RIP Carl Weathers
Sad news this afternoon. His agent confirms that Carl Weathers has passed.
From Deadline:
“Carl Weathers, who turned charisma, talent, hard work and athleticism into a 50-year acting career, died today at 76.
Weathers studied theater in college, where he also played football. He parlayed the latter into a brief NFL career with the (then) Oakland Raiders in 1970. He began working as an extra in blaxploitation films at the time. That led to roles on TV and eventually film, where he had his breakthrough as Apollo Creed in the Rocky films.
Weathers worked steadily in film and on TV throughout the next four-plus decades, and hit another career high point with his work on The Mandalorian, for which he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in 2021.”
After college, Carl Weathers played as a linebacker for the Oakland Raiders. Then as now NFL really meant, “Not For Long.” Weathers knew it and had been making connections in Hollywood during the off-season. His first official credit was as a nameless thug in Magnum Force
The New Orleans native’s official acting career started off in the Blaxploitation films of the early 1970s along with Bucktown costar Pam Grier. He did work-a-day actor gigs on TV shows during the mid-seventies. He must have been a workaholic because he racked up 16 credits between 1975-1975.
Rocky doesn’t appear to have been the big break you would have thought it was because he went right back to TV work afterward. While enemy turned best friend Apollo Creed was unquestionably his best-known role. I think it’s fair to say that his most iconic in genre films was as Dillon in Predator (1986) where he became the only actor to go toe to toe with Arnold in an arm wrestling match.
Predator got Weathers his shot at the title with Action Jackson (2007). A sadly indifferent action film. The director was a stunt coordinator who had been given his own shot at the big time and couldn’t deliver. The writer only had four credits and let’s face facts there was no hope of getting a good performance out of the love interest, Vanity. Although, he did (after a fashion) reprise the role as Combat Carl in the later Toy Story shows and movies.
Weathers went right back to TV, albeit as the lead more often than not. He also proved that he had a surprising flair for comedy. Between the years of 2000 and 2024, he racked up 17 credits directing TV shows. Most of those were police procedurals although he did direct some episodes of Star Wars: The Mandalorian.
Carl Weathers’s last well-known turn was in that show as bounty hunter boss turned mayor Greef Karga.
He is reported only as having passed peacefully in his sleep at the age of 76. He is survived by his two sons.
CARL WEATHERS
1948 -2024
