Ron Funches

Ronald Kyle Funches (born March 12, 1983) is an American comedian, actor, voice actor, and writer. Born in California, Funches spent his early life in Chicago before relocating to Salem, Oregon, as a teenager. He began his comedy career in Portland, Oregon, at age 23. After moving to Los Angeles in 2012, he began appearing as a guest on several comedy series, including @midnight, Mulaney, and Kroll Show.

Ron Funches
Funches in 2015
Birth name	Ronald Kyle Funches
Born	March 12, 1983 Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
Medium	Stand-up television film
Years active	2006–present
Genres	Observational comedy black comedy surreal humor insult comedy sarcasm satire deadpan
Subject(s)	African-American culture American politics human behavior pop culture current events autism fatherhood marijuana
Children	1
Website	ronfunches.com

From 2014 to 2016, Funches starred as a regular on the NBC series Undateable, and in 2015, began performing as a voice actor on such series as BoJack Horseman, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, and Adventure Time. 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 TV series Final Space. 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[2] in Los Angeles, California but spent his early life with his mother and sister in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.[3][1] Funches' mother was a social worker.[1] When he was 13 years old, he moved to Salem, Oregon to live with his father, who was employed there as a pipefitter.[1]

He graduated from Douglas McKay High School in Salem, where he took English courses,[3][1] and was inspired by writers such as Molière, J. D. Salinger, William Faulkner, and Erich Maria Remarque.[1] After high school, Funches relocated to Portland, Oregon, where he worked a variety of jobs, including at a bank call center and as a clerk at a Grocery Outlet store.[1][3]

Career

Funches performing in 2010 at the Clinton Street Theater, Portland, Oregon

Funches began pursuing stand-up comedy at the age of 23 in Portland.[3][1] After having a small role on an episode of Portlandia in 2011,[4][5][6] he relocated to Los Angeles in 2012.[1] Beginning in 2013, he was a regular panelist on the comedy series @midnight, had a recurring role in the comedy series Crash & Bernstein (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.[7][8][9]

Beginning in 2014, Funches appeared in several episodes of Drunk History, and in 2015, performed numerous guest-starring voice roles on the animated series BoJack Horseman, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, and Adventure Time.

Funches subsequently starred as Shelly on the NBC comedy series Undateable from 2014 until the series' conclusion in 2016.[10][3][11] 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,[12] Also in 2016, Funches guest-starred on numerous series, such as Another Period, Take My Wife, and Transparent.

Beginning 2019, he began voicing the role of King Shark in the DC Comics TV series Harley Quinn. He played 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).

Influences

Funches has cited Lucille Ball, Dave Chappelle, and Mitch Hedberg as major influences on his comedy.[13] 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."[14]

Personal life

As of 2020, Funches lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son. [15][16] He is open about his son having autism in his comedy and welcomes fans sharing their stories with him.[3][11][17][18]

Funches is known as an avid video gamer.[19][20] He told Adam Carolla that he had once weighed 360 pounds. Funches said that over a few years he lost around 140 pounds.[21]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2014	Night Night with Ron Funches	Himself	Writer; short film for Funny or Die
2014	Night Night with Ron Funches Ep 2	Himself	Writer; short film for Funny or Die
2015	Movie Mind Machine	Ron	Short film
2015	Get Hard	Jojo		[22]
2016	Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie	Member of The Fat Boys		[23]
2016	Trolls	Cooper	Voice role	[12]
2017	Once Upon a Time in Venice	Mocha		[24]
2017	Killing Hasselhoff	Bill
2019	Jexi	Craig
2019	Noelle	Elf Mortimer
2019	6 Underground	Blaine's cousin / the funeral speaker
2019	Lucky	Sammy	Voice role
2020	Sylvie's Love	Tank
2020	Underlings	Sal	Voice role
2020	Trolls World Tour	Cooper	Voice role
2020	The One and Only Ivan	Murphy	Voice role
2021	Dark Web: Cicada 3301	Avi

