Carl Weathers, who starred as Apollo Creed in four of the Rocky movies, has died aged 76.
Born in New Orleans and a former American footballer, Weathers became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies.
His manager Matt Luber said Weathers died on Thursday, with his family saying in a statement that he died "peacefully in his sleep".
Weathers also appeared in the films Predator, Happy Gilmore and Action Jackson and the TV show Arrested Development.
Most closely associated with Creed, Weathers made his first appearance as the cocky, undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1976's Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone.
He said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that during the audition for the film, he criticised Stallone's acting.
He said, "We read through the scene and at the end of it, I didn't feel like it had really sailed, that the scene had sailed, and they were quiet and there was this moment of awkwardness, I felt, anyway."
"So I just blurted out, 'I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with! So I just insulted the star of the movie without really knowing it and not intending to."
Stallone felt the jibe fit the character and ultimately he got the role.
He told The Daily Beast in 2017 that the role put him on the map and made his career.
"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," he said.
Post-Rocky, he went on to star alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987 action film Predator.
Most recently, Weathers has starred in the Disney+ hit The Mandalorian, appearing in all three seasons and was nominated for an Emmy in 2021 for his performance.
Source: PA / Associated Press
