Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed in the 'Rocky' franchise, dies at 76

Carl Weathers, the versatile actor who is best remembered as Apollo Creed in the "Rocky" franchise, has died. He was 76.

Weathers died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, Feb. 1, his family members announced in a statement to NBC News.

"We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Carl Weathers,” the statement read, adding, "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."

Weathers' career spanned more than a half-century and included performances on television and in movies.

Weathers played college football for San Diego State University. He signed with the NFL's Oakland Raiders as a linebacker in 1970 before later playing in the Canadian Football League.

“I was good enough to fool ‘em, but never dedicated enough to become a great player,” Weathers told The Washington Post in 1979.

What the 6’2” athlete really wanted to do was to continue acting, something he first tried his hand at while at San Diego State.

“I started doing a few small things in class and discovered I had a proficiency for it. My reading was awful, but I got a walk-on in ‘A View from the Bridge.’ For the rest of school I kept on cultivating football on one hand and acting on the other,” he told The Washington Post.

Weathers appeared in guest spots in 1970s TV shows including “Good Times,” “Kung Fu” and “The Six Million Dollar Man.” He also landed a supporting role in the 1977 sports comedy “Semi-Tough.”

Weathers’ best-known role was as the boxer Apollo Creed in the first four “Rocky” movies. The role of Creed, initially the main rival of protagonist Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), began with 1976’s “Rocky” and culminated with the character’s death at the hands of Russian heavyweight Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in 1985’s “Rocky IV.”

Over the years, Weathers also showed a penchant for comedy, starring alongside Adam Sandler in “Happy Gilmore,” and later playing an exaggerated version of himself in a guest arc on “Arrested Development.”

Weathers’ other notable performances include playing Colonel Al Dillon in “Predator” (1987), Combat Carl in the “Toy Story” franchise and, most recently, Greef Karga in the Disney+ “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian,” for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding guest actor in a drama series.

Michael B. Jordan, who has played Apollo Creed's son in the "Creed" series of movies, posted a photo of Weathers on his Instagram stories on Feb. 2, writing, "We lost a legend."

Sandler shared his own tribute to Weathers on Instagram, including photos of the two of them in "Happy Gilmore."

"A true great man. Great dad. Great actor. Great athlete. So much fun to be around always. Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell. Loved his sons more than anything," Sandler wrote. "What a guy!! Everyone loved him. My wife and I had the best times with him every time we saw him. Love to his entire family and Carl will always be known as a true legend."

"The Mandalorian" star Pedro Pascal reacted to the news of Weathers' death on Instagram with a brief message: "Words fail," adding a broken heart emoji.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com