Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Ron Funches | |
|---|---|
Funches in 2015 | |
| Born | Ronald Kyle Funches March 12, 1983 Carson, California, U.S.[1] |
| Spouse |
Christina Dawn
(m. 2020; div. 2022) |
| Children | 2 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Medium |
|
| Genres | |
| Subjects | |
| Website | ronfunches |
Ronald Kyle Funches (born March 12, 1983) is an American comedian and actor.[2][3] 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 voiced 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. In 2021, Funches began voicing Kevin in the FX series Poorly Drawn Lines.
Ronald Kyle Funches was born in Carson, California,[4] but spent his early life with his mother and sister in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.[5][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 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.
He graduated from Douglas McKay High School in Salem, where he took English courses,[5][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][5]

Funches began pursuing stand-up comedy at the age of 23 in Portland.[5][1] After having a small role on an episode of Portlandia in 2011,[6][7][8] 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.[9][10][11]
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.[12][5][13] 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,[14] Also in 2016, Funches guest-starred on numerous series, such as Another Period, 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. 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 television series Jellystone![15] and Rock on the 2024 Nickelodeon television series Rock Paper Scissors.
In 2021, Funches hosted a spin-off of the Food Network series Chopped—Chopped 420—for Discovery+.[16]
Since 2022, Funches played the cousin of Maya Rudolph's character on Loot.[17]
Funches has cited Lucille Ball, Dave Chappelle, and Mitch Hedberg as major influences on his comedy.[18] 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 even though interracial marriage has nothing to do with a career."[19]
Funches had his first son, Malcolm, when he was 20 years old.[20] He mentions Malcolm's autism in his standup routine and welcomes fans sharing their stories with him.[5][13][21][22] He married Christina Dawn in August 2020. They had a son, Funches's second child, in 2022.[23][24][25] In October 2022, they separated.[26][27] They are now divorced. He has been divorced twice.[28]
Funches is an avid video gamer[29][30] and wrestling fan, having taken classes at a wrestling school for a few months.[31] Eventually Funches made his in-ring debut at GCW in September 2021 in a match against Tony Deppen that featured Paul Scheer as his cornerman and interference from Danhausen.[32] In August 2022 he started his wrestling podcast One Fall with Ron Funches.[33]
He told Adam Carolla that he had once weighed 360 pounds (160 kg). Funches said that over a few years he lost around 140 pounds (64 kg).[34]
After an appearance on the fourth season of the reality TV program The Traitors, he felt isolated and misunderstood because he felt that while he presented as a person who was happy and excited to be in the show, he found it odd that his fellow contestants were asking if he actually wanted to be on the show. After social media followers who identified as autistic, identified positively with Funches experience on the show, he decided to get tested for an official autism diagnosis. In April 2026 he appeared on the Easterseals' podcast Everything You Know About Disability Is Wrong to discuss what his life has been like now that he has been officially diagnosed with autism.[35][36]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Night Night with Ron Funches | Himself | Writer; short film for Funny or Die | |
| Night Night with Ron Funches Ep 2 | ||||
| 2015 | Movie Mind Machine | Ron | Short film | |
| Get Hard | Jojo | [37] | ||
| 2016 | Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie | Member of The Fat Boys | [38] | |
| Trolls | Cooper | Voice role | [14] | |
