Carl Weathers, the versatile actor who is best remembered as Apollo Creed in the «Rocky» franchise, has died. I was 76.
Weathers died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, Feb. 1, his family members announced in a statement to NBC News.
«We deeply saddened to announce the passing of Carl Weathers,» the statement read, adding, «Carl was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life. Through contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, you have led an unspeakable and collected brand worldwide and across generations. He was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, partner, and friend.»
Weathers’ career spanned more than a half-century and included performances on television and in movies.
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Weathers played college football for San Diego State University. I signed with the NFL Oakland Raiders as a linebacker in 1970 for later playing in the Canadian Football League.
«I good enough to fool ‘em, but never dedicated enough to become a great player,» Weathers told The Washington Post in 1979.
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What the 6’2” athlete really wanted to do was to continue acting, something he first tried his hand at while at San Diego State.
«I started doing a few small things in class and discovered I had a proficiency for it. My reading was awful, but I got a walk-on in ‘A View from the Bridge.’ For the rest of the school I kept cultivating football on 1 hand and acting on the other,” he told The Washington Post.
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Weathers appeared in guest spots on 1970s TV shows including “Good Times,” “Kung Fu” and “The Six Million Dollar Man.” He also landed a supporting role in the 1977 sports comedy “Semi-Tough.”
Weathers’ best-known role was the boxer Apollo Creed in the first four «Rocky» movies. The role of Creed, initially his first rival protagonist Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), begeun s 1976’s Rocky and culminated s character death at the hands of Russian heavyweight Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in 198.
A few years, Weathers also showed a penchant for comedy, dressing along with Adam Sandler in “Happy Gilmore,” and last playing an exaggerated version of himself in this arc in “Arrested Development.”
Weathers’ other notable performances include playing Colonel Al Dillon in «Predator» (1987), Combat Carl in the «Toy Story» franchise and, most recently, Greef Karga in the Disney+ «Star Wars» series «The Mandalorian,» for which he was nominated for Emmy award for outstanding actor in drama series.
Michael B. Jordan, who has played Apollo Creed’s are in «Creed» series of movies, put in a photo of photos on the Instagram stories on Feb. 2, writing, «We lost a legend.»
Sandler shared his tribute to Weathers on Instagram, including photos of the two in «Happy Gilmore.»
«A true great man. Great dad. Great actor. Great athlete. I’m very fun to be around always. Smart as hell. «What a guy!!
«The Mandalorian» star Pere Pascal will react to the news of the ‘death on Instagram with brief message: «Words fail,» adding a broken heart emoji.
