CARL WEATHERS, WHO starred as Apollo Creed in the Rocky films, has died at the age of 76.
Matt Luber, his manager, said the actor died on Thursday. His family said he died “peacefully in his sleep”.
A former American footballer, Weathers began acting in the 1970s and became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star.
He was perhaps best known for playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the iconic franchise.
He made his first appearance as the cocky, undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1976’s Rocky, opposite Sylvester Stallone. He went on to appear in the next three Rocky films.
“It puts you on the map and makes your career, so to speak. But that’s a one-off, so you’ve got to follow it up with something,” he told The Daily Beast in 2017.
“Fortunately those movies kept coming, and Apollo Creed became more and more in people’s consciousness and welcome in their lives, and it was just the right guy at the right time.”
Weathers went on to star as Dillon in 1987’s Predator, where he appeared alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura and a host of others.
He also starred in Action Jackson and Happy Gilmore, and voiced Combat Carl in the Toy Franchise.
His TV roles included soldier-turned-police detective Adam Beaudreaux in the crime drama Street Justice, and a parody version of himself in the US sitcom Arrested Development.
Most recently, Weathers starred as Greef Karga in the Disney+ hit The Mandalorian, appearing in all three seasons. The role earned him an Emmy Award nomination in 2021.
He told The Hollywood Reporter that his start in the Rocky franchise was not auspicious.
He was asked to read with the writer, Stallone, then unknown.
Weathers read the scene but felt it did not land and so he said “I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with”, he recalled.
“So I just insulted the star of the movie without really knowing it and not intending to.”
He also lied that he had any boxing experience.
Weathers is survived by two sons.
With reporting from Press Association
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