The iconic independent sports drama movie “Rocky” turned 49 years old on December 3 (which, combined with the fact that it’s set over the festive period, does make it a Christmas movie, incidentally!).
Sylvester Stallone penned the brilliant underdog story about a working class, struggling, small-time club fighter and loan shark debt collector from Philadelphia, who gets handed an unlikely once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight for the world heavyweight boxing championship.
Per The Numbers, the film grossed a whopping $225,000,000 at the worldwide box office, having been made on a modest budget of just $1.1 million.
It won three Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Best Director for John G. Avildsen, and Best Film Editing. It was also nominated for seven others, including acting nominations for Stallone (Best Actor), Talia Shire (Best Actress), Burgess Meredith, and Burt Young (both Best Supporting Actor). Carl Weathers also gave a memorable performance as heavyweight champion Apollo Creed.
It spawned a franchise that now comprises nine installments, with several more planned for the future.
But what has happened to the original movie’s memorable cast members? Almost half a century later, are they still with us, what do they look like, and are they still working?
Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa)
A then-30-year-old Sylvester Stallone played the eponymous Rocky Balboa in “Rocky” â and it was a role that shot him to superstardom.
Per IMDb, Stallone had acted on both the big and small screens prior to starring in “Rocky,” but none of his roles had ever been anywhere near as big.
Having wrote the script after watching the heavyweight championship fight between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner, he held out for the right producers and directors, insisting nobody changed his script â and his insistence paid off. “Rocky” was a monumental success and the rest, as they say, is history.
GettyStallone is now 79 years old and in the kind of fantastic shape a man half his age would be proud to be in.
He has around 90 movie credits to his name, including iconic roles like John Rambo in the “Rambo” series of movies, Judge Dredd in the 1995 comic book movie of the same name, and Barney Ross in the “Expendables” action franchise.
He’s still acting, with his most recent movie role being Agent Chester in 2025’s action crime thriller “Alarum.” On television, he plays the main role of Dwight “The General” Manfredi in the hugely popular Paramount+ crime drama series “Tulsa King.”
GettyTalia Shire (Adrian Balboa)
Talia Shire played Rocky’s shy love interest, Adrianna “Adrian” Pennino, in “Rocky.” Her character would soon marry the boxer and become Adrian Balboa. She reprised the role multiple times.
Like Stallone, Shire was 30 years old when “Rocky” Released. Per IMDb, she already had some hugely significant movie credits to her name at the time. For example, in 1972 and 1974, respectively, she played Connie Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic gangster movies “The Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II.”
GettyShire is now 79, still in good health, and still acting.
Her most recent movie credit was in 2025’s biographical comedy-drama “Nonnas,” in which she played chef and former nun Teresa. In 2024, she joined forces with Coppola again to play Constance Crassus Catilina in his epic sci-fi drama movie “Megalopolis.”
GettyCarl Weathers (Apollo Creed)
It undoubtedly raised a few eyebrows when 28-year-old former NFL linebacker Carl Weathers was cast as Rocky Balboa’s opponent, Apollo Creed, in “Rocky.” However, he gave a hugely entertaining and charismatic performance that enormously contributed to the movie’s success.
Per IMDb, Weathers had only acted a handful of times before, but “Rocky” ensured he went on to have a hugely successful career in Hollywood. He reprised his role as Creed in several further installments in the “Rocky” franchise, and appeared in the likes of 1987’s sci-fi action horror “Predator” as Colonel Al Dillon, in 1988’s action comedy “Action Jackson” as the eponymous character, and both 1996’s “Happy Gilmore” and 2000’s “Little Nicky” as the one-handed former golfer Derick “Chubbs” Peterson.
GettySadly, Weathers passed away on February 1, 2024 (per Deadline). He was 76 years old. According to a disputed death certificate, the cause of his passing was atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
His final movie role was as the voice of Combat Carl in Pixar’s 2019 animated comedy “Toy Story 4.” Weathers had also played Greef Karga in the Disney+ space Western series “The Mandalorian” â the first live-action series in the “Star Wars” franchise â from 2019 until 2023.
GettyBurt Young (Paulie Pennino)
Burt Young played played Paulie Pennino, Rocky Balboa’s brother-in-law and best friend, in “Rocky” and several of its sequels.
Young was 36-years-old when the first movie released. Per IMDb, he was already an established actor at the time, having already appeared in films like 1974’s neo-noir mystery flick “Chinatown” and television shows like “M*A*S*H” and “Little House on the Prairie.”
GettySadly, Young died on October 8, 2023 (per Reuters). He was 83 years old, and the cause of death was cardiac arrest with the contributing factors being myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, and atherosclerosis.
His final movie roles included 2021’s drama “The Final Code,” in which he played a detective, and the comedy “Medium Rare Cold Case,” which didn’t release until 2025, in which he played Harry.
Young’s last television role came in 2019, when he played Joe in two episodes of the Netflix sci-fi comedy-drama series “Russian Doll.”
GettyBurgess Meredith (Michael “Mickey” Goldmill)
The legendary Burgess Meredith was the biggest name cast in “Rocky.” He played Rocky Balboa’s veteran boxing coach, Michael “Mickey” Goldmill in several installments in the franchise. At the time of the first movie’s release, Meredith was 69 with an entire career behind him.
Per IMDb, he had appeared in movies like 1936’s crime film “Winterset,” 1939’s adaptation of “Of Mice and Men,” 1945’s war flick “The Story of G.I. Joe,” and, just a year earlier in 1975, had been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance as Harry Greener in the satirical historical drama film “The Day of the Locust.”
Meredith had also appeared prominently on television, perhaps most famously in various roles in the fantasy sci-fi horror anthology show “The Twilight Zone,” and as the villainous “Penguin” in the Adam West-led “Batman” series.
GettyMeredith passed away on September 9, 1997 (per the Los Angeles Times), at the age of 89. His causes of death were complications of Alzheimer’s disease and melanoma.
His final roles included playing Grandpa Gustafson in 1993’s rom-com “Grumpy Old Men” and its 1995 sequel, “Grumpier Old Men.” He also played Judge Cully in three episodes of the police procedural crime drama television series “In the Heat of the Night” in 1993.
Other movie credits after “Rocky” included 1978’s psychological horror drama “Magic,” 1981’s epic fantasy adventure flick “Clash of the Titans,” and 1985’s Christmas film “Santa Claus: The Movie.”
GettyMay Carl Weathers, Burt Young, and Burgess Meredith all rest in peace.
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