Pro Football Hall of Famer and TV host Michael Strahan is among the many people mourning and recognizing actor Carl Weathers upon recent news of his passing.
The 76-year-old actor appeared in many roles, including Apollo Creed in the Rocky films and Greef Karga in Disney+’s Star Wars series, The Mandalorian.
On Friday, media outlets reported Carl Weathers’ death, and many individuals reacted with their thoughts about how he impacted their lives.
Like Strahan, Weathers has a football background. He played for San Diego State in college and briefly for the Oakland Raiders in the NFL before joining Canada’s BC Lions for several years in the early 1970s.
Following his days playing football, Weathers took on roles in movies and television, including one that included Strahan as a co-star.
In a tribute post, Strahan described Weathers as an “inspiration” in his career as he moved from the football field to television and other entertainment endeavors.
Michael Strahan recalls working with Carl Weathers in tribute to actor
Taking to his Instagram on Friday, Strahan shared a tribute post about his former co-star to his 1.5 million followers. He and Weathers previously starred together in a sitcom called Brothers, which Strahan reminisced over in his caption.
“RIP to the great Carl Weathers. It was an honor and privilege to play your son on the sitcom, Brothers!! You were an inspiration that made me feel like my dreams were attainable because you came from sports and conquered entertainment,” Strahan said in part of his message.
“You are loved and will be missed! My love and condolences to the Weathers family. RIP my friend,” he wrote.
His IG carousel post included a photo of him with Weathers from a scene in the sitcom, as well as the show’s promotional graphic and a shot of Strahan with Weathers at a Fox event.
Brothers was a 2009 Fox sitcom in which Weathers played Coach Trainor, the father of Strahan and Daryl Mitchell’s characters, Mike and Chill.
The show ran for just one season on Fox with 13 episodes before its cancelation but gave Strahan yet another television job ahead of his work as an anchor and host.
Strahan continues to enjoy a successful TV career on Fox and ABC
Strahan’s career hasn’t included quite as many movie roles as Weathers, but he’s become a recognizable star on multiple TV shows.
He’s seen on Sundays as part of the NFL on Fox team, which also includes Rob Gronkowski, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson.
In more recent years, Strahan has co-hosted Live with Kelly and Michael alongside Kelly Ripa, become the host of The $100,000 Pyramid and an anchor on Good Morning America.
He’s met many famous individuals over the years and participated in all sorts of interesting segments through his work. Earlier this week on GMA, he met with Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss the company’s newest tech product, the Apple Vision Pro.
“It is so hard to describe to someone that hasn’t experienced it yet,” Strahan said, adding, “It is absolutely magical.”
Cook talked about how Apple has revolutionized the world with its various tech products over the years, including the iPod, iPad, and iPhone. He said the Vision Pro is next in line for that discussion.
He described the wearable headset as the world’s first spatial computer, which will change the way people view the world and interact with it in their daily lives.
“I’ve had every one of those things you named, and I’m gonna have one of these too,” Strahan shared as Cook chuckled.
Strahan continues to shine in television and will maybe even move into more movie roles in the future, although he seems content with his current TV gigs.