Sylvester Stallone pays tribute to Tony Burton

Actor and former athlete Tony Burton, who played boxing trainer Tony “Duke” Evers in the Rocky films, has died, his family announced. Burton was from Flint, Michigan, and had reportedly been in the hospital on-and-off for about a year.

While Burton played the role of Duke in all six of the proper Rocky films, he was apparently too ill to return for last year’s spinoff, Creed.

Outside of the Rocky series, Burton appeared in The Shining and movies like Stir Crazy, Armed and unsafe and Hook, and guest starred on TV shows ranging from The A-Team, Moonlighting, Twin Peaks and NYPD Blue. The cause of death is yet to be revealed.

Another said: “RIP Tony Burton”.

Its always sad when an actor we spent a lot of time with passes away.

Carl Weathers, who played Apollo in the film franchise, also shared his condolences via social media.

In a way, Balboa vs. Drago, since “Rocky V” never happened, was also a logical progression; “II” and “III” were each campier than the one before, so of course Rocky was destined to end the Cold War. With his cameo in Creed, it’s only Burton and Sylvester Stallone whose faces appear in all seven films.

According to Kelley, Burton, who lived in Sun City, Calif., is survived by his wife, four brothers, four sisters, a daughter, a stepdaughter and a son.

From Flint, Mich., Burton was a light-heavyweight Golden Gloves champion and went 16-3 as a pro, before becoming an actor.

Burton, a native of Flint, was best known for his role as Apollo Creed’s trainer “Duke” in the Rocky series. With his last role being Sheriff Stoker in 2007’s Hack! Another son, Martin, died in 2014, Kelley said.