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Carl Weathers, who portrayed Derick "Chubbs" Peterson in Happy Gilmore, passed away on February 1, 2024. Carl's cause of death has not been made official and his family shared a statement, saying that he died in his sleep, as per People magazine.
Carl was 76 years old at the time of death and his family described him as an "exceptional human being." They added:
"Through his contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, he had left an indelible mark and is recognized worldwide and across generations. He was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, partner and friend."
Weathers gained recognition throughout his career for his performances in the Rocky franchise alongside The Mandalorian and In the Heat of the Night.
Carl Weathers was praised for his appearance in Happy Gilmore: Character explored in detail
According to USA Today, Carl Weathers was praised for his comedy timing in Happy Gilmore as Derick "Chubbs" Peterson. The character was a golf coach with a wooden hand and he was forced to retire from playing after his hand was bitten off by an alligator.
Weathers performed a stunt in the film due to which he had to undergo a lot of pain for a long time. In an interview with GQ in 2020, he called the feat a "blind fall" and mentioned that there were two stunt bags, each measuring two feet.
He added:
"But the bag wasn't pushed all the way against the wall, so when I went out backward instead of hitting something flat, my body kind of got trapped, my head on the bags, and my tailbone at the wall, and so it just would crunch on the spine."
Carl Weathers continued by saying that he did not reveal the injury to anyone. However, it led to further complications where he suffered fractures to two vertebrae and he had to bear a lot of pain. He said that he was getting treatment for his pain but when the pain went out of control, he decided to undergo surgery.
He told:
"I was told by one of the heads of surgery at one of our very fine hospitals in Los Angeles, 'You don't want us to touch that. We can only make it worse.'… Now, for about two-and-a-half years, almost three years, no serious pain. I'm glad not to be experiencing what I was experiencing."
Carl Weathers and his journey over the years as an actor
The New York Times reported that Carl Weathers began his career in football despite that his initial interest was acting. He continued playing for many years and in between all these, he acquired his theater arts degree and joined the Raiders for the NFL.
Weathers portrayed minor roles in some films and TV shows until he was cast as Apollo Creed in Rocky. The sports drama was successful at the box office and Weathers reprised his role in three more films of the franchise, released between 1979 and 1985.
He also appeared as Colonel Al Dillon in the 1987 film Predator, which had Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the lead role. He had multiple TV shows under his list of credits, including Street Justice, where he appeared as Adam Beaudreaux, and In the Heat of the Night, portraying Police Chief Hampton Forbes.
Carl's last role before death was as Greef Karga in The Mandalorian. The character was featured in three seasons of the show and a fourth season is scheduled to be released soon on Disney+.
Carl Weathers' survivors include his sons Jason and Matthew. Further details on his funeral are currently awaited.
