Macka Foley, a Portland native who was a professional boxer and moved to Hollywood where he mingled with the likes of actor James Franco, died Saturday at age 64.

Foley had a record of 33-20-1 as a heavyweight boxer from 1969-79, fighting in about two dozen bouts at the Portland Expo and six times in Las Vegas. He later moved to California and became a boxing trainer and appeared in three movies – “Las Vegas Weekend” in 1986, “Ghost” in 1990 and “Annapolis” in 2006.

On the latter movie, he befriended Franco, who posted on his Facebook page Sunday: “I just heard that Macka Foley passed. He was a boxing trainer and a saint of the sweet science. I spent years with him. He showed me that anything in life: boxing, acting, or just living, is all about breathing and being relaxed in yourself. I’ll never forget him.”

Foley was a basketball star at Portland High, graduating in 1969. He served in the U.S. Marines, including a stint in Vietnam, and boxed at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds.

In 1986, he moved to Hollywood and had sparring sessions – at $200 per hour – with stars such as Mickey Rourke and Tony Danza. He got into acting with an appearance in “Las Vegas Weekend” and later appeared in TV commercials and shows such as “Perfect Strangers,” “Father Dowling Mysteries” and “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose.”

“It’s like the lottery. Sometimes you hit it, a lot of times you don’t,” Foley told the Press Herald in a 1996 interview. “I show up at an audition for tough guys, thinking I’ve got a good chance, and there are 25 other guys there and they all look like me.”

Foley, who was a trainer at Fortune Gym in Los Angeles, also appeared on a reality TV show titled “The Gym.”


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