Tony Burton

Anthony Mabron Burton (March 23, 1937 – February 26, 2016) was an American actor and boxer. He was best known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the ''Rocky'' films.

Early life

Burton was born in Flint, Michigan. He had a younger sister named Loretta. 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 his scoring runs were of 50 yards or more. He gained 820 yards rushing that year, and one of his runs was for 95 yards. That same year, 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. Burton led his team in yards gained and receiving yards. In one game against Grand Rapids Catholic, he gained 213 total yards. At Northern, Burton was also the leading baseball pitcher, pitching the team to the city championship title.

Career

Boxing

Burton's boxing 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.

Prison

After his brief professional boxing career, Burton served more than three years in a Chino, California prison for robbery. The acting exercises he performed as part of a therapy program helped steer him into an acting career after his release. NEA's Frank Sanello in March 1988:

More specifically, one of the skills acquired at Chino landed Burton his wife Rae, who he met on a TV-repair house call. Moreover, a workshop in the prison that used psychodrama as a form of therapy pointed Burton toward his acting career, when an emotional breakthrough achieved by one of his partners in an acting exercise dramatically demonstrated theater's potential power.

Acting

After prison, Burton began finding work with small theater companies in and around Los Angeles, garnering favorable notices early on.

A life member of the Actors Studio, Burton numbers among his many credits a co-starring role in ''Frank's Place'' and parts in films, such as '' Stir Crazy'' and '' The Toy''. He also appeared as Wells, one of the prisoners trapped in the besieged police station in John Carpenter's 1976 Howard Hawks-inspired action film '' Assault on Precinct 13''. He later starred in the ''Rocky'' films as a trainer to Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and later Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). He appeared in an episode of '' Gibbsville'' in 1976. Burton also appeared in '' The Shining'', ''House Party 2'', and ''Hook''. He had guest appearances in ''Kojak'', ''The Rockford Files'', ''CHiPs'', ''Twin Peaks'', and ''The A-Team''. Burton also guest starred as Conrad King Baylor on '' In the Heat of the Night'' in the episode "King's Ransom," which aired in January 1990.

Personal life

Burton resided in California for 30 years. He attended Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland, California. He was married to Aurelain (Rae) from 1980 until his death. The couple had two sons, one of whom, Martin, died of a heart attack at the age of 43 on May 8, 2014. They also had two daughters, Juanita and Christal.

Burton was a talented chess player. He defeated Stanley Kubrick on the set of '' The Shining'', in which Burton played Larry Durkin, the garage owner. Speaking with Kubrick biographer Vincent LoBrutto, Burton recalled his first day on the set:

Recognition

In 1993, Burton was inducted into the Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame.

Death

Burton had been frequently hospitalized for the last year of his life, according to his sister. On February 26, 2016, he died at the age of 78, from complications of pneumonia at a hospital in Menifee.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video

Professional boxing record

, -
, 8
,
, 4–3–1
,
, KO
, 4
,
, April 4, 1959
, Polo Grounds, Palm Springs, California
,
, -
, 7
,
, 4–2–1
,
, KO
, 4
,
, February 21, 1959
, Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California
,
, -
, 6
,
, 4–1–1
,
, KO
, 2
,
, June 14, 1958
, Legion Stadium, Hollywood
,
, -
, 5
,
, 3–1–1
,
, Decision
, 4
,
, April 7, 1958
, Bakersfield Dome, Bakersfield, California
,
, -
, 4
,
, 2–1–1
,
, KO
, 4
,
, February 8, 1958
, Legion Stadium, Hollywood
,
, -
, 3
,
, 2–0–1
,
, Decision
, 4
,
, January 30, 1958
, Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
,
, -
, 2
,
, 1–0–1
,
, Decision
, 4
,
, January 28, 1958
, Arena, San Bernardino, California
,
, -
, 1
,
, 1–0
,
, KO
, 4
,
, January 4, 1958
, Legion Stadium, Hollywood
,

References

External links

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Tony Burton 1993 Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame Inductee

Tony Burton
Aveleyman)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Tony
1937 births
2016 deaths
Male actors from Michigan
American male film actors
Sportspeople from Flint, Michigan
Boxers from Michigan
American male television actors
American male boxers
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Deaths from pneumonia in California
People from Menifee, California
20th-century African-American male actors
21st-century African-American male actors
20th-century American sportsmen