Carl Weathers has had a very storied career, starring in some of the most high-profile franchises that Hollywood had to offer. From Rocky to Star Wars, Weathers starred in some very intense action and science-fiction stories. However, even when the actor was doing comedy, he allegedly paid homage to his action films.
Weathers decided to branch out from action to comedy, going from the likes of Rocky and Predator to Happy Gilmore, a film in which he starred with Adam Sandler. In the film, Weathers played Derrick Peterson, Happy Gilmore’s one-handed golf coach. This has widely been speculated as a homage to another film that Weathers did, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Carl Weathers’ other one-handed film character
Predator is a film that defined the action-science fiction genre in the 80s. Carl Weathers starred as Al Dillion in the film, a Vietnam War buddy of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer. Over the course of the film, Dillion and Dutch, along with a bunch of other soldiers, embark on a quest to fight an alien invader in the jungles of Central America, where Dillion loses an arm to the Predator, before being killed off
This in particular directly leads to the alleged homage in Happy Gilmore. Weathers’ character, an ex-Golf player has his hand bit off an alligator in his back story, something that has been touted as a homage to his character in Predator, given that the hand was taken off by a predator.
Tributes have poured out for Carl Weathers from Schwazzenggar and others
Friends and colleagues of Carl Weathers, including Adam Sandler and Arnold Schwarzenegger have taken to social media to express their grief on the passing of the athlete and actor. Actors like Mark Hamill have also joined in giving tribute to the actor. Over on Instagram, Scwarzneggar reminisced about what it was like to have Weathers on set. The actor revealed:
” Every minute with him – on set and off – was pure joy. He was the type of friend who pushes you to be your best just to keep up with him.”
The caption of the post then went on to share condolences with his family and friends. Adam Sandler also took to Instagram to share his grief on Weathers’s passing. The caption read:
“A true great man. Great dad. Great actor. Great athlete. So much fun to be around always. Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell. Loved his sons more than anything. What a guy!! Everyone loved him. My wife and I had the best times with him every time we saw him. Love to his entire family and Carl will always be known as a true legend.”
Weathers’ passing at age 76 is not only a blow to cinema but also to sports, given that the actor had a brief career running with the Raiders. He also managed to become an accomplished director, directing a few episodes of The Mandalorian, a show he starred in.
