It surely is a sad day for fans of the movie Rocky as Tony Burton, the actor who played Tony “Duke” Evans in all six of the Rocky movies, died at 78.
The former football player and boxer appeared alongside Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers in the first six films as Apollo Creed’s trainer in the blockbuster hit.
Co-star of Burton, Carl Weathers, confirmed his death by tweeting the devastating news on Thursday:
@E_Woodyard @TheSlyStallone Sad news. RIP Tony Burton. His intensity and talent helped make the Rocky movies successful. #BePeace
— Carl Weathers (@TheCarlWeathers) February 26, 2016
His younger sister, Loretta “Peaches” Kelly said that Tony was in and out of the hospital but was never diagnosed with anything. Sadly due to his poor health condition, he wasn’t able to watch the film Creed which was about the son of Rocky’s rival, Apollo.
Here we leave you with a heartwarming speech from Tony to Sylvester in Rocky 6:
Rest easy, Tony.
