By John DeVore By the early 2000s, Chuck Norris had become a punchline. The star’s hit CBS TV show, Walker, Texas Ranger, was cancelled in 2001, and a few years later, ChuckNorrisFacts.com went live, launched by Brown University student and future New York Times bestselling author Ian Spector. The site was a pre-social media viral sensation based on a single premise: Norris’ indestructible tough-guy act was a joke, each “fact” an absurd bon mot: “Chuck Norris drinks napalm to fight his heartburn.” “Chuck Norris’ tears cure cancer. Too bad he never cries.” Here’s a personal favorite: “Chuck Norris doesn’t cheat death. He wins fair and square.” I thought about that now-ancient internet zinger the moment I got the notification that Chuck Norris, martial-arts legend and action-movie icon, was dead at 86. To understand the arc of Norris’ nearly 50-year career, first, look to its lowest point.…