Carl Weathers Actor :: Raiders History

From the June 8, 1971 Oakland Tribune sports page. It’s linebacker Carl Weathers pre Apollo Creed!

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BEHIND FOOTLIGHTS, IT’S HENRY VIII THE RAIDER

By Blaine Newnham
Tribune Sports Writer

Carl Weathers slipped on a pair of white tights and sat down to make up.

He’s a long way from pro football’s world of shoulder pads and liniment. And, yet, both worlds make sense to him, a chance at financial gain.

A linebacker with the Raiders six months out of the year, Weathers was spending his off-duty time waiting for a curtain call for San Francisco State’s production of Royal Gambit.

Weathers played the lead, a confident, resonant-voiced King Henry VIII.

He admits some people have difficulty adjusting to his actor-athlete role. “Sure I take a lot of kidding from coaches. They’ll smirk and say ‘here’s another Chip Oliver!’” Weathers explained. “But I’ve gotten accustomed to that.”

“I’ve been interested in theater since I was a small kid, much longer than football. Kids are sometimes very cruel. I’ve been ostracized from crowds because I love music, sculpturing, painting, dance, singing, all art forms. Some people can’t understand a football player singing in the glee club, or dancing.”

He became disenchanted with the athletic world at the time of his graduation from Long Beach Poly High School and turned down a scholarship from USC.

“I really didn’t think I’d play football again. But then the coaches at Long Beach City talked me into playing there and I found the attitude in college quite different.”

Despite his attachment for the aesthetic, Weathers isn’t ready to join football’s howling list of dissidents.

“It’s a good game, I love it,” said Weathers who was active much of last season after making the Raiders as a free agent from San Diego State. An excellent special teams player, he was recently switched to strong safety and could be an important factor in the 1971 season.

“Criticizing is not enough. It disturbs me when people so easily find fault to something and then do nothing about it.

In my own way, I’m trying to be positive about football. I’m showing that I the actor-athlete or athlete-actor, I’m more than just an animal. I want to be thought of as a human being introduced to other things, like the arts.

“Football is a physical game but it is not completely removed from the intellect that you can’t be without mental ability.”

Weathers sees many parallels between his two chosen professions.

“The audience, the participation, being part of an ensemble, learning your lines, they’re all parts of both. Besides, watching the body movements of players like Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Willie Brown, and Kent McCloughan certainly suggest an art form.”

Weathers is completing work on a dramatic arts degree from San Francisco State. He’s serious about acting.

“I’ve contacted agencies in Los Angeles and San Francisco. I’ve sent inquiries to people like Bill Cosby and James Garner. I’m really serious about acting as a profession. Right now I’m just sitting and waiting. And learning.”

He’s doing the same in football.

“Unfortunately, last year I violated the unwritten rule of pro football: you can’t get hurt. Perhaps it’s a bit too much to ask, but that’s the way it is. I was injured during crucial times in the beginning of my own career. This year I’ll have to be ready to play 100% of the time.”

The switch to strong safety perplexes him slightly, but no more than his switch from a college defensive lineman to a pro linebacker.

“But if they (the Raiders) respect my ability that much I guess I have to also,” he said.

Weathers realizes the potential box office boost a big career in pro football could give his acting career.

“I’m aware of that, but at the same time I hope people recognize I have some ability in the arts. People in theater often act surprised that a football player can act. It’s insulting and I often don’t tell them that I play pro football. I want to be me, Carl Weathers.”