Actor Carl Weathers, who currently portrays Greef Karga in the Disney+ “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian,” has passed away on January 30,2024, at the age of 76.
The Details
His family made the announcement in a statement:
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Carl Weathers. He died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, February 1st, 2024. 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.”
His Life
Born on January 14, 1948, in New Orleans, Weathers appeared in more than 75 films and TV shows during his 50-year screen career.
But first, he made his mark in sports.
In high school, e was an all-around athlete, involved in boxing, football, gymnastics, judo, soccer, and wrestling. He graduated in 1966 and went on to play college football at San Diego State University.
After going undrafted in the 1970 NFL Draft, he signed with the Oakland Raiders, helping them win the AFC West Division title that year.
He then signed with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League in 1971, and during off-seasons, he attended San Francisco State University, and earned a bachelor’s degree in drama in 1974.
His Career
Following his graduation, Weathers played guest roles in several television series, including “Good Times,” “Kung Fu,” “Starsky and Hutch,” and “Barnaby Jones.”
In 1976, he got his big break, auditioning for the role of Apollo Creed in the first “Rocky” movie. He went on to play Creed in three more films: “Rocky II” (1979), “Rocky III” (1982), and “Rocky IV” (1985).
Other major film roles for Weather include “Force 10 from Navarone” (1978), “Predator” (1987), “Action Jackson” (1988), “Happy Gilmore” (1996), and “Little Nicky” (2000).
On TV, he’s had major roles in “Arrested Development” (2004), “Colony” (2016), “Chicago P.D.” (2016), “Chicago Justice” (2017), and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (2018).
For Disney, he has voiced the characters of Combat Carl and Combat Carl Jr. in Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story of Terror!” (2013) and “Toy Story 4” (2019). He also voiced Omnitraxus Prime in the Disney XD animated series “Star vs. the Forces of Evil” (2017-2019).
In 2019, Weathers first appeared as Greef Karga in several episodes of the season one of the “Star Wars” series, “The Mandalorian.”
He returned for the second season, and also directed the episode “Chapter 12: The Siege”, as well as returning for season 3 and directing the episode “Chapter 20: The Foundling”.
His performance earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor.
Weathers is survived by his ex-wife, Mary Ann, and their two sons.