- Tony Burton
Infobox actor
name = Tony Burton
birthdate = birth date and age|1937|03|23
birthplace =Flint, Michigan U.S.
birthname = Anthony Burton
occupation = Actor, Athlete
yearsactive = 1957 - presentAnthony "Tony" Burton (born
March 23 ,1937 ) is an American actor. He is best known for his role asTony "Duke" Evers in the "Rocky series" and is one of three actors (Sylvester Stallone andBurt Young being the other two) who have appeared in every "Rocky" film.Biography
Early life & football career
Burton was born in
Flint, Michigan . AFlint Northern High School graduate, he was aMichigan 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 teams co-captain andMost Valuable Player . Tony led his team in yards gained and receiving yards. In one game againstGrand Rapids Catholic, he gained 213 total yards.At Northern, Tony was also the leading
baseball pitcher , pitching the team to the city championship title.Boxing career
His
boxing career included theFlint Golden Gloves light heavyweight championship in 1955 and 1957. Burton won the State Golden GlovesLight Heavyweight Championship in 1957 and lost in theChicago Tournament of Champions semi-finals. He fought as a professionall boxer in 1958 and 1959. During that time he was knocked out byknockout artistLamar 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
CBS sitcom "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 , inJohn Carpenter 's 1976,Howard Hawks -inspiredaction film "Assault on Precinct 13". He also Starred in the Rocky Films as a Trainer to Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and Rocky (Sylvester Stallone).Recognitions
In 1993, Burton was inducted into the Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame.
Personal life
He has been living in
California for nearly 40 years. He is married and currently attends Immanuel Baptist Church inHighland, California .External links
*imdb name|id=0123748|name=Tony Burton
*amg name|2:9825
*
* [http://www.flint.lib.mi.us/hallfame/93/burton93.shtml Tony Burton 1993 Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame Inductee]
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