Carl Weathers, the unmistakable actor who played Apollo Creed in the Rocky films, Greef Karga in The Mandalorian, and had scene-stealing roles in Predator, Happy Gilmore, and Arrested Development, has died at 76.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Carl Weathers,” his family said in a statement, according to Deadline. “He died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, February 1st, 2024… 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.”
Before he became a professional actor, Weathers was a football player. He had a brief stint in the NFL with the then-Oakland Raiders before retiring from the sport in 1974. Weathers started as a background performer and made single-episode appearances in shows like Good Times, Barnaby Jones, and Starsky and Hutch before catching his big break.
Weathers played Apollo Creed in Rocky, which won Best Picture, and three of its sequels. He later became an action star in movies like Predator and Action Jackson, although he’s known just as much for his comedic work in Happy Gilmore, where he played one-handed golf instructor Chubbs, and Arrested Development. “Baby, you’ve got a stew going” is an all-time line reading.
Weathers also appeared in all three seasons of the Star Wars show The Mandalorian, which earned him an Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
In 2020, he told GQ UK, “Charisma is an important aspect of being a performer. And, for me, the roles that I’ve done, including Greef Karga in The Mandalorian, there is a kind of swagger about him and I don’t know that you can manufacture that. That comes naturally, but there’s also some thought in it. There’s something about how you see the world and how you walk through the world that translates on screen, that comes across and people get and they see and they want to emulate.”
(Via Deadline)
Source: https://uproxx.com/movies/carl-weathers-dead/
