals.
"We could use a little of that in our society today. The criminal gets all the breaks. I think that's one of the reasons people tune in because they like to see a criminal brought to justice."
This year Walker will have a new executive producer, Len Katzman, and Norris is excited about that.
"I think we're going to be even better this year," Norris said. "I thought we had some problems with scripts last year. We'd get them two days before we would shoot and then we'd spend only a day trying to do re-writes.
"Our first show this season is called `Mustangs.' It's about the people who are exterminating the Mustang horses."
Norris is very interested in the youth of America. In Houston, he oversees "Kick Drugs," an organization that works with 15-and-under kids.
"Every kids needs somebody positive they can look up to," Norris said. "And if I can provide that, then that's great.
"I wouldn't do anything that was detrimental to a kid on my show. Washington talks about violence, they ought to check out all the sexual situations on television. I can't believe some of the stuff. I certainly wouldn't let my kid watch that. It's amoral."
Obviously a lot of people feel the same way which explains the growing ratings of "Walker, Texas Ranger."
by CNB