By The one and only Carl Weathers, who starred in such films as “Predator” and “Rocky,” has died. He was 76. Weathers passed away on Thursday with his family saying in a statement he “died peacefully in his sleep”.
They say: “Carl was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life. Through his contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, he has left an indelible mark and is recognized worldwide and across generations. He was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, partner, and friend.”
The New Orleans-born Weathers has a career spanning fifty years and over 75 films and TV series.
He’s arguably best known for this work in the 1970s and 1980s first as Apollo Creed, the heavyweight champion of the world who served as a foil and later a friend to Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa across the first four “Rocky” films.
Weathers also delivered a memorable turn as Dillon, a CIA operative and old war buddy of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch in John McTiernan’s iconic action feature “Predator”.
In more recent years, he’s been known for both directing multiple episodes of the “Star Wars” spin-off series “The Mandalorian” on the Disney+ service, along with guest starring as Bounty Hunters Guild head Greef Karga in the show. His role scored him an Emmy nomination in 2021.
He also voiced Combat Carl in 2019’s “Toy Story 4,” lead the 1988 action feature “Action Jackson,” and played golf coach Derick ‘Chubbs’ Peterson in the Adam Sandler comedy “Happy Gilmore” – later reprising the role in “Little Nicky”.
His first on screen role, albeit uncredited, was as a demonstrator in the Dirty Harry film “Magnum Force” before he was a background player in Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and had key supporting roles in sports comedy “Semi-Tough” and Guy Hamilton’s “Force 10 from Navarone”.
He also has a ton of guest starring credits on TV to his name including shows like “Good Times,” “Kung Fu,” “S.W.A.T.,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Switch,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “The Streets of San Francisco,” “Law & Order SVU,” “Magnum P.I.,” “ER,” “Psych,” “Arrested Development,” “The Shield” and more.
He also lent his likeness as Jax in the video game “Mortal Kombat X” and had a role as Lightman in “The Artful Escape” indie game.
Weathers leaves behind his ex-wife, Mary Ann, and two sons.
Source: Deadline
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