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When news of Carl Weathers’ death broke, a charming anecdote from one of his collaborators went viral on social media. In a 2013 interview for Vulture, Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz explained the genesis of one of that sitcom’s funniest recurring guest roles, in which Weathers plays a cheapskate version of himself. Paid to provide acting lessons for aspiring thespian Tobias Fünke (David Cross), he instead primarily offers tips on thriftiness, such as only buying cars from police auctions and making stew from old chicken bones and leftovers. One might expect that pitching Weathers such a subversion of his celebrity persona – the actor being best known as boxing champion Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise – would be an awkward proposal. As Hurwitz tells the story, it was in fact Weathers’ own idea.
‘It’s not going to be just a bunch of Rocky jokes, is it?’ asked Weathers, according to Hurwitz. ‘Because I direct and I’m a funny guy and I don’t wanna just do a bunch of Rocky jokes. Nobody wants that. Maybe I could be really cheap or something?’ Given that Hurwitz apparently originally planned to reference Rocky III with the cameo, Weathers’ canny thinking is directly responsible for one of the show’s most beloved gags. And that’s a testament to his talents in general: no matter how big or small the part, the presence of Carl Weathers always made a film or show better.