Feb. 6, 2024
Famed actor Carl Weathers, known for his role as Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films alongside Sylvester Stallone, died last Thursday. This news was confirmed by his manager Matt Luber. By: Dylan Low
Weathers also was a part of 1987’s film titled Predator
and had a prominent role in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore. He was
selected as a nominee to a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in
a Drama Series for his feature in Star Wars series The Mandalorian.
His other credits include voicing Combat Carl in
Toy Story 4 and portraying a fictional yet hilarious version of himself on Arrested
Development. He was also part of TV series Street Justice, Colony, The
Shield, Chicago Justice and Brothers, and other film titles in Close
Encounters of the Third Kind, Death Hunt and The Comebacks.
Asides from his acting background, Weathers had
played multiple sports when young such as boxing, football, soccer, wrestling
and gymnastics. He played football in college at San Diego State University
(SDSU), as a part of the Aztecs in winning the 1969 Pasadena Bowl. At SDSU,
Weathers also studied a degree in theatre arts, however in 1970 he joined the
Oakland Raiders as a free agent, having a tenure in the NFL as a linebacker
across two seasons.
Following his stint in professional football,
Weathers focused more on his acting career, starting with small roles in Arthur
Marks’ blaxploitation films Bucktown and Friday Foster, and TV
series such as Good Times, Kung Fu, and Cannon. The late actor Carl Weathers is survived by
his ex-wife, Mary Ann, and their two sons.