I was saddened to read yesterday of the death of Carl Weathers. A talented actor whose long and successful career spanned decades, Weathers died in his sleep at age 76.
Actors who work in action movies and comedies don’t seem to get their just due in their profession; actors who participate in what are viewed as more “serious” films tend to get the respect and the award nominations. But whether the vehicle is an action movie, a comedy, or a “serious” drama, an actor’s challenge is always to create a multi-dimensional character who takes the script and elevates it to a different level. Carl Weathers had a definite knack for doing that, and defined some truly memorable characters along the way.
Consider two of my favorite Weathers creations: Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies and Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore. Apollo Creed could easily have been a loud-mouthed, cardboard cutout bad guy, but Weathers gave him a depth that many actors would not have found–and of course, he was terrific and entirely believable as a professional boxer in the fight scenes. One testament to Weathers’ acting skill is that, even in the first film before he befriended Rocky Balboa, I found myself liking Apollo Creed and rooting for him not to lose.
Happy Gilmore showed that Carl Weathers wasn’t a typecast action film guy. Chubbs Peterson was a professional golfer who lost his hand to an alligator and sported perhaps the world’s worst prosthetic limb. Many actors would have portrayed Chubbs as an over-the-top, ridiculous character, but Weathers really played him straight, with a gentleness, sense of humor, and respect for the game of golf that made him memorable. Any golfer who has faced a key putt has probably heard Chubbs’ voice in his head, softly urging “just tap it in, tap it in” (followed by a frustrated Happy saying “just give it the old tippy-tap, the old tap-tap-taparoo”). Happy Gilmore is a silly movie, of course, but you have to credit Weathers’ deft practice of his craft.
The Academy Awards judges obviously think actors portraying sullen lords and ladies in 1830s England are more deserving of recognition than actors who bring to life a character with a comically bad fake hand, or a heavyweight champ with a flair for showmanship. But you’ve probably forgotten most of those “serious” roles that harvested the Oscars, while there aren’t many big-screen creations that are more memorable than Apollo Creed and Chubbs Peterson. That’s a pretty compelling legacy for actor Carl Weathers.
Webner House 