Meme fan Steven Goodwin, 64, says the viral gags have been around for years – starting as jokes during the heydey of Norris’ acting career.
In the 1970s and 80s, he solidified himself as an action star with movies Missing in Action and Bruce Lee’s The Way of the Dragon.
But the memes ensured he remained a potent cultural force long after his last big-screen credits rolled.
“They were everywhere,” Goodwin said of the online gags. “Chuck Norris did everything better than everyone else. He was stronger, faster, tougher.”
But many young people say they only know the jokes – without any other context about Norris.
“I feel like, for most of my generation, the ‘Chuck Norris doesn’t x’ meme format was really about all we knew about him,” said Sam Smith, 25.
“He kind of just fit a masculine action-star stereotype… I’m pretty much positive none of us could name a movie he’d been in.”
The Chuck Norris memes spread like wildfire in the early days of social media in the 2000s.
“These memes were ubiquitous,” said Surabi Rao, 27.
“No matter which social media platform I visited, someone would always be posting these memes in the comments… I would laugh, even though I really had no clue who Chuck Norris was.”