ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 18, 1996 TAG: 9603190044
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALLAS
SOURCE: JANE SUMNER\DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Carlos Ray Norris grew up dirt-poor in Wilson, Okla. He slept with his brother on a pallet on the floor, bathed in a galvanized tin tub and hated his family's outdoor privy so much that he'd hike two miles to his aunt's house, which had indoor plumbing.
But at 56, the affable Okie - rechristened Chuck in the Air Force - has a new book in stores, a hit TV series in the top 10 and a Las Vegas-style casino in the works near Moscow's Red Square.
At his production company, the high-kicking star of 23 action films talks in his warm, boyish way about his book, his business ventures and the loves of his life.
Norris, who parlayed stoicism, stamina and a trademark spinning back kick into such movie hits as ``Missing in Action,'' ``Code of Silence'' and ``Lone Wolf McQuade,'' isn't the least bit surprised that the Dallas-shot ``Walker, Texas Ranger'' has crashed the Nielsen top 10.
``It was a goal of mine when I first started,'' he said. ``When they put me on Saturday night, I said, `I'm going to make `Walker' a top 10 show.' They said, `That won't happen on Saturday night. Not enough of an audience watches.'''
That kind of talk just stirred up the competitive juices of this 10th-degree black belt. He knew the show needed laughs and relationships - such as the bond forged between Walker and dapper young Ranger Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard), and the rosy glow between Walker and prosecutor Alex Cahill (Sheree J. Wilson).
``Just action would be boring,'' says the 5-foot-10 former karate instructor, who was pushed into acting by one of his students, the late Steve McQueen.
The show steers clear of sex, blood and cussing, but the bruising moves Walker uses on bad guys have taken uppercuts from critics. ```NYPD Blue' is a thousand times more violent,'' insists the star, who considers the Western series a morality play in which good triumphs over evil.
When not shooting ``Walker'' in the Dallas area, the star heads for his 700-acre cattle ranch in Navasota, Texas, or another home in California. But his riskiest venture is taking shape halfway around the world.
The casino deal got going 31/2 years ago, when he went to Moscow to judge a kick-boxing event.
``Unbeknownst to me, martial arts was outlawed in Russia, so martial artists who were training at the time had to go underground. They had no teachers, so they used my pirated video tapes as training aids to learn the kicks. So I was like their mentor, and the response I got was amazing.''
Norris said a Las Vegas casino investment has proved to be the best deal of his life. He talked about it recently on ``The Late Show With David Letterman,'' where he also announced that Chuck Norris Casino and Supper Club is being built five blocks from Red Square.
According to partner Nikolaj Vissokovsky, a New York martial arts instructor, the complex will house a 54,000-square-foot casino, two restaurants, a showroom, disco, jazz club, conference rooms and sports complex. Bouygues, a French construction company that has worked to restore the Louvre, has been hired for the project.
The casino is set to open by year's end, its namesake says. And before he heads for Russia, he will exit the bachelor ranks.
``Truthfully, I never thought I would ever get married again, but I found a woman I want to spend the rest of my life with,'' Norris said of Monica Hall. He was married for 30 years to his high school sweetheart, Dianne, before their divorce eight years ago.
``We've been together six years. When we first met, I said, `I really don't have any intention of getting married. If that's a problem, then maybe we should dissolve the relationship.'''
For Hall, a 25-year-old native of Turlock, Calif., that wasn't a problem. ``She's just been so fabulous that actually I proposed a year ago last January with the idea of getting married in August 1995. August is the only time I have off, and she said she needed more time to plan this.'' So now the wedding is set for the same date this year in Los Angeles.
In his new book, ``The Secret Power Within'' (Little, Brown), Norris recounts how the ancient system of Zen - the philosophy behind some martial arts - helped him refocus his life.
In the highly personal book, a kind of layman's guide to Zen, he talks about his strange encounter with a saffron-robed monk, his own precepts for a better, longer life based on Zen teachings and his friendship with martial artist Bruce Lee. In 1973, Norris made his film debut in his friend's ``Return of the Dragon.''
``Bruce was a very intuitive guy,'' Norris said. ``He had a tremendous spiritual focus on what he wanted in his life, and he knew exactly how he was going to do it. Sure enough, he stayed focused on his career just like I stayed focused on the series. If he hadn't died, he'd be one of the biggest stars in the world.''
The book ends with a chapter devoted to Norris' brother Wieland, who was killed a month before his 28th birthday in 1970 in Vietnam. ``Wieland is always in my heart,'' his brother says. ``His spirit's with me all the time. It's something I'll never get over. When we grew up, we only had each other for support. He was one of my black belts. He was one of my instructors. He was more than my brother; he was my best friend.''
When not working on his series or his Kick Drugs Out of America Foundation, which teaches karate to kids at inner-city schools in Dallas and Houston, he's venturing into TV with brother Aaron. The pair already have teamed up for a half-dozen films, including the recent family fare ``Sidekicks'' and ``Top Dog.''
LENGTH: Long : 101 linesby CNB