We have already had to say goodbye to many people in 2024 from the worlds of entertainment, sports, politics and beyond.
Among the untimely deaths in 2024 was actor Carl Weathers. The actor best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise died on February 1 at the age of 76. Weathers died in his sleep, but a cause of death wasn’t disclosed.
Weathers also notably starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987’s Predator. Schwarzenegger said in a statement via social media following his death, “Carl Weathers will always be a legend. An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person. We couldn’t have made Predator without him. And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it. Every minute with him – on set and off – was pure joy. He was the type of friend who pushes you to be your best just to keep up with him. I’ll miss him, and my thoughts are with his family.”
Sylvester Stallone released an emotional video statement honoring Weathers. Stallone said, in part, “Today is an incredibly sad day for me. I’m so torn up, I can’t even tell you. I’m just trying to hold it in because Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success — everything about it, I give him incredible credit and kudos. Because when he walked into that room and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness. But I didn’t realize how great. I never could’ve accomplished what we did with ‘Rocky’ without him.”
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Toby Keith is another major death in 2024. The country star died on February 1 at age 62 following a battle with stomach cancer. Countless artists from the country world shared tributes to Keith. Among them was Reba McEntire, who shared, “Toby and I are both from Oklahoma and very proud of our Oklahoma heritage. Toby worked very hard to make a mark in the country music business and did a great job doing that. I am very proud of him, and I hope he rests in peace. I was very honored to get to work with Toby and be a part of the era of country music he was in. We’ll sure miss him.”
An unlikely tribute to Keith came from someone who was an unlikely friend: Stephen Colbert. Colbert took a moment during The Late Show to honor his friend, whom he first met when he was the host of The Colbert Report. Colbert said, at the time, there was “a not-so-helpful legend that I had knives out for some of my guests, and it didn’t help that at the beginning, I sometimes did.”
Much to Colbert’s surprise, he and Keith hit it off. He noted, “That day, Toby taught me not to pre-judge my guests and to have my intentions but to keep my eyes open to the reality of who they are. For that lesson and a lot of other things, I am always gonna be grateful.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see the musicians, celebrities and other cultural figures we’ve lost, so far, in 2024.
