ROCKY Star Tony Burton Passes Away at Age 78

USA Today reports that Tony Burton, best known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the ROCKY film franchise has died at 78.

Burton's fictional counterpart portrayed Carl Weathers' Apollo Creed's trainer in the original 1976 movie and its 1979 sequel. After Creed's death in 1982's Rocky III, Evers joined team Rocky Balboa, where he remained for four more Rocky movies, concluding with 2006's Rocky Balboa.

A life member of the Actors Studio,[ Burton numbers among his many credits a co-starring role in Frank's Place and parts in films, such as Hook, Stir Crazy, and The Toy. He was also known for his role as Wells, one of the prisoners trapped in the besieged police station, Precinct 9, Division 13, in John Carpenter's 1976, Howard Hawks-inspired action film Assault on Precinct 13. He also appeared in an episode of Gibbsville in 1976.

Below, watch a scene from ROCKY IV featuring Burton and Sylvester Stallone:

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