Carl Weathers, 'Rocky' and 'The Mandalorian' star, dies at 76

Carl Weathers arrives at a special screening for the season three premiere of 'The Mandalorian' in 2023. Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the "Rocky” movies, died Tuesday, Jan 30, 2024. He was 76. — Photo: AP

Carl Weathers, the US actor who played boxer Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise, going toe-to-toe with Sylvester Stallone in some of cinema's most memorable – and bloody – boxing moments, has died, his family said Friday. He was 76.

Weathers, who also starred in the 1987 film Predator, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, was recently seen on the small screen in Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian, a role for which he scored an Emmy nomination.