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2011	Portlandia	Baseball Player	Episode: "Baseball"
2013	Crash & Bernstein	Roland	5 episodes
2013	Dead Kevin	Homeless King	Episode: "How Not to Rob a Liquor Store"
2013	New Girl	Street Musician	Episode: "First Date"
2014	Mulaney	Rodney aka Tall Tucan	Episode: "It's a Wonderful Home Alone"
2014	The Eric Andre Show	N/A	Writer Episode: "Seth Rogen; Asa Akira"
2014	Selfie	Wayne	Episode: "Traumatic Party Stress Disorder"
2014	The Half Hour	Himself	Stand-up special
2014	Bob's Burgers	Horseplay / Patrick	2 episodes Voice role	[25]
2014	Enlisted	Private Huggins	Episode: "Pilot"
2014–2015	Kroll Show	Himself	Actor: 4 episodes Writer: 11 episodes
2014–2016	Undateable	Shelly	36 episodes
2014–2016	Drunk History	Various	3 episodes	[25]
2015	Cougar Town	Marty	Episode: "To Find a Friend"
2015	BoJack Horseman	Levi	Episode: "Chickens" Voice role
2015	The Adventures of Puss in Boots	Fartholomew Fishflinger	Episode: "Mouse" Voice role
2015	Adventure Time	The Fool	2 episodes in Stakes Voice role
2016	Great Minds with Dan Harmon	Idi Amin	Episode: "Idi Amin"
2016	Another Period	Hamish's Cellmate	2 episodes
2016	The Lion Guard	Ajabu	Episode: "The Imaginary Okapi" Voice role
2016	Harmonquest	Captain Ribs Sanchez	Episode: "Across the Dernum Sea"
2016	Cupcake Wars	Himself	Episode: "Josie and the Pussycats"	[22]
2016	Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh	Sharzod	45 episodes Voice role
2016	Take My Wife	Ron	Episode: "Headliner"
2016	Transparent	Fredrick	Episode: "Elizah"
2017	Drive Share	Nicky Nitro	Episode: "The Light Source"
2017	Black-ish	Ledarius	Episode: "I'm a Survivor"	[25]
2017	The Goldbergs	Froy	2 episodes	[25]
2017	Powerless	Ron	12 episodes	[25]
2017	We Bare Bears	Wyatt	Episode: "Road Trip" Voice role
2017	Future Man	Ray	Episode: "Pilot"
2018	A.P. Bio	Dale	1 episodes	[25]
2018	Talk Show The Game Show	Himself	1 episodes	[26]
2018	OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes	Sparko	4 episodes Voice role
2018–2019	Trolls: The Beat Goes On!	Cooper	65 episodes Voice role	[25]
2019	Infinity Train	Khaki Bottoms	Episode: "The Ball Pit Car" Voice role
2019	Man with a Plan	Funchy	3 episodes	[25]
2019	Twelve Forever	Manquin	25 episodes Voice role	[25]
2019–present	Final Space	Fox	Main cast Voice role
2019–present	Harley Quinn	King Shark	23 episodes Voice role	[25]
2019	Ron Funches: Giggle Fit	Himself	Stand-up special
2019–present	Crank Yankers	Himself	2 episodes Voice role	[27]
2020	Central Park	Danny	Episode: "Squirrel, Interrupted"
2020	Room 104	Charlie	Episode: "Oh, Harry!"
2020	Hoops	Ron	10 Episodes
2020	The Last Blockbuster	Himself
2020	Nice One!	Himself	Host, writer
2020	Top Secret Videos[28]	Himself	Host, writer
2020	Match Game	Himself	Episode: "Joel McHale, Amanda Seales, Ron Funches, Ana Gasteyer, Rob Guebel, Nikki Glasser"

Other accomplishments

• DDT Pro-Wrestling
  • Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship (1 time)[29]

References

1. Turnquist, Kristi (July 29, 2012). "Rising star, comedian Ron Funches outgrows Portland, leaves for Los Angeles". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019.
2. "Ronald Kyle Funches was born on March 12, 1983 in Los Angeles County". California Birth Index. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
3. Duelund, Theis (May 28, 2014). "7 Things you Need to Know About Comedian Ron Funches". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
4. Crowder, Courtney (June 4, 2014). "Ron Funches on NBC's 'Undateable'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
5. Cutler, Jacqueline (May 29, 2014). "'Undateable': Ron Funches 'giggles 'like an Asian princess'". Zap2it. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
6. Turnquist, Kristi (May 31, 2014). "TV Rewind: Ron Funches on 'Undateable'; 'Mad Men' midseason finale; 'Downton Abbey,' more". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
7. "Chelsea Lately". Ron Funches. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
8. "Watch Chelsea Lately S8E119 Online - Ethan Hawke, Ron Funches, Sarah Colonna, Ross Mathews". SideReel. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
9. "Ron Funches Can't Stop Giggling on Chelsea Lately". The Interrobang. August 7, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
10. Hinds, Julie (August 1, 2014). "4 theories on why NBC renewed Detroit-centric sitcom 'Undateable'". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
11. Socci, Blair (August 5, 2013). "Talking to Ron Funches About Standup, LA, and His First Sitcom Acting Gig". Splitsider. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
12. Vlessing, Etan (April 14, 2016). "Zooey Deschanel, Jeffrey Tambor Join DreamWorks Animation's 'Trolls'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 8, 2016.
13. Variety Staff (May 9, 2015). "Cameo critic: Ron Funches loves 'I Love Lucy'". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020.
14. MacPherson, Guy (July 5, 2017). "From wrestling to Lucille Ball, comedian Ron Funches mixes it up". The Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020.
15. "Inside Scoop: Hanging With UNDATEABLE's David Fynn & Ron Funches". Oh So Gray. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
16. Ron Funches on Facebook Watch, retrieved 2020-04-09
17. Pashman, Dan (21 April 2015). "Comic Ron Funches' Autistic Son Loves Oreos With Bacon". Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
18. Nailen, Dan (June 28, 2018). "Ron Funches' "open-hearted, optimistic" comedy helps him stand out in stand-up". Inlander. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
19. Husband, Andrew (16 November 2015). "Ron Funches Discusses Video Games, Giggles And 'The Funches Of Us'". Uproxx. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
20. Kodner, Matt (18 October 2013). "What are you playing this weekend? Ron Funches, comedian". The Gameological Society. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
21. "Ron Funches". The Adam Carolla Show. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
22. Ramos, Dino-Ray (October 28, 2019). "Quibi Greenlights Comedy Game Show 'Nice One!' With Ron Funches". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020.
23. Barclay, Douglas (February 11, 2016). "Funny or Die made a satirical Trump 'biopic' that raised the bar for absurdist humor". Dayton Daily News. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020.
24. Heath, Josh (June 8, 2017). "Once Upon a Time in Venice". CutPrintFilm. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020.
25. "Ron Funches Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
26. Wright, Megh. "truTV Announces a Pile of Premiere Dates, New Series, and Shows in Development". Splitsider. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
27. "Crank Yankers: Aubrey Plaza, Ron Funches and Derek Waters". Comedy Central. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020.
28. "Top Secret Videos".
29. Ron Funches beats Laura James by forfeit to win DDT Pro Wrestling Ironman Heavymetalweight Title (video). 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016 – via YouTube.

External links

• Official website
• Ron Funches at IMDb