Funk has strong wrestling bloodlines. His dad Dory Funk, was a well known grappler from the 1940s to the 1970s, and his brother Dory 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 Funk's 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." Funk then did double-duty as a pro wrestler and actor/stunt man (he was prominate in Patrick Swayze's movie "Roadhouse." 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."


4/16/00: At age 56, captured the WCW Hardcore Championship in a match against Norman Smiley at Spring Stampede. Held the NWA World Heavyweight title from Dec. 10, 1975 to Feb. 6, 1977 as recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance. 1983: First announced his retirement. 5/21/95: Inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame. Cousin of Billy Bob Thornton. Former Commissioner of WCW. Inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004. Grew up in Amarillo, TX, where his father Dory Funk Sr. settled around 1947. Auditioned for a role in Platoon (1986).