The Last Movie Terry Funk Was In Before He Died
By Matthew Martinez
Aside from his appearances in "Road House" and "The Ringer," Terry Funk's acting career mainly spanned from the 1980s into the 1990s. He was a regular on the short-lived western drama "Wildside," where he played Prometheus Jones for six episodes. Being a Texan, Funk was often called upon by the acting community to portray wrestlers or cowboys. He popped up as Carl in "Heart of a Champion," a Season 3 episode of "Quantum Leap" that sees Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) jump into the body of a wrestler.
Funk was cast against type as a police officer and had a regular role on the one-season wonder CBS comedy "Tequila and Bonetti" as Sgt. Nuzo. Funk's character did not survive the show's soft reboot, which saw Bonetti (Jack Scalia) and his canine partner move together to Italy. Funk also appeared in the 1989 television version of "Swamp Thing" and in the pilot for "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." as an accused criminal.
Funk's appearance as Frankie the Thumper in "Paradise Alley" also resulted in a working relationship with star Sylvester Stallone; the wrestler later appeared in the Stallone-starring arm-wrestling epic "Over the Top" as Ruker and provided additional stunt work for "Rambo III" and "Rocky V." Stallone specifically called on Funk's expertise to help him stage the alley brawl between his Rocky Balboa character and the boxer's former protege Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) during the film's final fight sequence.
Whether it involved laying down the law or avoiding it, never let it be said that Terry Funk didn't know how to beat his acting competition to the punch.
