In the Rocky series, the first thing that comes to mind is not just the usual training montages or the gory fight scenes, but also the characters that we will never forget. Those characters did everything to get us to be deeply moved by them, to smile at their comical aspects, and even to cry with them. Some of the actors who brought these characters to life have died over the past few years. In reverse chronological order, Paul Keith and Rebecca Cole list nine Rocky stars who are no longer with us. Still, their work in the franchise and film history continues to say a lot.
9. Tommy Morrison (Tommy Gunn)
Tommy Morrison was a real-life heavyweight champion just once before he quit boxing to start an acting career, only to face off against Rocky in Rocky V. In fact, he was quite well-known for winning the WBO belt by knockout against George Foreman, while his debut in the world of cinema was like a breath of fresh air for the series. His acting career was very short, but in the boxing world, he will be eternally remembered. He lost his battle with lymphoma and died in 2013 at the age of 44.
8. Sylvia Meals (Mary Anne Creed)
As Mary Anne Creed, the wife of Apollo, Sylvia Meals imbued the character with soothing strength and grace that was evident when the character made its debut in the theaters. The first movies, Rocky II and Rocky IV, had her doing the maternal role of Apollo’s mother, with whom he had the greatest similarity. Her life as an actress in the cinema has been very short, but her personality cannot be forgotten. She passed at 67 in 2011.
7. Joe Spinell (Tony Gazzo)
Tony Gazzo, Rocky’s loan shark boss and quietly humane, was one of the more vivid supporting characters in the first two films. Joe Spinell merged menace and eccentric charm into one. Spinell didn’t hesitate to act in violent-genre works; he was also in The Godfather, Taxi Driver, and Maniac, a cult classic horror film. He passed away in 1989 at the age of 52.
6. Thayer David (Miles Jergens)
Thayer David was the actor who played the role of the man who opened the doors to Rocky, fight promoter Miles Jergens. One of the film and television veterans who has been in the industry for decades, David went to the center of the earth and lived in the house of dark shadows. Rocky would be one of his last works; however, he died in 1978.
5. Burgess Meredith (Mickey Goldmill)
The gruff and yet gentle trainer of the Rocky series. Mickey is definitely one of the most loved characters of the franchise. Using his own voice, with his own wit and heart, Burgess Meredith not only embodied Mickey but also added some of the film’s most memorable lines to life. Besides Rocky, Meredith was an actor for many years, and the role of The Penguin on the 1960s Batman TV show was his most notable one. He died at the age of 89 in 1997, but Stallone has lingered on more than one occasion about how much he misses the old man.
4. Sage Stallone (Rocky Jr.)
Father of actor Sage, Sylvester, was Rocky Jr., the son of Rocky Balboa in Rocky V. After that, he didn’t come back to the part but went on to an independent film career as a director and producer. He died at a very young age of 36 in 2012, which was hard for the family and the industry to accept.
3. Tony Burton (Duke Evers)
By way of an overview of the close correlation between his off-stage career and on-stage character, Tony “Duke” Evers was the gym teacher who coached Rocky and Apollo, the school teacher, in their six shared fights as a background actor of the six Rocky movies. He was a teenage professional boxer, and his experience came in handy as he brought a sense of realism and authenticity to the character. When he left the world in 2016, both Stallone and Carl Weathers sent him their regards and called him a true member of the Rocky family.
2. Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed)
Not only was Rocky’s opponent, but also the abolisher of the entire saga, the clever Apollo Creed. Apollo earned from this, no less than jests of his wonderful talent, narration, and wherewithal, added by Carl Weathers, flamboyant and one of the most unforgettable characters in the history of cinematic sports. Weathers was the lead in Predator, Action Jackson, and, very recently, The Mandalorian, apart from Rocky. He expired in February 2024 at the ripe old age of 76, and this made Stallone say that he wouldn’t be able to do what he did with Rocky without him.
1. Burt Young (Paulie Pennino)
Rocky’s insulting but faithful brother-in-law, Paulie, became an instant audience favorite. Through his acting, Burt Young brought to the fore, through Paulie’s interactions with other characters, the neglected side and the vulnerability of a character that might have been often used for comic relief, and became one of the most believable characters throughout the entire series. Young also had an extensive career behind not only the Rocky films but also with great movies like Chinatown, Once Upon a Time in America, and The Sopranos, where he made a significant mark. He passed away in October 2023 at the age of 83.
They were not characters of the show that they just held such positions; it was as if they were the hearts of the Rocky franchise. It is through these characters that we know that we never lose hope for the misfit, that we still believe the need to fight again, and that’s mostly why some stories seem to still exist.