Legendary Actor Carl Weathers Has Died At 76

Weathers' family said the actor passed peacefully in his sleep.

Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who made a name for himself as a Hollywood action and comedy movie star, has died. He was 76 years old.

The tragic news was confirmed on Feb. 1 by his manager Matt Luber. Weathers’ family said that he died “peacefully in his sleep.” No official cause of death has been released.

Weathers grew up in New Orleans, LA, and started acting by performing in school plays, according to Variety. By the time he graduated high school, though, he excelled in football, playing at San Diego State University while majoring in theater. He even went on to play a season in the NFL as a linebacker for the Oakland Raiders in 1970. After making his mark on the football field, Weathers starred in big-name films that would become influential performances. Some of his most significant roles included playing Apollo Creed in the iconic movie Rocky, Dillon in Predator, and Chubbs in Happy Gilmore in the late 1990s. He also showed his diverse skills in Action Jackson and the television show Arrested Development.

Despite all of his iconic roles, Weathers acknowledged that playing Apollo Creed was his most memorable. He told the Daily Beast in 2017, “It puts you on the map and makes your career, so to speak. But that’s a one-off, so you’ve got to follow it up with something. Fortunately, those movies kept coming, and Apollo Creed became more and more in people’s consciousness and welcome in their lives, and it was just the right guy at the right time.”

More recently, Weathers earned his first-ever Emmy nomination for his role in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian for playing Greef Karga over the show’s three seasons.

Tributes flooded social media, including from Rocky star and creator Sylvester Stallone.

“We lost a legend yesterday. My life was forever changed for the better the day I met Carl Weathers. Rest in power and keeping punching,” Stallone said in a video posted on Instagram. Stallone is seen standing in front of a painting depicting a fight between Rocky and Creed. “Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success, everything about it. I give him incredible credit and kudos because when he walked into that room, and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness, but I didn’t realize how great.”

Weathers is survived by his two sons and his ex-wife, Mary Ann.