Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the 鈥淩ocky鈥 movies, facing off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in 鈥淧redator鈥 and teaching golf in 鈥淗appy Gilmore,鈥 has died. He was 76.
Matt Luber, his manager, said Weathers died Thursday. His family issued a statement saying he died 鈥減eacefully in his sleep.鈥
Comfortable flexing his muscles on the big screen in 鈥淎ction Jackson鈥 as he was joking around on the small screen in such shows as 鈥淎rrested Development,鈥 Weathers was perhaps most closely associated with Creed, who made his first appearance as the cocky, undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1976鈥檚 鈥淩ocky,鈥 starring Sylvester Stallone.
鈥淚t puts you on the map and makes your career, so to speak. But that鈥檚 a one-off, so you鈥檝e got to follow it up with something. Fortunately those movies kept coming, and Apollo Creed became more and more in people鈥檚 consciousness and welcome in their lives, and it was just the right guy at the right time,鈥 he told The Daily Beast in 2017.
Most recently, Weathers has starred in the Disney+ hit 鈥淭he Mandalorian,鈥 appearing in all three seasons.
Creed, who appeared in the first four 鈥淩ocky鈥 movies, memorably died in the ring of 1984鈥檚 鈥淩ocky IV,鈥 going toe-to-toe with the hulking, steroided-using Soviet Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren. Before he entered the ring, James Brown sang 鈥淟iving in America鈥 with showgirls and Creed popped up on a balcony in a Star-Spangled Banner shorts and waistcoat combo and an Uncle Sam hat, dancing and taunting Drago.
A bloodied Creed collapses in the ring after taking a vicious beating, twitches and is cradled by Rocky as he dies, inevitably setting up a fight between Drago and Rocky. But while Creed is gone, his character鈥檚 son, Michael B. Jordan鈥檚 Adonis Creed, would lead his own boxing trilogy starting in 2015.
Weathers went on to 1987鈥檚 鈥淧redator,鈥 where he flexed his pecs alongside Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura and a host of others, and 1988鈥檚 nouveau blaxploitation flick 鈥淎ction Jackson,鈥 where he trains his flamethrower on a bad guy and asks, 鈥淗ow do you like your ribs?鈥 before broiling him.
He later added a false wooden hand to play a gold pro for the 1996 comedy classic 鈥淗appy Gilmore鈥 opposite Adam Sandler and starred in Dick Wolf鈥檚 short-lived spin-off series 鈥淐hicago Justice鈥 in 2017 and in Disney鈥檚 鈥淭he Mandalorian,鈥 earning an Emmy Award nomination in 2021. He also voiced Combat Carl in the 鈥淭oy Story鈥 franchise.
Weathers grew up admiring actors such as Woody Strode, whose combination of physique and acting prowess in 鈥淪partacus鈥 made an early impression. Others he idolized included actors Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte and athletes Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali, stars who broke the mold and the color barrier.
鈥淭here are so many people that came before me who I admired and whose success I wanted to emulate, and just kind of hit the benchmarks they hit in terms of success, who created a pathway that I鈥檝e been able to walk and find success as a result. And hopefully I can inspire someone else to do good work as well,鈥 he told the Detroit News 2023. 鈥淚 guess I鈥檓 just a lucky guy.鈥
Growing up in New Orleans, Weathers started performing in plays as early as grade school. In high school, athletics took him down another path but he would reunite with his first love later in life.
Weathers played college football at San Diego State University 鈥 he majored in theater 鈥 and went on to play for one season in the NFL, for the Oakland Raiders, in 1970.
鈥淲hen I found football, it was a completely different outlet,鈥 says Weathers told the Detroit News. 鈥淚t was more about the physicality, although one does feed the other. You needed some smarts because there were playbooks to study and film to study, to learn about the opposition on any given week.鈥
After the Raiders, he joined the Canadian Football League, playing for two years with the B.C. Lions while finishing up his studies during the offseason at San Francisco State University. He graduated with a B.A. in drama in 1974.
After appearing in several films and TV shows, including 鈥淕ood Times,鈥 鈥淭he Six Million Dollar Man,鈥 鈥淚n the Heat of the Night鈥 and 鈥淪tarsky & Hutch,鈥 as well as fighting Nazis alongside Harrison Ford in 鈥淔orce 10 From Navarone,鈥 Weathers landed his knockout role 鈥 Creed. He told The Hollywood Reporter that his start in the iconic franchise was not auspicious.
He was asked to read with the writer, Stallone, then unknown. Weathers read the scene but felt it didn鈥檛 land and so he blurted out: 鈥淚 could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with,鈥 he recalled. 鈥淪o I just insulted the star of the movie without really knowing it and not intending to.鈥 He also lied that he had any boxing experience.
Later in life, Weathers developed a passion for directing, helming episodes of 鈥淪ilk Stalking鈥 and and the Lorenzo Lamas vehicle 鈥淩enegade.鈥 He directed a season three episode of 鈥淭he Mandalorian.鈥
Weathers introduced himself to another generation when he portrayed himself as an opportunistic and extremely thrifty actor who becomes involved with the dysfunctional clan at the heart of 鈥淎rrested Development.鈥
The Weathers character likes to save money by making broth from discarded food 鈥 鈥橳here鈥檚 still plenty of meat on that bone鈥 and 鈥淏aby, you got a stew going!鈥 鈥 and, for the right price, agrees to become an acting coach for delusional and talent-free thespian Tobias Funke, played by David Cross.
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