Anthony Mabron Burton (March 23, 1937 – February 26, 2016) was an American actor and professional boxer. He was best known for his role as trainer 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.
Boxing career 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 made his professional debut in January 1958 against Bob Smith at the Hollywood Legion Stadium. Burton fought in a total of 14 professional bouts between 1958 and 1959. His final fight was a defeat against knockout artist Lamar Clark, who holds the record for most consecutive knockouts at 44.LaMar Clark - BoxRec His final record was 10 wins (2 by knockout), 3 losses (all by knockout), and 1 draw.
Acting career After prison, Burton began finding work with small theater companies in and around Los Angeles, garnering favorable notices early on.Harford, Margaret: "'Burning of Lepers' Indicts Prejudice". The Los Angeles Times. February 15, 1966. "Tony Burton, Lou Wagner, Brad Derek, and Tim O'Kelly are good in smaller roles and Lenore Waring, Fran Richards and Carol Lacey add some distaff interest to other roles."Harford, Margaret: "Stage Review: 'Visigoths' at Santa Monica". The Los Angeles Times. February 5, 1969. "The acting tends to be abysmal, but Winston Thrash, Tony Burton, and Horace Hinkle are good as the militant blacks."
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.
Recognition In 1993, Burton was inducted into the Greater Flint Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame.
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. Tony has a daughter, Juanita Burton, and two sons, Jomo and Martin Burton. Martin died of a heart attack at the age of 43 on May 8, 2014. He also has a step daughter, Christal Becton (married name), who Aurelian had in a previous marriage.
Burton was a talented chess player. There is a brief scene of him playing chess with a Russian in the film Rocky IV. 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:
Incarceration 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.Sanello, Frank: "Burton Letting Truth Be Told About His Checkered Past". The Bowling Green Daily News. March 11, 1988.
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.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes14Loss10–3–1LaMar ClarkKO4 (6)Apr 4, 195913Loss10–2–1Bobby SandsKO4 (6)Feb 21, 195912Win10–1–1Clyde Watson6Dec 2, 195811Win9–1–1Frankie Haynes6Aug 11, 195810Win8–1–1Geno DuncanUD4Jun 23, 19589Win7–1–1Dennis ChaneyKO2 (4)Jun 14, 19588Win6–1–1Dennis ChaneyPTS6May 19, 19587Win5–1–1Chuck WilburnPTS4Apr 7, 19586Win4–1–1Clyde Hodges4Mar 17, 19585Loss3–1–1Curley LeeKO4 (4)Feb 8, 19584Win3–0–1Chuck WilburnPTS4Jan 30, 19583Draw2–0–1Chuck Wilburn4Jan 28, 19582Win2–0Chuck Wilburn4Jan 20, 19581Win1–0Bob Smith4 (4)Jan 4, 1958
Filmography Film Year Title Role NotesRef. 1974 The Black Godfather Sonny Spyder Brown 1976 The River Niger Black Policeman Trackdown Zelds The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings Issac Assault on Precinct 13 Wells Rocky Tony "Duke" Evers 1977 Heroes Chef 1978 Blackjack Charles 1979 Rocky II Tony "Duke" Evers 1980 The Shining Larry Durkin Scenes not in European cut. The Hunter Garbageman #2 Stir Crazy Guy Who Punches Big Mean Inside Moves Lucius1982 Rocky III Tony "Duke" Evers The Toy Stanley 1985 Beyond Reason Dangerman Filmed in 1977. Rocky IV Tony "Duke" Evers 1986 Armed and Dangerous Cappy 1990 Side Out Louie Rocky V Tony "Duke" Evers 1991 House Party 2 Mr. Lee Hook Bill Jukes 1992 Mission of Justice Cedric Williams 1995 Fatal Choice Columbus1995Cyber Track 2Swain 1996 Flipping Chuckie Black Rose of Harlem Turner 1997 Me and the Gods 2000 Knockout Sergent Hawkins 2003 Shade Fedora Exorcism Bishop Harris 2006 Rocky Balboa Tony "Duke" Evers 2007 Hack! Sheriff Stoker
