The ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ star claims that CBS slighted him and his company the royalty payments for his long running television series. And we hope the defendants are prepared for a battle of epic proportions because we all know that even monsters check on top of the bed to see if Chuck Norris is there.
Jokes aside, the septuagenarian actor and Total Gym spokesman is taking his claims to the Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that CBS owes his company, Top Kick Productions, a lot of money. Chuck claims that CBS stiffed him the agreed upon amount of 23% of the royalties from ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ starting in 2004 when he agreed to hand over the rights to the successful television program.
The legal documents drawn up by the prolific celebrity and author state in no uncertain terms the extent to which CBS is at fault. ‘Defendants have rejected, ignored, and failed to consider offers from third parties who were willing to pay a premium license fee for Walker, because Defendants preferred to self-deal by negotiating special licensing deals, with minimal fees, with their own networks,’ the suit alleges.
The royalties requested are a sum worth sneezing at. Considering the fact that ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ has been broadcast in over 100 countries and was the basis on which the 2005 made-for-television movie ‘Trial by Fire’ was based. And CBS was well aware of the popularity of the main character, Top Kick Production’s lawyer claims. According to the legal documents, “CBS was among the networks that were fully aware of Chuck Norris’ success, history, brand and image, which resulted in CBS agreeing to become the primary distributor of Walker.”
Those are some tall claims for the martial artist and military veteran. But we all know that Chuck Norris isn’t afraid of anything. Because even great white sharks are afraid when Chuck jumps into the ocean.
