Tony Burton
Encyclopedia
Anthony "Tony" Burton is an American
actor. He is best known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky series, and is one of three actors (along with Sylvester Stallone
and Burt Young
) who have appeared in all six Rocky films.
. A Flint Northern High School
graduate, he was a Michigan
Golden Gloves
heavyweight
boxing
champion and two-time all-state football
player.
At Northern he played halfback
. In 1954 he scored 13 touchdowns and led his team in scoring. Many of the scoring runs were of 50 yards or more. He gained 820 yards rushing that year and one of his runs was for 95 yards. In 1954, he was selected to the first teams of the All City and All Valley teams as a halfback. He was also chosen as an All State honorable mention. He was the team's co-captain and Most Valuable Player
. Tony led his team in yards gained and receiving yards. In one game against Grand Rapids Catholic, he gained 213 total yards.
At Northern, Tony was also the leading baseball
pitcher
, pitching the team to the city championship title.
career included the Flint
Golden Gloves
light heavyweight
championship in 1955 and 1957. Burton won the State Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight
Championship in 1957 and lost in the Chicago
Tournament of Champions semi-finals. He fought as a professional boxer in 1958 and 1959. During that time he was knocked out by knockout
artist Lamar Clark who holds the record for most consecutive knockouts at 44.
comedy-drama
Frank's Place
and parts in films such as Hook
, and The Toy. Burton is also known for his role as Wells, one of the prisoners trapped in the besieged police station, Precinct 9, Division 13, in John Carpenter
's 1976, Howard Hawks
-inspired action film
Assault on Precinct 13
. He also starred in the Rocky films
as a trainer to Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).
was defeated by him on the set of The Shining
, in which Burton played Larry the garage owner.
for nearly 40 years. He is married and currently attends Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor. He is best known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky series, and is one of three actors (along with Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
and Burt Young
Burt Young
Burt Young is an American actor, painter and author. He is best known for his Academy Award-nominated role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law and friend Paulie in the Rocky film series.-Personal life:...
) who have appeared in all six Rocky films.
Early life & football career
Burton was born in Flint, MichiganFlint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
. A Flint Northern High School
Flint Northern High School
Flint Northern High School, is a public secondary school located in Flint, Michigan. The original building was built in 1928, and the current site was erected in the 1970's. It is one of three high schools in the Flint Community Schools district along with Flint Northwestern High School and Flint...
graduate, he was a Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
champion and two-time all-state football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player.
At Northern he played halfback
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
. In 1954 he scored 13 touchdowns and led his team in scoring. Many of the scoring runs were of 50 yards or more. He gained 820 yards rushing that year and one of his runs was for 95 yards. In 1954, he was selected to the first teams of the All City and All Valley teams as a halfback. He was also chosen as an All State honorable mention. He was the team's co-captain and Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
. Tony led his team in yards gained and receiving yards. In one game against Grand Rapids Catholic, he gained 213 total yards.
At Northern, Tony was also the leading baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
, pitching the team to the city championship title.
Boxing career
His boxingBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
career included the Flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
championship in 1955 and 1957. Burton won the State Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
Championship in 1957 and lost in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Tournament of Champions semi-finals. He fought as a professional boxer in 1958 and 1959. During that time he was knocked out by knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
artist Lamar Clark who holds the record for most consecutive knockouts at 44.
Acting career
Among his many credits are a co-starring role on the 1980s CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
Frank's Place
Frank's Place
Frank's Place is an American comedy-drama series which aired on CBS for 22 episodes during the 1987-1988 television schedule. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive produced by Wilson and series star Tim Reid.-Plot:Set in New Orleans, Frank's Place chronicles the life of Frank Parrish...
and parts in films such as Hook
Hook (film)
Hook is a 1991 American fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, and features Maggie Smith, Caroline Goodall, Charlie Korsmo, Amber Scott, and Dante Basco. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing...
, and The Toy. Burton is also known for his role as Wells, one of the prisoners trapped in the besieged police station, Precinct 9, Division 13, in John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
's 1976, Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
-inspired action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
Assault on Precinct 13
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976 film)
Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 American action-thriller film written and directed by John Carpenter. It stars Austin Stoker as a police officer who defends a defunct precinct against an attack by a relentless criminal gang, along with Darwin Joston as a convicted murderer who helps him. Laurie...
. He also starred in the Rocky films
Rocky (film series)
Rocky is a boxing saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the character Rocky Balboa. The films are, by order of release date: Rocky , Rocky II , Rocky III , Rocky IV , Rocky V and Rocky Balboa...
as a trainer to Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).
Recognitions
In 1993, Burton was inducted into the Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame. Burton also is known as a talented chess player. Master chess player Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
was defeated by him on the set of The Shining
The Shining (film)
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
, in which Burton played Larry the garage owner.
Personal life
He has been living in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
for nearly 40 years. He is married and currently attends Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland, California
Highland, California
Highland is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population in 2010 was 53,104, up from 44,605 at the 2000 census...
.