Tone Loc

L.A. native rapper whose deep gravelly voice and unusual aptitude for both whimsy and menace have translated well into a second career as a character player and cartoon voice actor. Tone Loc first rose to prominence with two top 40 singles--"Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina"--both released in 1989. Their popularity worked as a springboard into feature and TV work. He made his feature debut rapping in the Andrew 'Dice' Clay vehicle, "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane" (1990).

Tone Loc was used more extensively in the animated features "FernGully: The Last Rainforest," playing a menacing giant lizard and "Bebe's Kids" (both 1992), as Pee Wee, a sardonic child. That year he was also cast as Ronnie Paxton, the local vigilante on the Fox sitcom "Roc." Tone Loc has since become a regular face in diverse features including a black Western ("Posse"), a black romantic road movie ("Poetic Justice," both 1993), a zany spoof ("Ace Ventura: Pet Detective") and a Disney comedy ("Blank Check," both 1994).