In his tribute to Norris, Stallone also described him as a “great man”, adding that he “had a great time working with Chuck”.
Later on Friday, US President Donald Trump said he had “the highest respect” for Norris.
“He was a great guy, he was a really tough cookie.”
Fellow US actor Lorenzo Lamas, who trained at Norris’ martial arts studio, said he was praying for Norris’ family.
“Watch out evil world, there is an angel of consequence at the gates. Chuck Norris doesn’t just get wings, he gets even,” Lamas wrote in a post on X.
Born Carlos Ray Norris in Oklahoma in 1940, he joined the US Air Force as a teenager.
While stationed in South Korea, Norris began training in martial arts.
He earned black belts in karate, taekwondo, tang soo do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo, and also founded his own discipline called chun kuk do.
He won karate championships in the 1960s, and seamlessly integrated his authentic combat skills into his screen work.
His big break on the big screen came after meeting martial arts film star Lee, who invited the reigning karate champion to play the final villain Colt in the 1972 film.
In a Q&A with Combat Culture, external, Norris once recalled: “At that time I held the world title and kiddingly I said to Bruce, ‘Well, who wins Bruce?’
“And he says, ‘I win, I’m the star of this movie’. I say, ‘Oh, I see, you want to beat the world champion?’ And he said, ‘No I don’t, I want to kill the world champion’.”