Biography
Despite the later box-office triumphs and critical regard Mark Wahlberg attained as a film actor, his prior status as Marky Mark, leader of the Funky Bunch, made him a target of ridicule throughout the hip-hop world; the pretty-boy outsider nevertheless achieved one major pop breakthrough with the chart-topping single “Good Vibrations.” Born June 5, 1971, in Dorchester, MA, he and his older brother Donnie were enlisted at age thirteen by teen-pop architect Maurice Starr for the producer’s new enterprise, New Kids on the Block. Wahlberg exited after three months while Donnie continued; the group subsequently became one of the decade’s biggest commercial acts, amassing enormous revenue from recordings and merchandise marketed almost solely to teenage girls.
During the same period Wahlberg ran into legal difficulties, receiving a 1986 charge of racial harassment against African-American students and serving forty-five days in prison in 1988 after assaulting a Vietnamese man; both events were chronicled on the fan site www.markrobertwahlberg.com under the timeline subhead “Mark Wahlberg -- the loser.” Donnie pledged support for his brother’s musical restart once behavior improved, and after adopting the stage name Marky Mark, Wahlberg formed the Funky Bunch in 1990 with dancers/rappers Scott Ross (aka Scottie Gee), Hector Barros (Hector the Booty Inspector), Anthony Thomas (Ashley Ace), and Terry Yancey (DJ-T).
Donnie Wahlberg not only produced the music but also arranged an opening slot for New Kids on the Block; the Funky Bunch’s 1991 debut album Music for the People consequently reached the top of the pop charts thanks to its lead single, “Good Vibrations,” which also hit number one. Although rap purists condemned Wahlberg’s mediocre lyrical skills, lame samples, and tired beats, the same teenage audience that had embraced the New Kids purchased the record in large numbers; he further gained approval from some older listeners through a series of revealing Calvin Klein underwear ads and a rumored affair with Madonna.
You Gotta Believe appeared in 1992, but after Nirvana’s landmark Nevermind redirected audiences toward grunge, the album could not duplicate its predecessor’s success. The Funky Bunch never issued an official breakup announcement, yet Wahlberg made his screen debut in 1993’s direct-to-video The Substitute and earned unexpectedly positive notices for 1994’s Renaissance Man and 1995’s The Basketball Diaries. He secured his first starring role in 1996’s Fear and, in 1997, ascended to Hollywood’s top tier with his acclaimed performance as well-endowed porn star Dirk Diggler in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights.
Additional performances in Three Kings and The Perfect Storm further repaired his reputation, and by the new millennium he had established himself as a leading man in projects including the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes and 2002’s The Truth About Charlie. Theologians still maintain there is a special place in Hell reserved for Wahlberg in return for the pain he inflicted during his mercifully brief career as a rapper.
During the same period Wahlberg ran into legal difficulties, receiving a 1986 charge of racial harassment against African-American students and serving forty-five days in prison in 1988 after assaulting a Vietnamese man; both events were chronicled on the fan site www.markrobertwahlberg.com under the timeline subhead “Mark Wahlberg -- the loser.” Donnie pledged support for his brother’s musical restart once behavior improved, and after adopting the stage name Marky Mark, Wahlberg formed the Funky Bunch in 1990 with dancers/rappers Scott Ross (aka Scottie Gee), Hector Barros (Hector the Booty Inspector), Anthony Thomas (Ashley Ace), and Terry Yancey (DJ-T).
Donnie Wahlberg not only produced the music but also arranged an opening slot for New Kids on the Block; the Funky Bunch’s 1991 debut album Music for the People consequently reached the top of the pop charts thanks to its lead single, “Good Vibrations,” which also hit number one. Although rap purists condemned Wahlberg’s mediocre lyrical skills, lame samples, and tired beats, the same teenage audience that had embraced the New Kids purchased the record in large numbers; he further gained approval from some older listeners through a series of revealing Calvin Klein underwear ads and a rumored affair with Madonna.
You Gotta Believe appeared in 1992, but after Nirvana’s landmark Nevermind redirected audiences toward grunge, the album could not duplicate its predecessor’s success. The Funky Bunch never issued an official breakup announcement, yet Wahlberg made his screen debut in 1993’s direct-to-video The Substitute and earned unexpectedly positive notices for 1994’s Renaissance Man and 1995’s The Basketball Diaries. He secured his first starring role in 1996’s Fear and, in 1997, ascended to Hollywood’s top tier with his acclaimed performance as well-endowed porn star Dirk Diggler in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights.
Additional performances in Three Kings and The Perfect Storm further repaired his reputation, and by the new millennium he had established himself as a leading man in projects including the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes and 2002’s The Truth About Charlie. Theologians still maintain there is a special place in Hell reserved for Wahlberg in return for the pain he inflicted during his mercifully brief career as a rapper.