| 2017 | Once Upon a Time in Venice | Mocha | [39] | |
| Killing Hasselhoff | Bill | |||
| 2019 | Jexi | Craig | ||
| Noelle | Elf Mortimer | |||
| 6 Underground | Blaine's cousin / the funeral speaker | |||
| Lucky | Sammy | Voice role | ||
| 2020 | Sylvie's Love | Tank | ||
| Underlings | Sal | Voice role | ||
| Trolls World Tour | Cooper | |||
| The One and Only Ivan | Murphy | |||
| Golden Arm | Carl | |||
| 2021 | Dark Web: Cicada 3301 | Avi | ||
| 2022 | Cheaper by the Dozen | Seth's Neighbor | ||
| Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience | Les Pants | Voice role | ||
| 2023 | 80 for Brady | Chip | ||
| Under the Boardwalk | Anemone | Voice role | ||
| Trolls Band Together | Cooper | Voice cameo | ||
| Good Burger 2 | Jimathy | |||
| 2024 | Inside Out 2 | Bloofy | Voice role; also performed "Bloofy's House Theme Song" | [40][41] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Portlandia | Baseball Player | Episode: "Baseball" | |
| 2013 | Crash & Bernstein | Roland | 5 episodes | |
| Dead Kevin | Homeless King | Episode: "How Not to Rob a Liquor Store" | ||
| New Girl | Street Musician | Episode: "First Date" | ||
| 2014 | Mulaney | Rodney aka Tall Tucan | Episode: "It's a Wonderful Home Alone" | |
| The Eric Andre Show | N/a | Writer Episode: "Seth Rogen; Asa Akira" | ||
| Selfie | Wayne | Episode: "Traumatic Party Stress Disorder" | ||
| The Half Hour | Himself | Stand-up special | ||
| Bob's Burgers | Horseplay / Patrick | 2 episodes Voice role |
[42] | |
| Enlisted | Private Huggins | Episode: "Pilot" | ||
| 2014–2015 | Kroll Show | Himself | Actor: 4 episodes Writer: 11 episodes | |
| 2014–2016 | Undateable | Shelly | 36 episodes | |
| Drunk History | Various | 3 episodes | [42] | |
| 2015 | Cougar Town | Marty | Episode: "To Find a Friend" | |
| BoJack Horseman | Levi | Episode: "Chickens" Voice role | ||
| The Adventures of Puss in Boots | Fartholomew Fishflinger | Episode: "Mouse" Voice role | ||
| Adventure Time | The Fool | 2 episodes in Stakes Voice role | ||
| 2016 | Great Minds with Dan Harmon | Idi Amin | Episode: "Idi Amin" | |
| Another Period | Hamish's Cellmate | 2 episodes | ||
| The Lion Guard | Ajabu | Episode: "The Imaginary Okapi" Voice role | ||
| Harmonquest | Captain Ribs Sanchez | Episode: "Across the Dernum Sea" | ||
| Cupcake Wars | Himself | Episode: "Josie and the Pussycats" | [37] | |
| Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh | Sharzod | 45 episodes Voice role |
||
| Take My Wife | Ron | Episode: "Headliner" | ||
| Transparent | Fredrick | Episode: "Elizah" | ||
| 2017 | Drive Share | Nicky Nitro | Episode: "The Light Source" | |
| Black-ish | Ledarius | Episode: "I'm a Survivor" | [42] | |
| The Goldbergs | Froy | 2 episodes | ||
| Powerless | Ron | 12 episodes | ||
| We Bare Bears | Wyatt | Episode: "Road Trip" Voice role |
||
| Future Man | Ray | Episode: "Pilot" | ||
| Trolls Holiday | Cooper | TV special Voice role | ||
| 2018 | A.P. Bio | Hans | 2 episodes | [42] |
| Talk Show The Game Show | Himself | 1 episode | [43] | |
| OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | Sparko | 4 episodes Voice role |
||
| 2018–2019 | Trolls: The Beat Goes On! | Cooper | 65 episodes Voice role |
[42] |
| 2019 | Infinity Train | Khaki Bottoms | Episode: "The Ball Pit Car" Voice role |
|
| Man with a Plan | Funchy | 3 episodes | [42] | |
| Twelve Forever | Manquin | 25 episodes Voice role | ||
| 2019–2021 | Final Space | Fox | Voice role 18 episodes |
|
| 2019–present | Harley Quinn | King Shark | 23 episodes Voice role |
[42] |
| 2019 | Ron Funches: Giggle Fit | Himself | Stand-up special | |
| 2019–2022 | Crank Yankers | 2 episodes Voice role |
[44] | |
| 2020 | Central Park | Danny | Episode: "Squirrel, Interrupted" Voice role |
|
| Room 104 | Charlie | Episode: "Oh, Harry!" | ||
| Hoops | Ron | 10 episodes Voice role | ||
| The Last Blockbuster | Himself | |||
| Nice One! | Host, writer | |||
| Top Secret Videos[45] | ||||
| Match Game | Episode: "Joel McHale, Amanda Seales, Ron Funches, Ana Gasteyer, Rob Huebel, Nikki Glaser" | |||
