In “Rocky III,” Carl Weathers’ Apollo Creed delivers one of the great lines in movie history, telling Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky, “You fight great, but I’m a great fighter.” It was a fitting bit of dialog for Weathers, a man who fought his way up from the “bowels” of New Orleans into a Hollywood career that spanned five decades, particularly given that he got his role in the first “Rocky” film by insulting Stallone’s acting.
Though Weathers, who passed away on Feb. 1, was always attracted to drama and acting, growing up in New Orleans didn’t afford him many opportunities to pursue those passions. Drama wasn’t seen as a manly pursuit for a young man, and he suffered many insults as a result. In the eighth grade, though, his desire for a girlfriend led him to another pursuit, one that would ultimately take him to California, where he would realize his dream of making it in Hollywood — football.
He wasn’t destined to be a star on the field, saying of himself that he wasn’t “dedicated enough to become a great player.” Nevertheless, he did make it to the NFL in 1971 after a successful college career, playing for the Oakland Raiders for one season. After the first game of his second season, Head Coach John Madden cut Weathers, telling him, “You’re just too sensitive.” From there he went to the Canadian Football League, where he would play for the BC Lions for 13 games before retiring from the sport in
