Carl Weathers, Who Played Apollo Creed in ‘Rocky’ Films, Dies at 76

Carl Weathers, best known for portraying boxer Apollo Creed in four Rocky films, died Thursday at age 76. 

Sports movie fans might also affectionately remember Weathers as golf coach Derick “Chubbs” Peterson in 1996’s Happy Gilmore. Peterson was a former pro golfer who had to leave the tour after his right hand was bitten off by an alligator. 

Weathers starred in over 75 movies and TV shows during his career, including memorable roles in action films such as Predator, Action Jackson and Toy Story 4. Most recently, he was known for playing Greef Karga (and directing several episodes) in the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

However, his role as Rocky Balboa’s adversary-turned-mentor and friend made Weathers a movie icon. His Apollo Creed was the world heavyweight champion who gave the unknown Philadelphia fighter a title shot in the first Rocky film. Creed lost the belt to Balboa in Rocky II. But he trained his former opponent to face Mr. T’s Clubber Lang in Rocky III. Creed’s storyline ended in Rocky IV when he was killed in the ring by Russian boxer Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren. 

Prior to becoming an actor, Weathers played college football as a defensive end at San Diego State. He went undrafted but caught on in the NFL as a linebacker with the Oakland Raiders, with whom he played two seasons. 

When Weathers was cut by John Madden during the 1971 NFL season, a comment from the legendary coach stayed with him for years. 

“He said to me, ‘You’re just too sensitive,’” Weathers recalled in a 2023 Sports Illustrated article. “What the f--- do you mean I’m too sensitive? Not that it’s not true.”

Yet if being “sensitive” hurt Weathers as a football player, he came to realize that it helped him as an actor.

“We trade on performances that delve into the humanity of us all,” Weathers told SI. “And without sensitivity, how can you do that? So on one hand, it felt like an indictment, like I committed a crime. And on the other hand, I guess it reminded me of something that was actually necessary in me to succeed and what I envisioned doing with my life, you know, as a performer, as an artist.”