Current:Home > StocksTerry Funk, WWE wrestling icon, dies at 79-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Terry Funk, WWE wrestling icon, dies at 79
View Date:2024-12-24 00:40:00
WWE wrestling icon Terry Funk has died at age 79, his manager Timothy Beal confirmed to CBS News Wednesday. His cause of death was not immediately released, but Beal said that Funk "was in bad health for some time" and was "in a nursing home."
Funk's death was also confirmed in a statement by the WWE.
For Funk, wrestling was a family affair. Growing up in in Amarillo, Texas, his father, Dory Funk, Sr., was a professional wrestler, and he started out as a tag-team wrestler with his brother Dory Funk, Jr., according to his WWE biography.
Funk broke out as a wrestling star in the 1980s when he appeared in a tag team with his brother at WrestleMania 2. He then competed singularly throughout the U.S. and in Japan over the course of his 50-year career, the WWE said.
On Wednesday friends and fans from the wrestling community commented on his passing.
"He was the greatest wrestler I ever saw," retired WWE Mick Foley wrote on social media.
Known as a brawler, CBS Sports reported that Funk's career got a second chance when he joined Eastern Championship Wrestling, later Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Professional wrestler Ric Flair said on social media that Funk was "a great wrestler, entertainer, unbelievably fearless, and a great friend."
He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with his brother in 2009. His final wrestling match was in 2017.
Funk was also known for his breakout roles in Hollywood films. He appeared in "Roadhouse" with Patrick Swayze, "Paradise Alley" and "Over the Top."
- In:
- WWE
- Pro Wrestling
- Wrestling
Cara Tabachnick is a news editor for CBSNews.com. Contact her at [email protected]
veryGood! (378)
Related
- Tennis Channel suspends reporter after comments on Barbora Krejcikova's appearance
- See JoJo Siwa Like Never Before in Intense Punching Match With Olympian Erin Jackson
- Sports, internet bets near-record levels in New Jersey, but 5 of 9 casinos trail pre-pandemic levels
- This is how low water levels are on the Mississippi River right now
- Fantasy football Week 11: Trade value chart and rest of season rankings
- Illinois man fatally stabbed 6-year-old in hate crime motivated by Israeli-Hamas war, authorities say
- Daniel Noboa, political neophyte and heir to fortune, wins presidency in violence-wracked Ecuador
- Kenya seeks more Chinese loans at ‘Belt and Road’ forum despite rising public debt
- NYC bans unusual practice of forcing tenants to pay real estate brokers hired by landlords
- It Only Takes One Time to Find Out What the Stars of Little Giants Are Up to Now
Ranking
- California farmers enjoy pistachio boom, with much of it headed to China
- AP PHOTOS: Scenes of pain and grief on war’s 10th day
- Passengers from Cincinnati-bound plane evacuated after aborted takeoff at Philadelphia airport
- The Crown Unveils First Glimpse of Princes William and Harry in Final Season Photos
- Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
- Inside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Very Genuine Connection
- Populist Slovak ex-prime minister signs coalition deal with 2 other parties to form a new government
- Illinois man killed Muslim boy, 6, in hate crime motivated by Israeli-Hamas war, police say
Recommendation
-
Rafael dissolves into a low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico after hitting Cuba as a hurricane
-
Horoscopes Today, October 14, 2023
-
A Frequent Culprit, China Is Also an Easy Scapegoat
-
Police in Belgium say 2 people have been killed in a shooting in Brussels
-
LSU student arrested over threats to governor who wanted a tiger at college football games
-
Israel warns northern Gaza residents to leave, tells U.N. 1.1 million residents should evacuate within 24 hours
-
Brody Jenner Drank Fiancée Tia Blanco's Breast Milk—But Is It Worth It? A Doctor Weighs In
-
The Israel-Hamas war has roiled US campuses. Students on each side say colleges aren’t doing enough