The 76-year-old actor Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker, has passed away. Weathers passed away on Thursday “peacefully in his sleep,” according to his family, who broke the news.
According to a statement issued by his family, Weathers, who played Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films, “died peacefully in his sleep”.
Weathers, who was born in New Orleans in 1948, studied theatre acting while playing football at San Diego State University before signing with the Oakland Raiders in 1970.
He starred in over 75 films and TV series during the course of his more than 50-year Hollywood career, according to Deadline.
He received an Emmy nomination in 2021 for his work in The Mandalorian. In addition to Law & Order and Chicago Med episodes, he directed two Star Wars episodes.
In addition, he was known for Little Nicky, Action Jackson, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Eight Crazy Nights, and the Toy Story film series.
Rocky co-star Sylvester Stallone praised Weathers as “an integral part of my life, my success… I give him incredible credit” in an Instagram video.
“I never could have accomplished what we did with Rocky without him. He was absolutely brilliant,” Stallone added in an emotional tribute.
Weathers played professional football for four years before turning his attention to acting and graduating with a degree in drama in 1974. Two years later, Weathers’ breakthrough performance came in ‘Rocky’, where he played heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. He would go on to play the same part in three more Rocky films.
After making his last appearance as Rocky in 1984, Weathers featured in 1987’s Predator starring Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He starred in comedies and dramas the most of the time.
In Disney+’s Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian, Weathers played High Magistrate Greef Karga, a character for which he received praise in all three seasons, an Emmy nomination, and the opportunity to direct one episode.
“I enjoy both [acting and directing]thoroughly but I’ve fallen in love with directing,” Weathers told Hypebeast in a 2023 interview. “It allows me to provide my personality and artistic bent, there’s so much more opportunity to be creative because you’re really involved with the entire piece, working on every aspect of it.”
Among his other cinematic credits are Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Predator.
According to his family’s statement, Weathers “was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life” and started his career as an NFL linebacker.
“Through his contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, he has left an indelible mark and is recognized worldwide and across generations,” said the family.
“He was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, partner, and friend.”
On X, formerly Twitter, former California governor and Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was Weathers’ co-star in Predator, gave him praise:
“Carl Weathers will always be a legend. An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person.
“We couldn’t have made Predator without him. And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it.”
Carl Weathers will always be a legend. An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person. We couldn’t have made Predator without him. And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it. pic.twitter.com/q4CWVVeyTK
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) February 2, 2024
In 2023 interview with the Detroit News, Weathers called himself a “lucky guy”.
There 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’ve been able to walk and find success as a result,” he said. “And hopefully I can inspire someone else to do good work as well.”
“I guess I’m just a lucky guy.”
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