Television Year Title Role Notes 1974 Kojak Eddie Ellis Episode: "The Betrayal" (Season 2: Episode 14) 1975 The Invisible Man 3rd Prisoner Episode: "Go Directly To Jail" (Season 1: Episode 7) Baretta Teak Episode: "Count the Days I'm Gone" (Season 2: Episode 12) 1976Harry O Peter Macklin Episode: "Ruby" (Season 2: Episode 20) Future Cop Terrorist #2 Episode: "Future Cop (Pilot)" (Season 1: Episode 1) Gemini Man 'Biggie' Moore Good Times Aide Episode: "Evans Versus Davis" (Season 4: Episode 6) Gibbsville Episode: "All the Young Girls" (Season 1: Episode 5) 1977 Switch Joey Episode: "The Snitch" (Season 2: Episode 14) The Six Million Dollar Man Manager Episode: "The Infiltrators" (Season 4: Episode 18) Sanford and Son Guard Episode: "Fred the Activist" (Season 6: Episode 21) The Rockford Files Joe Moran Episode: "Second Chance" (Season 4: Episode 4) 1978 The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries Gilmore Lee Episode: "The Lady on Thursday at Ten" C.P.O. Sharkey Scotty Episode: "Tell It to the Marines" (Season 2: Episode 15) 1979 The Incredible Hulk Taylor George Episode: "Like a Brother" (Season 2: Episode 14) 1980 Tenspeed and Brown Shoe Skeeter McClintock Episode: "Savage Says 'There's No Free Lunch'" (Season 1: Episode 3) 1981 Fitz and Bones Sid Episode: "Terror at Newsline 3 (Pilot)" (Season 1: Episode 1) The Greatest American Hero 'Curley' Episode: "Hog Wild" (Season 2: Episode 4) CHiPs Avrom Episode: "Mitchell & Woods" (Season 5: Episode 12) Quincy, M.E. Marvin 'Starvin' Marvin' Episode: "Dead Stop" (Season 7: Episode 8) 1982 The Fall Guy Algebra Jones Episode: "Ladies On the Ropes" (Season 1: Episode 16) Bret Maverick Arthur Episodes: T.J. Hooker Luther Travis Episode: "Blind Justice (a.k.a. Blind Watch)" (Season 2: Episode 4) 1984 The A-Team Burke Episode: "It's a Desert Out There" (Season 2: Episode 18) 1985 Moonlighting Bartender Episode: "Gunfight at the So-So Corral" (Season 1: Episode 3) 1986 Airwolf 'Moose' Episode: "Wildfire" (Season 3: Episode 3) The Fall Guy Eddie Barber Episode: "The Bigger They Are" (Season 5: Episode 22) 1987 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Moustache Episode: "You Ruined My Life" The Law & Harry McGraw Leah Episode: "Solve It Again, Harry" 1987–1988 Frank's Place Arthur 'Big Arthur' Contract role 1988 The Wil Shriner Show Himself Episode: "March 18, 1988" (Season 1: Episode 120) Police Story Henry Episode: "The Cop Killers" (Season 6: Episode 1) 1989 Amen Officer Anderson Episode: "TV or Not TV" (Season 4: Episode 7) 1990 In the Heat of the Night Conrad Baylor Episode: "King's Ransom" (Season 3: Episode 10) A Different World 'Cap' Connors Episode: "A Campfire Story" (Season 3: Episode 18) Over My Dead Body 'Curly' Episode: "Dad and Buried" (Season 1: Episode 4) 1991 Twin Peaks Colonel Riley Episode: "Episode Nineteen 'The Black Widow'" (Season 2: Episode 12) Adam-12 Episode: "The Fighter" (Season 2: Episode 26) 1996 NYPD Blue Floyd 'Good News' Gates Episode: "Burnin' Love" (Season 3: Episode 11) Poltergeist: The Legacy Simon Walters Episode: "The Inheritance" (Season 1: Episode 19) Chicago Hope Dr. Joseph Little Episode: "Divided Loyalty" (Season 3: Episode 9) 1998 The Magnificent Seven 'Tennessee' Eban Episode: "Pilot" (Season 1: Episode 1) 2001 The Lot Jerome Jeter Episode: "Nebraska Johnston" (Season 2: Episode 6) 2003 Exorcism Bishop Harris Made-for-TV-movie, directed and written by William A. Baker. 2011 Biography Himself / Tony 'Duke' Evers Episode: "The Rocky Saga: Going the Distance"
References
External links
Tony Burton 1993 Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame Inductee Tony Burton(Aveleyman)