Actor Carl Weathers, known for “Rocky’s” Apollo Creed and “Mandalorian” dies at 76

Carl Weathers, who costarred with Sylvester Stallone as Apollo Creed in the first four “Rocky” movies, passed away on Thursday, Variety was informed by his manager Matt Luber. He was seventy-six.

In addition, Weathers starred in the 1987 film “Predator” and played a noteworthy part in Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore.” For his role in the “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian,” he received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Dramatic Series.

In addition to portraying a fictionalized version of himself in a recurrent role on “Arrested Development,” he provided the voice of Combat Carl in “Toy Story 4.” The TV shows “Street Justice,” “Colony,” “The Shield,” “Chicago Justice,” and “Brothers,” as well as the motion pictures “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Death Hunt,” and “The Comebacks” are among his other credits.

Weathers briefly returned to his part in “Little Nicky” and voiced a character in Sandler’s animated Hanukkah comedy “Eight Crazy Nights,” following their collaboration on the 1996 golf comedy “Happy Gilmore.”

Weathers was born in New Orleans on January 14, 1948, and participated in boxing, football, soccer, wrestling, and gymnastics. He was a member of the San Diego State University football team, which won the 1969 Pasadena Bowl with his help. Weathers studied theater arts while attending SDSU, but he left school early in 1970 to sign as a free agent with the Oakland Raiders, where he played linebacker for two seasons, starting eight games.

Following his time as a professional football player, Weathers turned more intently to acting, securing supporting parts in TV shows including “Good Times,” “Kung Fu,” “Cannon,” and “Starsky and Hutch,” as well as brief roles in the blaxploitation films “Friday Foster” and “Bucktown” directed by Arthur Marks.

Alongside Jesse Ventura, who went on to become governor of Minnesota, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who became governor of California, Weathers played Colonel Al Dillon in the film “Predator.” When Weathers returned to the live sketch show many years after hosting “Saturday Night Live” in 1988, it was for a spoof skit in which he declared he was running for political office because he was “the Black guy in ‘Predator.'”

Though his character, Apollo Creed, died in “Rocky IV,” Weathers resisted Stallone’s request for permission to use footage from previous “Rocky” movies for the sixth installment in the series, 2006’s “Rocky Balboa,” and instead pushed for a real role in the picture. Saying no, Stallone sent in a lookalike actor to film combat scenes set in flashbacks. Once they got back together, Weathers gave Stallone permission to use his image in the “Creed” sequel series, which stars Michael B. Jordan as Apollo Creed’s son.

Later in his career, Weathers directed episodes of TV procedurals in addition to landing smaller roles in them. For the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” in which he portrayed Greef Karga in nine episodes spread over three seasons, he received his first Emmy nomination in 2021. For the “Star Wars” spinoff’s Episodes 12 and 20, Weathers took over as director.

The two kids that Weathers and his ex-wife, Mary Ann, had together, survive him.