Tributes have been pouring in for Carl Weathers, the former college American Football player who starred in the Rocky films, as well as Predator and The Mandalorian, following his death on February 1. He was 76.
Weathers passed away in his sleep at home on Thursday.
Speaking on Instagram, Rocky creator Sylvester Stallone said he was “so torn up” at the news.
”Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success… When he walked into that room and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness, but I didn’t realised how great,” said Stallone.
”I never could have accomplished what we did with Rocky without him. He was absolutely brilliant… He was magic and I was absolutely fortunate to be part of his life. So Apollo, keep punching.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger, posting on X (formerly Twitter), wrote: ”Carl Weathers will always be a legend. An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person. We couldn’t have made Predator without him. And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it.”
Weathers was born in New Orleans on January 14 1948, and stood out as an exceptional athlete in his youth, playing for San Diego State University in the team’s undefeated season in 1968.
He studied drama at the institution and moved into acting in the 1970s, getting a background role in Clint Eastwood starrer Magnum Force in 1973.
TV work followed on the likes of The Six Million Dollar Man and S.W.A.T. before Weathers broke out as the cocky boxing champion Apollo Creed in Stallone’s 1976 drama Rocky.
Creed and Rocky Balboa went head-to-head again in Rocky II in 1979 and became friends in 1982’s Rocky III, before the character’s death at the hands of Ivan Drago played by Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV in 1985. The Creed legacy lives on through his on-screen son Adonis Johnson, played by Michael B Jordan in the Creed franchise.
Weathers was among the ensembe in 1978 wartime classic Force 10 From Navarone and by the late 1980s he had established himself as a Hollywood celebrity, appearing alongside Schwarzenegger in the 1987 action thriller Predator and playing the title role in action comedy Action Jackson a year later.
The film and TV roles continued to come in, with notable appearances in films like the Adam Sandler sports comedy Happy Gilmore in 1996, and Weathers enjoyed a late-career burst with a key role in the Star Wars Universe playing Greef Karga in Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian.
He also directed, helming two episodes of The Mandalorian, as well as Chicago Med, Hawaii Five-O, Law & Order, and many others. He served on the Directors Guild Of America’s (DGA) Western Directors Council and was an alternate on the national board.
DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter hailed ”a great hero to the DGA and the entertainment industry and ”an exceptionally dedicated leader of the Guild for the past 20 years”. She added, ”His service to the DGA was as broad and as deep as his wonderful booming voice – bringing his heart and soul to every volunteer effort.”
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