The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C.: Tab Thacker, an NCAA championship wrestler who appeared in two “Police Academy” films and other Hollywood movies, died Friday after several years of declining health, according to North Carolina State University. He was 45.

The 6-foot-4 Thacker, who once tipped the scale at almost 450 pounds, got his first movie role when Clint Eastwood saw his photograph in Time magazine and took note of Thacker’s enormous frame, which helped the three-time All-American finish his senior season 31-0 at N.C. State in 1984.

Thacker was cast as a bouncer in the 1930s-era “City Heat” with Burt Reynolds and Eastwood, then played an underdog football player who made the climactic ending play in 1986’s “Wildcats,” starring Goldie Hawn. He was a cast member in two “Police Academy” films and later appeared in “Identity Crisis.”

Thacker won the NCAA heavyweight championship in 1984 and earned four Atlantic Coast Conference titles. He finished his college career 92-11-1, ranking second in N.C. State history with an .889 winning percentage and 54 pins, according to the university.

When Thacker left the film industry, he returned to Raleigh and opened several night clubs and later became a bail bondsman. Thacker developed diabetes several years ago and had a foot amputated, and he lost his legs in recent months, according to the university