Carl Weathers

Carl Weathers (January 14, 1948 – February 1, 2024) was an American actor, director and gridiron
football linebacker. His roles included boxer Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films (1976–1985), Colonel
Al Dillon in Predator (1987), Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore (1996), and Combat Carl in the Toy
Story franchise. He also portrayed Det. Beaudreaux in the television series Street Justice (1991–1993) and a
fictionalized version of himself in the comedy series Arrested Development (2004, 2013), and voiced
Omnitraxus Prime in Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2017–2019). He had a recurring role as Greef Karga in
the Star Wars series The Mandalorian (2019–2023), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy
Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

Weathers played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs before playing professionally as a linebacker.
He joined the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) after going undrafted in the 1970 NFL
Draft. After two seasons with the Raiders, he played a year with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football
League (CFL).

College football career[edit]

Weathers played football as a defensive end in college. He started his college career in 1966 at Long Beach
City College,[3] where he did not play in 1966 due to an ankle injury suffered when he tripped over a curb
surrounding the running track while warming up for practice with another linebacker. He then transferred and
played for San Diego State University, becoming a letterman for the San Diego State Aztecs in 1968 and 1969,
helping the Aztecs win the 1969 Pasadena Bowl, finishing with an 11–0 record, and a No. 18 ranking in the
Final UPI Poll,[5] playing for head coach Don Coryell. At San Diego State, Weathers—who considered acting
his first love and had been performing in plays even back in grade school[6]—received a master in theatre arts.[7]

Professional football career[edit]

Weathers signed with the Oakland Raiders of the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 1970. Now playing as
a linebacker,[3] Weathers played in seven games for the Raiders in 1970, helping them win the AFC West
Division title, on their way to the first-ever AFC Championship Game. Before the 1971 season, Weathers
converted into a strong safety.[8] He only played in one game in 1971, before the Raiders released him in
September 1971,[9] after coach John Madden told Weathers, "You're just too sensitive."[6]

Later that month, Weathers signed with the BC Lions of the CFL.[10] He played for the Lions until
1973,[11] playing 13 games in total. During the off-seasons, Weathers attended San Francisco State
University and earned a bachelor's degree in drama in 1974.[12]

Weathers retired from football in 1974, and began pursuing an acting career.[13] In his NFL career he appeared
in 8 games in two seasons, but did not record any stats. The only stat he recorded in his CFL career was a
single fumble recovery. In later years, Weathers narrated NFL Films' season recap of
the 1999, 2000 and 2001 seasons.[14] During the 2017 NFL Draft, he appeared on NFL Network's pre-draft
coverage.[15]