Linebacker-turned-actor Carl Weathers, who played in the “Rocky” films, passes away at the age of 76

Former NFL linebacker Carl Weathers, who rose to fame in Hollywood comedy and action films, including roles as Apollo Creed, the antagonist who later turned ally in the “Rocky” films, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s opponent in “Predator,” and a golf instructor in “Happy Gilmore,” has passed away. He was seventy-six.

His manager, Matt Luber, confirmed Weathers’ passing on Thursday. In a statement, his family said he passed away “peacefully in his sleep.”

Though he was just as at ease showing off his strength on the big screen in “Action Jackson” as he was teasing audiences on television with shows like “Arrested Development,” Weathers was most closely linked to Creed, who debuted as the confident, unchallenged heavyweight world champion in the Sylvester Stallone film “Rocky” in 1976.

Linebacker-turned-actor Carl Weathers, who played in the “Rocky” films, passes away at the age of 76

His manager, Matt Luber, confirmed Weathers’ passing on Thursday. In a statement, his family said he passed away “peacefully in his sleep.”

Though he was just as at ease showing off his strength on the big screen in “Action Jackson” as he was teasing audiences on television with shows like “Arrested Development,” Weathers was most closely linked to Creed, who debuted as the confident, unchallenged heavyweight world champion in the Sylvester Stallone film “Rocky” in 1976.

“In a sense, it makes your career and puts you on the map. However, that is an isolated incident, therefore you need to do something else afterward. Thankfully, the films continued to release, and Apollo Creed gained popularity and acceptance among the public. He was the perfect man at the right moment, he said to The Daily Beast in 2017.

Weathers most recently starred in all three seasons of the popular Disney+ series “The Mandalorian.” Linebacker-turned-actor Carl Weathers, who played in the “Rocky” films, passes away at the age of 76

Famously, Creed, who starred in the first four “Rocky” films, passed away in the ring during the 1984 film “Rocky IV,” where he squared off against the powerful, Dolph Lundgren-portrayed Soviet Ivan Drago. James Brown and showgirls sang “Living in America” before the match, and Creed appeared on a balcony wearing an Uncle Sam hat, a waistcoat, and Star-Spangled Banner shorts, dancing and mocking Drago.

After taking a severe pounding, a bleeding Creed collapses in the ring, twitches, and is held by Rocky as he passes away, thus leading to a confrontation between Drago and Rocky. However, Adonis Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan, the son of Creed, would take the helm of his own boxing trilogy beginning in 2015.

Weathers continued with 1987’s “Predator,” in which he showed off his abs with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, and many more stars, and 1988’s nouveau blaxploitation film “Action Jackson,” in which he asked a villain, “How do you like your ribs?” with his flamethrower before broiling him.

He also inserted a prosthetic wooden hand to portray a golf pro in the comedy classic “Happy Gilmore” from 1996, starring opposite Adam Sandler. In addition, he appeared in Disney’s “The Mandalorian,” which earned an Emmy Award nomination in 2021, and Dick Wolf’s short-lived spin-off series “Chicago Justice” in 2017. In the “Toy Story” series, he also provided the voice of Combat Carl.

Actors like Woody Strode, whose physical attributes and acting skill in “Spartacus” left a lasting impression on Weathers, were idolised as a child. He also looked up to athletes Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali, as well as performers Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte—people who defied stereotypes and barriers based on race.

“There are a tonne of people who came before me that I looked up to, whose success I wanted to imitate, and who sort of set the bar for success that I could then kind of walk and achieve success as a result. And maybe I may encourage someone else to work hard too,” he stated in an interview with the Detroit News in 2023. “I guess I’m just a lucky guy.”

Weathers was born and raised in New Orleans, where she began acting in plays in elementary school. Athletics in high school led him down a different route, but he would eventually cross paths with his first love again.

After majoring in theatre while playing collegiate football at San Diego State University, Weathers played one NFL season for the Oakland Raiders in 1970.

“It was an entirely different outlet when I discovered football,” Weathers told the Detroit News. “Although one feeds the other, it was more about the physicality. You had to be intelligent because, every week, you had to watch films and read playbooks to learn about the competition.”

Following the Raiders, he played two seasons in the Canadian Football League while completing his coursework at San Francisco State University in the winter. In 1974, he received his B.A. in drama.

Weathers made his breakthrough performance in the movie Creed after starring in a number of TV series and films, such as “Good Times,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “In the Heat of the Night,” and “Starsky & Hutch.” He also fought Nazis with Harrison Ford in “Force 10 From Navarone.” He admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that his entry into the venerable franchise did not start out well.

He was invited to read beside the then-unknown novelist Stallone.

After reading the scene, Weathers felt it fell flat and blurted, saying, “I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with,” as he remembered. “So I just insulted the star of the movie without really knowing it and not intending to.” In addition, he made up the fact that he had never boxed.

As Weathers matured, he became passionate about directing and went on to oversee episodes of “Silk Stalking” and the Lorenzo Lamas film “Renegade.” He directed a “The Mandalorian” episode for season three.

By portraying himself as an incredibly frugal and opportunistic actor who becomes entangled with the dysfunctional clan at the centre of “Arrested Development,” Weathers presented himself to a new generation of viewers.

In order to conserve money, the Weathers character likes to make broth out of leftover food, saying things like “There’s still plenty of meat on that bone” and “Baby, you got a stew going!” She also accepts to tutor acting for the naive and untalented David Cross character Tobias Funke for a fee.

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