| 2020–2022 | Trolls: TrollsTopia | Cooper | 52 episodes Voice role | |
| 2021–2025 | The Great North | Jerry Shaw | Recurring Voice role | |
| Jellystone! | Shag Rugg, Astro, Hong Kong Phooey | Voice role | ||
| 2021 | Nailed It! | Himself/Judge | Episode: "Burbank State Fair" | |
| Chopped 420 | Himself/host | 5 episodes | ||
| 2021–2022 | Inside Job | Mothman | ||
| 2021 | Poorly Drawn Lines | Kevin | ||
| Trolls: Holiday in Harmony | Cooper | TV special Voice role |
||
| A Tale Dark & Grimm | Jacob | Voice role | ||
| 2022–present | Loot | Howard | Main role | |
| 2023–present | Rock Paper Scissors | Rock | Voice role | |
| Frog and Toad | Raccoon | |||
| 2024 | After Midnight | Himself | Episode #26 | |
| Ariel | Delfino | Episode: "The Singing Dolphin" Voice role | ||
| 2025 | Celebrity Weakest Link | Contestant | Episode: "8 Degress of Jane" | |
| Krapopolis | Colin | Voice, episode: "Vengeance Will Be Nine" | ||
| 2026 | The Traitors | Contestant | Contestant | [46] |
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Ronald Kyle Funches (born March 12, 1983) is an American comedian and actor. 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 voiced 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. In 2021, Funches began voicing Kevin in the FX series Poorly Drawn Lines.
Funches is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Ethel Funches (1913–2010), American golfer Ron Funches (born 1983), American comedian and actor
King Shark is a supervillain and sometimes an antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character, also known as Nanaue, was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett. King Shark's first key appearance was in Superboy (vol. 4) #0 (October 1994) as a cameo before making his first full appearance in Superboy (vol. 4) #9 (November 1994). The character originated as a recurring enemy of Superboy (Conner Kent) and later Aquaman. As the character underwent development by later writers, he was featured more prominently as a member of the Secret Six and Suicide Squad anti-hero teams. The character has been adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including television series, feature films, and video games. King Shark made his live-action debut in the television series The Flash, voiced by David Hayter while Dan Payne portrayed his human form. Sylvester Stallone and Ron Funches voice King Shark in The Suicide Squad and Harley Quinn respectively. The character also prominently features in the video game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League as one of the main playable characters, voiced by wrestler Samoa Joe.
Trolls is a 2016 American animated musical comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation, based on the Good Luck Trolls doll line. The film was directed by Mike Mitchell, written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, and stars the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christine Baranski, Russell Brand, James Corden, Jeffrey Tambor, Ron Funches, Icona Pop, Kunal Nayyar, Quvenzhané Wallis, John Cleese, and Gwen Stefani. The film follows two trolls, Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake), who go on a quest to save their village from destruction by the Bergens, giant creatures who eat Trolls. Trolls premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 8, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 4, by 20th Century Fox. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed $347 million against a $125 million budget. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Can't Stop the Feeling!". The film launched a franchise, which included two television specials, Trolls Holiday (2017) and Trolls: Holiday in Harmony (2021), two television series, Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (2018–2019) and Trolls: TrollsTopia (2020–2022), two sequels, Trolls World Tour (2020) and Trolls Band Together (2023), and six short films.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.