Terry Funk(1944-2023)
- Actor
- Director
- Stunts
Funk has strong wrestling bloodlines. His dad,
Dory Funk Sr., was a well-known grappler
from the 1940s to the 1970s, and his brother,
Dory Funk Jr., wrestled from 1963 until
the early 90s, and won the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) world
heavyweight championship in 1969. Funk, himself, became NWA champion
and thus the Funks have the distinction of being the only brothers to
win the NWA championship. Funk made his film debut as (what else?) a
wrestler in Sylvester Stallone's (a
noted wrestling fan) movie
Paradise Alley (1978). Funk then
did double-duty as a pro wrestler and actor/stunt man (he was prominent
in Patrick Swayze's movie,
Road House (1989)). Not technically a
great wrestler, Funk was more known for his brawling tactics, and had
some great feuds during his career with "Handsome" Harley Race, "Nature
Boy" Ric Flair, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and others. After
maintaining a low profile in wrestling, Funk resurfaced in the 90s in
the new Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) series and the World
Wrestling Federation (WWF), this time in his new persona as "Chainsaw
Charlie".
