Anthony Mabron Burton (March 23, 1937 – February 26, 2016) was an American actor and boxer. He was known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky films.[2]
Early life
Burton was born in Flint, Michigan.[3] He had a younger sister named Loretta.[4] A Flint Northern High School graduate,[5] he was a Michigan Golden Glovesheavyweight boxing champion and two-time all-state football player. At Northern, he played halfback.[5] 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 FlintGolden Gloveslight heavyweight championship in 1955 and 1957.[3][5] 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.[6]
Prison
After his brief professional boxing career, Burton served more than three years in a Chino, Calif., 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:
Prison for me was productive because I got my high school diploma and a degree from the University of California. But most important, I got myself together and found out who I was and how I could proceed without destroying myself.
More specifically, one of the skills acquired at Chino landed Burton his wife, Rae, whom he met on a TV repair house call. Moreover, a workshop in the prison, that used psychodrama as a form of therapy, pointed Burton towards his acting career, when an emotional breakthrough achieved by one of his partners in an acting exercise dramatically demonstrated theater's potential power.[7]
Acting
After prison, Burton started getting work with small theater companies in and around Los Angeles, garnering favorable notices early on.[8][9]
Burton resided in California for 30 years.[5] He attended Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland, California.[12] He was married to Aurelain (Rae) from 1980 until his death.[13] The couple had two sons, one of whom, Martin, died of a heart attack at the age of 43 on May 8, 2014.[5] They also had two daughters, Juanita and Christal.[12][14]
Burton was a talented chess player.[15] 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:
My contract was for a week. I just had two short scenes in the movie. I stayed for six weeks because Stanley and I were playing chess... Stanley was a stronger player than I but I was strong enough to give him sufficient struggle to where he enjoyed it. I beat him in the first or second game we played, and then I didn't win any more after that, but it was always a tight struggle. That's what he loved; I guess there was no one else around that played strong.[16]
Recognition
In 1993, Burton was inducted into the Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
Death
Burton had been frequently hospitalized for the last year of his life, according to his sister.[3] On February 26, 2016, he died at the age of 78, from complications of pneumonia at a hospital in Menifee.[4][17]
^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."
