Carl Weathers, the Apollo Creed of the first four films of the Rocky franchise alongside Sylvester Stallone, has died today at 76. Matt Luber, his manager, told Variety. Weathers, who started as an athlete playing in the National Football League, starred in 1987's Predator with Arnold Schwarzegger and had a memorable role in Happy Gilmore by Adam Sandler, a film in which he was seriously injured during a fall. More recently, he was nominated for an Emmy for the Star Wars spinoff series, The Mandalorian, for Disney + of which he also directed a couple of episodes of the second and third season. Carl had also voiced Combat Carl in Toy Story and acted in a fictionalized version of himself in the series Arrested Development.
Farewell to Carl Weathers
"He died peacefully in his sleep", the family has announced: "He was an extraordinary human being who lived an extraordinary life. His contributions to cinema, television, the arts and sports have left an indelible mark across generations".
The role of Apollo Creed in the Rocky saga
In a 50-year career, Weathers had acted in over 75 films and tv series. But his most famous role was that of the heavyweight champion of the first Rocky in 1976. The actor then reprised the part in Rocky II three years later for a rematch with Rocky Balboa (Stallone) and in Rocky III in 1982 to conclude in 1985 with the fourth film of the series in which he is killed in the ring by Russian heavyweight Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). The legacy of the character still lasts: Michael B. Jordan plays the part of his son in the Creed film series, the fourth episode of which should be released shortly.
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