Talmadge Layne "Tab" Thacker (March 10, 1962 – December 28, 2007) was an American

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Early life

Thacker was on the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, track, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

teams while at West Forsyth High School in

Clemmons, North Carolina Clemmons is a village in Forsyth County, North Carolina, Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States and a suburb of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem. The population was 21,177 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, with an ...

. He started wrestling his freshman year, and placed fourth and third at the

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

state championships in 1979 and 1980. Thacker would then go on to win the 1980 Junior

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

national championship, before enrolling at

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

.Former National Champion Tab Thacker Passes Away
''gopack.com'' Retrieved January 30, 2022.

College

As a

, Thacker was a three-time

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and won a national title his senior year. His three All-American trips to the podium consisted of finishing 8th as a sophomore in 1982, 6th as a junior in 1983, and winning the national championship as a senior in 1984. He was also a four-time

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) champion for the Wolfpack. Thacker finished his college career 92-11-1, ranking second in NC State history with an .889 winning percentage and 54 pins. He majored in criminal justice while at NC State.

Professional career

He began his film career after

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

noticed him in ''Time'' magazine and noted the 6-foot-4 and 450-pound (1.93 m, 204 kg) Thacker's size. Thacker went on to appear in several films including ''

City Heat ''City Heat'' is a 1984 American buddy- crime comedy film starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, written by Blake Edwards and directed by Richard Benjamin. The film was released in North America in December 1984. The pairing of Eastwood an ...

'', ''

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

'', two of the ''

Police Academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or to o ...

'' films, and ''

Identity Crisis In psychology, identity crisis is a stage in Erik Erikson's theory of personality development. This stage happens during adolescence. It is a period of deep reflection and examination of various perspectives on oneself. The Erikson's stages of ps ...

''. After leaving Hollywood, Thacker returned to

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, where he opened a remodeling business and operated several nightclubs. He later became a

bail bondsman A bail bondsman, bail bond agent or bond dealer is any person, agency or corporation that will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of a defendant in court. Bail bond agents are almost exclusively found in the ...

Filmography

Death

A North Carolina native, Thacker died in Raleigh, North Carolina on December 27, 2007, at the age of 45 after years of failing health. He developed

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and had a foot amputated some years before he died. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

References

External links

*
"NCAA wrestling champ, "Police Academy" actor from N.C. dies"
''The Charlotte Observer'', 27 December 2007
''Tab Thacker, 45; NCAA wrestler cast in films''. The Los Angeles Times, 30 December 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thacker, Tab American male sport wrestlers 1962 births 2007 deaths Deaths from diabetes in the United States American male film actors Sportspeople from Raleigh, North Carolina NC State Wolfpack wrestlers 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American sportsmen