The man behind the viral Chuck Norris Facts memes has shared his experience of meeting the martial arts legend, who died on Thursday at the age of 86. Ian Spector, who created the humorous fictional 'facts' about Norris, said he felt apprehensive before the encounter, wondering how the star would react to the website.
Spector's idea evolved from a similar trend about Vin Diesel, but gained massive popularity after Norris's role in the 2004 film Dodgeball. The memes, including gems like 'Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down,' drew millions of monthly visitors to his site.
The meeting took place in a hotel suite in Connecticut after Norris's wife Gena O'Kelley arranged it. Spector recalled Norris greeting him with a handshake, noting the star looked surprisingly young for 64. 'He knows who he is. He wasn't as tall as you would think. But he still stood there in a way where he could have definitely killed anybody else in the room,' Spector said.
During the hour-long conversation, Spector observed Norris and his wife spooning on the sofa. He felt the actor was more amused than irritated by the website and seemed pleased to be back in the public eye.
Norris died in Hawaii after a medical emergency. His granddaughter Greta Norris paid tribute on Instagram, acknowledging the memes: 'You all knew Chuck Norris as the man that counted to infinity twice, the man who got bit by a cobra and the cobra died.' She added: 'The world truly lost an icon and I lost my grandpa.'
