The Late Great Carl Weathers

Carl Weathers, who appeared in the Rocky films, Predator (1987), and the TV series  The Mandalorian, died on February 1 2024 at the age of 76.

Carl Weathers was born on January 14 1948 in New Orleans. He took to acting while young, acting in plays as far back as elementary school. He was also a star athlete. He earned an athletic scholarship to St. Augustine in New Orleans. He later attended Long Beach Poly High School in California. He played football at Long Beach City College and then San Diego State University. He played for the Oakland Raiders in the NFL and the B.C. Lions in the Canadian Football League. During the off-season he attended San Francisco State University, where he earned his bachelors degree. He would later earn a masters degree in theatre arts.

Carl Weathers made his film debut in 1973 in Magnum Force, playing a demonstrator. He made his television debut in 1975 in an episode of Good Times. It was in 1976 that he first played Apollo Creed in Rocky. He would reprise the role in Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982),  and Rocky IV (1985). In the Seventies he also appeared in the movies Bucktown (1975), The Four Deuces (1975), Friday Foster (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Semi-Tough (1977), and Force 10 from Navarone (1978). He guest starred on the television shows Kung Fu, S.W.A.T., The Six Million Dollar Man, Cannon, Switch, Bronk, McCloud, Most Wanted, Starsky and Hutch, Barnaby Jones, Serpico, Delvecchio, The Streets of San Francisco, and Tales of the Unexpected.

In the Eighties he was a regular in the television shows Fortune Dane and Tour of Duty. He appeared in the TV movies Braker, The Defiant Ones, and Dangerous Passion. He appeared in the films Death Hunt (1981), Predator (1987), and Action Jackson (1988). In the Nineties he starred in the television show Street Justice and the final season of the show In the Heat of the Night. He appeared in the mini-series Op Center. He appeared in the movies Hurricane Smith (1992), Happy Gilmore (1996), and Little Nicky (2000). He also began directing episodes of television shows, including episodes of Renegade, Silk Stalkings, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, and Eighteen Wheels of Justice.

In the Naughts Carl Weathers guest starred on the TV shows The Shield, ER, and Psych. He was a regular on the TV show Brothers and narrator on the show Chadam. He appeared in the movies The Sasquatch Gang (2006), and The Comebacks (2007). He directed episodes of the TV shows Strong Medcine, Sheena, and For the People.

In the Teens Carl Weathers had recurring roles on the shows Arrested Development (playing a fictionalized version of himself), Colony, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Justice, and The Mandalorian. He was a voice on the animated series Star Vs. The Forces of Evil. He was guest voice on the animated show Explosion Jones. He guest starred on Magnum P.I. and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He was the voice of Combat Carl in Toy Story 4 (2019). He appeared in the movies Sheriff Tom vs. the Zombies (2013) and Think Like a Man Too (2014). He directed an episode of Hawaii Five-0. In the 2020s he continued to appear on The Mandalorian. He directed episodes of The Last O.G., Law & Order, FBI, Chicago Med, and The Mandalorian.

I think it is safe to say that many will remember Carl Weathers best as Apollo Creed, although many will also remember him as Greef Karga in The Mandalorian. That having been said, he played many other roles throughout this career. He was excellent as Chief Hampton Forbes on In the Heat of the Night. He also gave a good performance as Dillon in Predator. Among his best performances were the episodes of Tour of Duty in which he played Colonel Brewster, an officer devoted to doing what is right. Although best known for his work in action movies, Carl Weathers was also capable of playing in comedies. In Happy Gilmore he played Chubbs, the one-handed former pro golfer who becomes Happy's coach. Carl Weathers was a talented actor and certainly a versatile one.