Judson Mills has a simple explanation for how he thinks Chuck Norris ended up missing from Sunday’s In Memoriam segment at the Emmys, and it isn’t a conspiracy.
“Tragic mistake. And I have to assume it was just a terrible mistake. But my first thought was Gena [Norris’ widow] and the family and his fans,” Mills told.
According to sources, the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards aired live from Los Angeles on September 14, honoring television’s biggest names of the past year. The broadcast’s In Memoriam tribute paid respects to Catherine O’Hara, Rob Reiner, James Van Der Beek, Hayden Panettiere, Tim Curry and other industry figures who passed in the past year.
Norris, who passed away in March at age 86, was not among the names shown on screen, though the Television Academy did include him in a longer tribute posted online.
For Mills, who spent two seasons alongside Norris playing Ranger Francis Gage on Walker, Texas Ranger and its spinoff Trial by Fire, the snub landed personally. Norris starred as Ranger Cordell Walker for nine seasons, from 1993 to 2001, building a following that stretched well beyond the show’s run and turning him into one of the most recognizable action stars of his era.
“But for an icon of his stature who impacted not only Hollywood, but the entire world, to see him not receive recognition at all and to see the family not receive that recognition was disappointing,” Mills said.
He didn’t hide how the moment affected him personally.
“It hurt my feelings for sure. He was a legend, for God’s sake,” Mills said.
Norris’s public life extended well past his film and television career. He was a vocal Republican who threw his support behind Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 election, writing in an op-ed for WND.com that Hillary Clinton would win the White House “if reluctant Republicans and other freedom-loving citizens don’t rally now behind GOP nominee Donald Trump.”
Years later, in 2021, he pointed to “progressivism” as a driving force behind the January 6 riot at the Capitol. His political history stretched back further still, to his backing of Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential run and an appearance alongside President George H.W. Bush in 1992 at a Houston school event focused on steering kids away from dr[]gs, where Norris presented the president with an honorary black belt.
When Trump was asked about Norris’s passing while leaving the White House, he kept his response brief and warm.
“He was a great guy. He was a really good, tough cookie,” Trump said.
Norris is survived by his wife, Gena O’Kelley. Mills said his thoughts went straight to her and the rest of the family once he realized the tribute had left Norris out, and he doesn’t believe Norris himself would have wanted anger to define the moment.
“I’m confident Chuck would encourage forgiveness. He was an ‘it’s not all about me’ kind of guy,” Mills said.
