NEW YORK, March 20. /TASS/. US actor Chuck Norris, best known for his lead role in the series "Walker, Texas Ranger," has died at the age of 86, his family announced.

"It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning. While we would like to keep the circumstances [of his death] private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace," the actor's family said in a statement published on Norris’s page on the social network Instagram (banned in Russia).

Earlier this week, the actor was hospitalized on the island of Kauai in the state of Hawaii. On March 10, he celebrated his 86th birthday.