Trivia / Walker, Texas Ranger

• Actor Leaves, Character Dies: The character of C.D. Parker was killed off (by what was originally thought to be heart failure, though the finale reveals Parker was actually poisoned) because his actor, Noble Willingham, had left to pursue an ultimately unsuccessful run for Congress.^note Willingham was the Republican candidate for the 1st Congressional district in Texas; losing to incumbent Democrat Congressman Max Sandlin Sadly, Willingham only lived to 2004 and screwed himself out of a chance to return to the show and go out boldly.
• Actor-Shared Background:
  • Chuck Norris and his character Walker are of Native American heritage.
  • Also subverted with regards to Walker being a Vietnam veteran. While Chuck Norris did serve in the military, his time in the service was in peacetime (late 1950s); with one possibility being that having Walker as a Vietnam veteran may have been in memory of his brother Weiland, who was killed in action in Vietnam.
• Alan Smithee: The "Louise McCarn" who wrote "One Riot, One Ranger" and co-wrote "Storm Warning" is actually Leigh Chapman (The Wild Wild West and others as a writer, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and others as an actress) - they were her final scripts.
• Banned Episode: On the INSP network, there are certain episodes that are cut out of the rotation due to the channel being rooted in a deeply Christian foundation^note the network's roots go back to the old PTL network owned by Jim Bakker before that network was derailed by sexual and financial scandals in 1987, though this borders dangerously close to politically incorrect foolhardiness. "Badge of Honor" never airs because of its depictions of extreme African-American racism and the plot involving attempts to lynch Trivette by burying him and company alive. "Children of Halloween" is obviously skipped because the plot is all about a Satanist kidnapping children, even though this episode ends with Christianity triumphing the evil of Satan- the devil worship scenes are irreconcilable. And the two episodes that feature Davey are cut because they are partially about Buddhism and this conflicts with fundamental Christian values, though the purpose of those episodes was just a harmless look into the religion to be informative and even a little bit of sci-fi mumbo jumbo about reincarnation and telepathic abilities, not some gateway to Buddhism. And finally, "Lucas" never airs because it broaches the very sensitive topic about sexually transmitted disease and ends with people dying from them.
  • Moreover, every episode has its profanity and obscenities trimmed out and certain violent moments are cut or shortened, such as the impaled man in "Swan Song" and Alex screaming at the sight of him being pulled, cutting out the bloody part of the beating Rod Barkley gives to a young delinquent in the second part of "Sons of Thunder", shaving down the scene with the cop beating up a rapist in "Justice For All", and the moment from the episode of the last season where a man is found after hanging himself which normally hangs (no pun intended) on that scene with a mournful woman choral moan showing just a spritz of that and immediately jumping to the last scene of the episode.
• California Doubling: One of the most notable aversions, filmed on location in Texas. Specifically the DFW Metroplex. Many locals were used as extras or even had a line or two.
  • Played straight in "Deep Cover" which takes our hero to Miami.
• The Cast Showoff: Nia Peeples' vocal talent is featured on several episodes after she joined the cast.
  • Chuck Norris is not only the star, but he also sang the theme song.
• Cast the Expert: TV reporter Clarice Tinsley plays a TV reporter.
• Channel Hop: The first four episodes were made by Cannon Television, before they ran into financial difficulties (there's a surprise). Enter CBS - along with the Ruddy/Greif Company, Top Kick Productions (Norris Brothers Entertainment^note Chuck, Aaron and their late brother Wieland, who was killed in action in Vietnam - this is why the company's logo has three men in it instead of two from season six) and Columbia Pictures Television - to pick up the slack, in a literal case of Network to the Rescue.
• Directed by Cast Member: Clarence Gilyard (Trivette) directed Season 8's "Full Recovery".
• Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: Sally, a Special Olympian appearing in Season 7's "Special Witness", has Downs Syndrome. Her actress, Andrea Fay Friedman has Downs Syndrome in real life.
• In Memoriam: Season 7's "Brothers in Arms" was a dedication to Creative Consultant Nick Corea, who passed away of pancreatic cancer after filming for this episode was completed.
• Real-Life Relative:
  • Many of Chuck Norris's family members have been involved a lot throughout the series, but having a younger family member being cast in Season 9's "Child of Hope" really sets things apart. Max Carlos Norris, who plays Baby Max, is Chuck's real-life grandson, with his father, Chuck's son, Michael, having directed the episode.
  • Billy Jayne, who played Derek Malloy in Season 4's "Flashpoint", is the brother of Robert Jayne, who played undercover rookie Texas Ranger Danny O'Bannon one season later in "Devil's Turf".
• The Other Darrin:
  • C.D. Parker was portrayed by Gailard Sartain in "One Riot, One Ranger", and later portrayed by Noble Willingham after that episode all through the series.
  • John Amos and Paul Winfield both played Pastor Roscoe Jones. Amos took on the role in "Sons of Thunder", and Winfield took over one season later in "The Soul of Winter".
  • Cordell had two successive voices in the European French dub , Bernard Tiphaine then Yves Rénier.
• You Look Familiar:
  • Actor Marshall Teague makes no less than six appearances on the show as entirely different characters, all of which are the main villains of each story, usually disguised as different people under heavy makeup. On top of that, he plays the main villain of both the first and last episodes of the series. Not only this, but he also plays an ancestor of his character in the Grand Finale, making him the proud owner of seven different character roles. And he even plays a major villain in "Trial By Fire", bumping his appearances up to eight!
  • Frank Stallone, who plays the villain in a Season 7 episode, appears the following season as the owner of a nightclub who enlists the Rangers following the Mafia attempting to intimidate him into entering partnership with them.
• Written by Cast Member: Chuck Norris gets "story by" credit to himself on "Golden Boy", "Justice for All" and "Medieval Crimes"; shared with his brother Aaron Norris on "Sons of Thunder"^note On the subsequent series the brothers share "created by" credit. and the two-parter "Lucas".

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