Carl Weathers, the Apollo Creed of the first four films of the Rocky franchise alongside Sylvester Stallone, died today at the age of 76. Manager Matt Luber told Variety.
Weathers, who began as an athlete playing in the National Football League, starred in 1987 in Predator with Arnold Schwarzegger and had a memorable role in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, a film in which he was seriously injured during a fall. More recently he was nominated for an Emmy for the Star Wars spinoff series The Mandalorian for Disney + of which he also directed a couple of episodes of the second and third seasons. Carl also voiced Combat Carl in Toy Story and starred as a fictionalized version of himself in the Arrested Development series.
“He died peacefully in his sleep”, his family said: “He was an extraordinary human being who lived an extraordinary life. His contributions to cinema, television, the arts and sport left a mark indelible across generations.”
In a 50-year career, Weathers had starred in over 75 films and TV series. But his most famous role was that of the heavyweight champion in the first Rocky in 1976.
The actor then reprized the role in Rocky II three years later for a rematch with Rocky Balboa (Stallone) and in Rocky III in 1982 to conclude in 1985 with the fourth film of the series in which he is killed in the ring by Russian heavyweight Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). The character’s legacy still endures: Michael B.
Jordan plays his son in the Creed film series, the fourth installment of which is expected to be released soon.
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