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Carl Weathers was an American actor and former professional football player well-known for portraying Apollo Creed in the Rocky film series, George Dillon in Predator, Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore and Greef Karga in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

He voiced Omnitraxus Prime in Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

Early life[]

Weathers was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from St. Augustine High School in New Orleans in 1966 and then attended Long Beach City College and San Diego State University. During high school, he was an all-around athlete, involved in boxing, football, gymnastics, judo, soccer, and wrestling. He earned his B.A. in Drama from San Francisco State University in 1974.

Career[]

Weathers played football as a linebacker both in college and professionally. He started his college career in 1966 at Long Beach City College and later transferred and played for San Diego State University, becoming a letterman in 1968 and 1969.

Weathers had a brief professional career with the Oakland Raiders, playing seven games in 1970 and one in 1971. He joined the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League in 1971 and played until 1973, 18 games in total. He retired from football in 1974 and began pursuing an acting career. In his professional football career, he played for Hall of Fame coaches Don Coryell at San Diego State and Don Coryell with the Raiders.

Weathers had his first roles in two blaxploitation films directed by Arthur Marks, Bucktown and Friday Foster. He also appeared in an episode of the 1970s sitcom Good Times. In 1975, he guest-starred in an episode of Kung Fu. In 1976, he appeared as a loan shark in an episode of the crime-drama Starsky and Hutch while also landing the role of Apollo Creed alongside Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, which he reprised in the next three Rocky films in 1979, 1982, and 1985.

In 1978, Weathers portrayed misogynist Vince Sullivan in the television movie Not This Time. In the late 1970s and 1980s, he starred in a number of action films for the small and big screen, including Force 10 from Navarone, Predator, Action Jackson, and Hurricane Smith.

He also appeared in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" and co-starred in the Adam Sandler comedy Happy Gilmore as Chubbs. He reprised the role four years later in Little Nicky. During the final two seasons of In the Heat of the Night, his character Hampton Forbes replaced Bill Gillespie as the chief of police.

In 2004, Weathers received a career revival as a comedic actor beginning with appearances in three episodes of the comedy series Arrested Development as a fictionalized caricature of himself. He was then cast in the comedies The Sasquatch Gang and The Comebacks. Weathers also had a guest role in two episodes of The Shield and one episode of ER.

Weathers most recently starred as Brian "Gebo" Fitzgerald in advertising for Old Spice's sponsorship of NASCAR driver Tony Stewart and as State's Attorney Mark Jefferies in Chicago Justice.

Weathers died in his sleep on February 1, 2024.

External links[]

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