After a long, very long, time ‘Awesome Fat Guy of the Week’ is back. This week I’m pulling from the world of comedy, a veritable bastion of Fat Guys, and talking about Ron Funches. A soft spoken funnyman with an infectious smile.

Normally, when I do one of these posts I pull a lot from Wikipedia, there is no better resource available. Unfortunately, Ron Funches’ Wikipedia page is very bare bones. So I’m going to have to do some real, actual research. Goodie!

Ron was born on March 12, 1983 in Gardena, California.  He spent the first part of his life in Chicago, Illinois with his mother and sister.  When he was 13 he moved to Salem, Oregon.  Ron is divorced and has an autistic son. I only mention that because he is very open about it in his comedy, as in the clip above.

He worked a few normal jobs but found none of them really suited him. So he began to pursue comedy. He was 23 at the time. That means he has achieved the kind of success most comedians only dream about in 10 years, that’s impressive.

After only a few years on the comedy circuit, first in Portland and then when he outgrew the area in Los Angeles, Ron started to make name for himself on TV. His first role was on Portlandia in 2011, and that was when the flood gate opened.

Since then he has appeared on shows like New Girl, Dead Kevin, Crash & Bernstein, Bob’s Burgers, Selfie, Mulaney, Cougar Town, BoJack Horseman, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Drunk History, Adventure Time and he has a costarring role on Undateable.

That show, by the way, is where I first saw Ron. On a show of funny people he stood out by having such an easy going demeanor and unique delivery. The man has been described as ‘huggable’ and he is never more so than as ‘Shelly’ on Undateable. Full disclosure, Undateable became one of my favorite shows 10 minutes into the first episode and Ron is no small part of the reason why.

Ron has appeared as himself on a number of shows, such as Man v. Food, The Nerdist, The Kroll Show, The Half Hour, Jimmy Fallon, Chelsea Lately, The Voice, The Real, Conan, and @midnight.

 
The small screen isn’t the only medium Ron has ventured on. He had a role in the movie ‘Get Hard’ and is lending his voice to the upcoming animated movie ‘Troll’.

One of the reasons I grew to like Ron’s comedy so much is that he talks about something near and dear to my heart. Wrestling! Ron is a huge wrestling fan and can even be seen in the crowd during a few episodes of Lucha Underground.

Alright, that’s all the (for lack of a better word) measurables. Let’s get to the intangibles. What makes Ron so funny? His delivery and tone are one of the biggest aspects. He has such a smooth  delivery and soft spoken manner that you can’t help but be drawn to him. Sometimes he comes off like a kindergarten teacher in the way he speaks, it’s a very different approach for a comedian. He reminds me of a much happier version of Steven Wright. Neither man feels need to or has to raise their voice. They allow their material to grab you.

Speaking of material Ron relies on stoner comedy and observational humor leaning toward slice of life subject manner. Which means he has a wide range of material to pull from.  One of the great aspects of Ron’s comedy is his ability to surprise you with just where his joke is going. He will start here and all of sudden, hard left, and he’s way over there.  It’s a hell of ride and you’ll enjoy every second of it.

So he’s funny, successful, and recently lost a commendable amount of weight. All of that is good but why is he awesome? There are so many funny, successful fat men in comedy. Why should this one be given the title of Awesome?

His laugh. He has a habit of laughing at his own jokes. Which should be a big turn off. But he has such a child like and genuine laugh that it just makes everything funnier. This man is able to make you laugh harder by laughing with you. That is a FUCKING super power. Don’t believe me, watch the clip above. You can actually hear the audience laughter pick up right after Ron giggles. That, is why he is awesome.

That and I fucking love him on Undateable. I don’t smoke weed, never have, but I would totally hang out with Shelly and even share a joint with him. I’m sure he’s a blast to be high with. 

That’s it for this week. Next week we’ll be going back to the 90’s for some tat. See you then.