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Ronald Kyle Funches (born March 12, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. Born in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, Funches spent his early life in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
before relocating to
Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary bet ...
, as a teenager. He began his comedy career in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
, at age 23. After moving to Los Angeles in 2012, he began appearing as a guest on several comedy series, including ''
@midnight ''@midnight with Chris Hardwick'' (shortened to and formerly exclusively titled ''@midnight'') was an American late night Internet-themed panel game show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, that aired Monday through Thursday nights between October 21, ...
'', '' Mulaney'', and '' Kroll Show''. From 2014 to 2016, Funches starred as a regular on the NBC series ''
Undateable ''Undateable'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from May 29, 2014, to January 29, 2016, and originally premiered as a mid-season replacement. The series was created by Adam Sztykiel, based on the book ''Undateable: 311 ...
'', and in 2015, began performing as a voice actor on such series as ''
BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animated black comedy-drama streaming television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...
'', ''
The Adventures of Puss in Boots ''The Adventures of Puss in Boots'' is an American computer-animated streaming television series. It stars the character Puss in Boots from DreamWorks Animation's ''Shrek'' franchise and its 2011 spin-off film, voiced by Eric Bauza. The seri ...
'', and ''
Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
''. He subsequently performed the voice role of Cooper in the animated film '' Trolls'' (2016). He also had guest-starring roles on a number of television series, including '' Transparent'' (2016), '' Black-ish'' (2017), and reprised the role of Cooper in the ''Trolls'' spin-off series '' Trolls: The Beat Goes On!'' (2018). Beginning in 2019, he began voicing the roles of King Shark in the DC Comics TV series '' Harley Quinn'' and Fox in the TBS/
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
TV series ''
Final Space ''Final Space'' is an adult animated space opera comedy drama television series created by Olan Rogers and developed by Rogers and David Sacks. The series involves an astronaut named Gary Goodspeed and his immensely powerful alien friend Moonca ...
''. In 2020, Funches again reprised the role of Cooper in the sequel film '' Trolls World Tour''. Starting in 2020, Funches voiced Ron on the Netflix series '' Hoops''.


Early life

Ronald Kyle Funches was born March 12, 1983 in
Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
, but spent his early life with his mother and sister in the Woodlawn neighborhood of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
. Funches' mother was a
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
er. When he was 13 years old, he moved to
Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary bet ...
to live with his father, who was employed there as a pipefitter. He graduated from Douglas McKay High School in Salem, where he took
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
courses, and was inspired by writers such as
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
, J. D. Salinger,
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...
, and Erich Maria Remarque. After high school, Funches relocated to
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
, where he worked a variety of jobs, including at a bank call center and as a clerk at a Grocery Outlet store.


Career

Funches began pursuing stand-up comedy at the age of 23 in Portland. After having a small role on an episode of ''
Portlandia ''Portlandia'' is an American sketch comedy television series starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, set in and around Portland, Oregon, and spoofing the city's reputation as a haven for eccentric hipsters. The show was produced by Br ...
'' in 2011, he relocated to Los Angeles in 2012. Beginning in 2013, he was a regular panelist on the comedy series ''
@midnight ''@midnight with Chris Hardwick'' (shortened to and formerly exclusively titled ''@midnight'') was an American late night Internet-themed panel game show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, that aired Monday through Thursday nights between October 21, ...
'', had a recurring role in the comedy series ''
Crash & Bernstein ''Crash & Bernstein'' is an American sitcom which premiered on October 8, 2012, and ended on August 11, 2014, on Disney XD. Created by Eric Friedman, the series centered on a boy with three sisters who wishes to have a brother. His wishes come t ...
'' (2013), and worked as a writer on '' The Eric Andre Show'' and Comedy Central's '' The Half Hour'' (2014). Also in 2014, Funches performed as a regular comic panelist on '' Chelsea Lately''. Beginning in 2014, Funches appeared in several episodes of ''
Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. They and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's ...
'', and in 2015, performed numerous guest-starring voice roles on the animated series ''
BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animated black comedy-drama streaming television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...
'', ''
The Adventures of Puss in Boots ''The Adventures of Puss in Boots'' is an American computer-animated streaming television series. It stars the character Puss in Boots from DreamWorks Animation's ''Shrek'' franchise and its 2011 spin-off film, voiced by Eric Bauza. The seri ...
'', and ''
Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
''. Funches subsequently starred as Shelly on the NBC comedy series ''
Undateable ''Undateable'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from May 29, 2014, to January 29, 2016, and originally premiered as a mid-season replacement. The series was created by Adam Sztykiel, based on the book ''Undateable: 311 ...
'' from 2014 until the series' conclusion in 2016. Funches also had a supporting role in the 2015 comedy film '' Get Hard''. In 2016, he voiced the role of Cooper in the animated film '' Trolls'', Also in 2016, Funches guest-starred on numerous series, such as ''
Another Period ''Another Period'' is an American period sitcom television series created by and starring Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome. It followed the lives of the Bellacourts, the first family of Newport, Rhode Island, at the turn of the 20th century. ...
'', '' Take My Wife'', and '' Transparent''. Beginning in 2019, he began voicing the role of King Shark in the DC Comics TV series '' Harley Quinn'' and the role of Fox in the TBS series ''
Final Space ''Final Space'' is an adult animated space opera comedy drama television series created by Olan Rogers and developed by Rogers and David Sacks. The series involves an astronaut named Gary Goodspeed and his immensely powerful alien friend Moonca ...
''. He played the recurring character "Funchy" in season 3 (2019) of the CBS sitcom '' Man with a Plan''. Funches reprised his role of Cooper in the ''Trolls'' sequel, '' Trolls World Tour'' (2020). Funches also voiced Shag Rugg on the 2021
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...
television series '' Jellystone!.'' On April 20, 2021, Funches became host of a new spinoff of the iconic "Chopped" cooking competition series. The new show, streaming on
Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...
, is called "Chopped: 420." Where the cheftestants have to make cannabis infused gourmet meals.


Influences

Funches has cited
Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...
,
Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...
, and
Mitch Hedberg Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 30, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non se ...
as major influences on his comedy. Commenting on Ball, he said: "'' I Love Lucy'' was kind of my introduction to the world of comedy in general. And when you look at the history of Lucille Ball, and the work that she did for women in Hollywood, having her own production company, and also showing an interracial marriage on TV in the ’50s, to me, she’s just one of my biggest influences overall as a human being. That's what it means to be a professional and what it means to stand up for yourself."


Personal life

As of 2020, Funches lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son. He is open about his son being
autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
in his comedy and welcomes fans sharing their stories with him. Funches is an avid
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...
r. He told
Adam Carolla Adam Carolla (born May 27, 1964) is an American radio personality, comedian, actor and podcaster. He hosts '' The Adam Carolla Show'', a talk show distributed as a podcast which set the record as the "most downloaded podcast" as judged by ''Guin ...
that he had once weighed 360 pounds. Funches said that over a few years he lost around 140 pounds.


Filmography


Film


Television


Other accomplishments

* DDT Pro-Wrestling ** Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship (1 time)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Funches, Ron 1983 births Living people African-American male actors African-American stand-up comedians American male television actors American male television writers American stand-up comedians American television writers Comedians from California Comedians from Illinois Comedians from Oregon Male actors from Chicago Male actors from Portland, Oregon Male actors from Salem, Oregon Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Illinois Screenwriters from Oregon 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American people African-American male writers Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions